Lice/flea shampoo advice needed

[shhtephanie]

Ok so all 4 of my boys have lice and are being treated with injections of Ivermectin...they have each had 3 shots so far and the vet wants to do 1 more just to be sure. She told me to give them a bath with flea shampoo before their next injection because that'll help get rid of any nits.
Just wondering if anyone has any tips for this or any good/bad experiences with certain kinds of flea shampoos, or if anyone can recommend a brand or anything?

Thanks

 

[lilspaz68]

Umm...I just wouldn't. the nits remaining are dead and glued to the hair shaft, they will come off when the hair sheds.

How is the ivermectin injections working? I heard it sometimes works, and sometimes doesn't which is why I prefer revolution or even the oral paste.

 

[shhtephanie]

Suchhhhhh an improvement!
Jasper had like half his face (jaw and chin area) completely covered in scabs and almost all hair gone from there...he now has 1 tiny little scab and looks good as new...they also seem much less annoyed these days lol
There are no lice that she sees on them now, just the shiny little nit/egg things...so she said the only way to get those off would be a dog/cat flea shampoo.
And I just don't want to risk anything starting up again.

If that isn't a good idea...do you think a regular bath would help at all?

 

[shhtephanie]

Anyone?

 

[victoria]

I really wouldn't. I only think bathing is necessary in extreme circumstances, like when a rat is too old or sick or unable to properly groom themselves. It's unnecessarily stressful.

 

[shhtephanie]

Well I don't really see that as being the issue....I have given them all baths before and 3 of the 4 couldn't care less lol...the 4th gets a bit scratchy but that's it...then they all love drying off/playing in a towel and treats...so my only issue here is:
would a regular bath help remove the nits?
should I do a flea bath like the vet said?...if so, any recommendations for a shampoo??

 

[jorats]

I don't think bathing remove nits. Only that special comb removes nits. Same thing as in human lice, shampooing doesn't work on nits. A flea bath, that's like bathing your rat in poison. I wouldn't do it. Revolution is the best. You put a dose on the back of their neck and that's it.

 

[shhtephanie]

Well i'm not sure what to do now....I have them back at the vet for their last shot on Thursday the 25th...so I was supposed to have given them a flea bath before then.
Anything I can do to get rid of the nits before we go back on Thursday?

 

[lilspaz68]

A bath is only going to remove loose hairs, NOT the nits off of the hairs as they are firmly glued on. A rat grooming will do just as much, don't worry about it.