LICE!

[Sam]

My 5 month old rats have lice :wallbang:

I didn't realize this was the problem at first, one of them just seemed kinda sick/sluggish so I took her to the vet. They found lice (she was also anemic because of the little bloodsuckers :redhot: ) and gave her a squirt of something into her mouth (I'm assuming it was Ivermectin, but I dunno) and gave me a huge bill. They said I'd have to bring her back for another shot in 8-10 days and that I'd have to bring in my other rat for treatment as well. I feel horrible, but there is no way I can afford that. This was on Friday the 3rd.

I read online that flea/lice/mite stuff for kittens is okay to use on rats. I went to the pet store and asked them for some advice. They didn't have anything for rats so they gave me a spray for cats and kittens over the age of 8 weeks of age (not aerosol). It is 0.075% Pyrethrin, 0.15% Piperonyl butoxide technical, 0.25% N-Octyl bicyclopentene dicarboximde, and 0.052% Permethrin. Is this stuff safe? I used this on my rats for the first time today, they were scratching so much. I put some on my hands and rubbed it on their fur but they still seem to be getting bit on the face (I didn't put any spray there).

I am hoping to be able to find some horse dewormer today. If I am lucky enough to find some (1% Ivermectin) should I wait for the cat flea spray to wear off before I give it to them? How long would that be?

For the rat that got the shot from the vet on Friday I will wait a week before giving her any of the dewormer.

If I cannot find any horse dewormer, what other options do I have?

And also, stuff like Advantage and Revolution doesn't seem to exist here.

 

[Catibrie]

Where in the US do you live? I am pretty sure you can get Revolution, though you may need to get it from either a vet or order it online. I know that ivermectin is not the preferred way of treating lice, but if that is your only option you might suggest asking for a vet tech to administer the ivermectin (that way you won't have to pay for another vet visit - just the meds) that should save you some money. However I highly suggest the route of Revolution.

 

[SQ]

Call around to vets. Vets do carry revolution in the USA.

 

[Sam]

:shock: Oh sorry about that! I actually live in Canada.

Is it sold here? I mentioned revolution to my vet but he just said that I should bring her back in 8-10 days and my other one in as well.

 

[lilangel]

in Canada we have it too as i have some and i live in Canada . try another vet, that vet seems to only want your money.
just call around over vets stating that you need kitten revolution and ask how much and of course tell them what its for.

http://ratguide.com/meds/anti-infective ... lution.php

 

[Maple]

Where in Canada are you? If you are specific, we may be able to recommend a good vet in your area.
Don't panic, lice are much easier to get rid of then mites.

 

[jorats]

Your best bet at this point is to go back for the second dose of ivermectin, they shouldn't charge you for another visit, only the dosing.

 

[Moon]

Don't use the cat spray on them. Topicals like that aren't formulated to be used on rats, and I personally wouldn't use a topical from a pet store ever. I just don't trust them.

You need to go to a vet and get Revolution, if you can't find the ivermectin. The vet you went to is not educated enough to know that Revolution is acceptable for use on rats. Advantage is not the same.

Your profile location says United States, so you should go and change that

 

[Sam]

okay, I'll try calling some other vets for some revolution.

If they do have Revolution, does the vet have to administer it? Or can I just buy a bottle of it (or what ever form it comes in) like at a regular store?

 

[Moon]

Most vets will require that they see at least one rat and get the exam fee, but they do not have to administer it. I brought one of my rats in for a checkup a couple months ago and asked for a tube of revolution to take home, just in case. My vet had no problem with that, but most wont sell it without seeing an animal.

 

[Sam]

I got some dewormer for horses and gave the rat who hasn't gone to the vet a "grain of uncooked rice" amount of the paste. It's apple flavored so she loved it :mrgreen: With the rat who was given some medication on Friday, I will wait a week before giving her anything. I plan to give them three doses each, 1 week apart.

Will the ivermectin stay in their blood and continue working for a whole week? Is this too little/much medication to be giving 4-5 week old rats? Do I need to scrub down their cage every time I give them the paste? How long can lice live without a host?

Thanks

 

[Maple]

On average, lice can live 4 - 7 days without a host. What kind of cage and bedding are you currently using? You should clean out and disinfect the cage every day for at least the next 30 days which is the complete life cycle of the lice. The dose (grain of rice) should be OK, but I think I would treat every 9-10 days rather than every 7 days. Ivermectin is a great treatment and will remain in their blood system for up to 10 days. You can tell when its wearing off, your ratties will start scratching again. Ideally you want to re-treat before this so just watch them carefully.
When my mice came home with mites, I put them in a 20 gallon aquarium with nothing but 1 sheet of papertowel that was sprayed with a pyrethrin spray. This went along with a 6 week (3 weeks more than usual) vet administered dose of ivermectin. Aquariums are much easier to disinfect so it is my first choice. Now keep in mind, mites are worse, I had 7 animals together to treat, all of them were extremely overweight which added to poor health and the infestation was so bad, they only had 50% of their fur.
Keep on top of things for the next 30 days and everything will be alright. Its alot of work, but you'll be happy you did it.
Good luck.

 

[Sam]

For bedding, I am using a towel for the bottom of the cage which I normally change out every 2-5 days as needed. In their nest they have pieces of old clothes (cotton if that matters) which I also change every 2-5 days as needed. I just throw the dirty stuff in the wash.

The cage is a large bird cage, horizontal metal bars not coated so I scrub the whole thing down twice a month normally to keep it from getting grimy. The bottom pops off and I rinse that out every 3-7 days as needed. There are 3 levels made from floor tiles.

The rat that hasn't gone to the vet, I gave a dose of Ivermectin on Tuesday (the 7th). On Wednesday though, I noticed that she was still scratching a lot. The rat that had a shot of Ivermectin on Friday (the 3rd) from the vet is also scratching still. Is there something else wrong?

 

[Maple]

No thats OK. Remember these little bugs have to bite the host in order for the Ivermectin to get in their system and kill them. They will continue to scratch for a couple of days till everything kicks in. It will be a week for rattie #1 so her scratching should be done. Keep in mind, there is a difference between scratching and cleaning. They scratch when they clean, but your rattie will put her foot in her mouth in between scratches, when she is cleaning herself. Its important to change as much as possible EVERY DAY, that way you eliminate any lice that fall off. If you don't change the bedding, the lice will just crawl back on and continue. Not an easy job, but doable. It took me 4 weeks of daily "hard core" disinfecting and weekly visits to the vet , just to get it UNDER CONTROL never mind gone! Keep going, it sounds like your doing fine.
Hope this helps.

 

[Sam]

Thanks everyone for the input.

It is time for their third dose of Ivermectin and I am wondering if they need it. They do not seem itchy anymore but one of them still seems to have some nits, although I am NOT sure if they really are nits or just the empty "shells" they leave behind when they hatch.

How many doses (each one week apart) can I safely do?

 

[jorats]

Some people will do 6 weeks of one dose a week treatment.

 

[Moon]

I don't know what the max dosing time is, but you're safest to do at least all three weekly doses.