Lice.

[Crono]

My roommate and I each have rats. She has an adult male and I have two adolescent males. We tried to introduce them, but it just kept ending up in fighting, so we ultimately gave up. Her rat is kept in her room and mine are kept in my room.

Recently, I noticed little brownish/reddish parasites on my roommate's rat while I was taking care of him for her while she was away. I thought maybe they were fleas, but they looked too small/discoloured. I googled it and after reading, I'm pretty sure it's lice. The poor guy has them really bad. All I had to do was stroke him and dozens were pushed out of his fur.

After I changed my clothes and showered, I checked my boys and didn't see any parasites on them. However, today I checked again and after really going through their fur, I'm quite certain the little dots I saw were the same lice on my roommate's rat. I also noticed while examining them that one of my boys has little open wounds on his body. I'm assuming it's from scratching/biting, maybe even playing, but I can't be sure.

I know the two best ways to get rid of parasites are Kitten Revolution and Ivermectin, the latter being the better option. I'd rather use the Revolution, but if I have to pay for the prescription as well as the office visit (which is $50 at my vet), I just can't afford it and would have to go with the Ivermectin.

My question is, is there vet in the Halifax area I could go to/call about a prescription and be able to get it without actually having to take the rats in and pay visiting fees? It just seems pointless since I already know it what it is. I don't want to have to pay $50 for him to tell me what I already know and as I said, I really can't afford it.

 

[lizmo1221]

It's against the law for a vet to give you a perscription without seeing the animal first. I wouldn't trust any vet who is willing to do it unless you have been with that vet for many many years and developed a very good relationship with them. I thought my Libra (RIP) may have had mites, but it was also possible that she had a skin infection... I'm still not 100% sure of what she had to this day.

I think Revolution is the better choice. It is easy to dose out, only needs to be applied once, and kills every stage of parasites, not just a few stages (hence why Ivermectin needs to be dosed a few times). It is also a lot harder to overdose a rat on Revo by mistake.

I would go to a rat-knowledgable vet in town, and ask if they would just charge one fee for all three rats. Vets will sometimes do that (and $50 sounds very reasonable for a exam fee... my vet charges $85). If they will, you can split the cost of the fee and the medication with your housemate!

 

It's against the law for a vet to give you a perscription.
My vet knows me well enough, to know that I know what I need, so I can just call him up and he will tell me to come get it.

You really need money when being a rat parent. You should have a vet fund at all times.

Revolution works best.

 

[Rachael]

If you had to go with Ivermectin there isn't anything wrong with that, we don't get Revo here sadly but Ivermectin does work for mine. Keep an eye on them for an underlying cause, lice/mites are caused by stress and illness.

 

[Crono]

Yeah, I guess I didn't really consider that. A vet giving out prescriptions without a proper examination does sound pretty shady, whether less costly or not. That's a good idea, though, I will call and see if he'll charge one fee for all three rats. $25 isn't so bad. And it's not really that I can't afford it if I have to, it's just that $50 is $50, especially around the holidays. But I do feel horrible and want them taken care of as soon as possible. Especially my roommate's, he's got them really bad.

If you had to go with Ivermectin there isn't anything wrong with that, we don't get Revo here sadly but Ivermectin does work for mine. Keep an eye on them for an underlying cause, lice/mites are caused by stress and illness.

If I do end up having to go with the Invermectin, how many doses do you think I'll need? I read that it's one dose once a week, the dose being about the size of an uncooked grain of rice. But I didn't see how many doses it usually takes before the lice are gone?

 

[Crono]

Also, this might be a stupid question, but can I catch the lice they have?

These are my first rats, I've only had them since June. So I'm a bit of a newbie. >_<

 

[jorats]

Lice is species specific so you are safe. The horse paste ivermectin should be given once a week for 3 weeks. Be careful not to overdose.

 

[lilspaz68]

rat lice only like rats...don't worry. I prefer Revolution for its ease and safety but if you use Ivermectcin, you have everything right and you just need to dose 3 times. But after each dose you need to scrub the cage down completely, throw out/freeze any wood/cardboard items, etc.

Let's go back to the beginning though since you are going to get rid of the current infestatonj How did your roomie's rat get the lice in the first place? Most likely she used a paper or wood based bedding in his cage? Sometimes these are infected with lice or mites and you have to freeze the bedding for 48 hours before using it to kill any stowaways. You or the rats being together caused your boys to get the lice from him.

 

[Crono]

Yeah, I think it's from the bedding, too. We both use aspen shavings. I put the shavings in the freezer the moment I read up on it, so by the end of the day, it'll be 48 hours. I'm gonna keep the bags of bedding in the freezer, though, at least until I'm sure the lice are gone.

I bit the bullet and called the vet. Made an appointment for later today. While I'm not getting charged $50 for each rat, there's a multiple pet fee, so for all three it came to $95. Not what I was hoping for, but not as bad as I was expecting, either. I'm gonna mention the Kitten Revolution to him right off the bat, I think. I'd really rather go with that, from what I've been hearing it has the best results. My boys are still pretty young, so I'm really nervous about medicating them myself.

And yeah, I figured they couldn't spread to other species, but I just wanted to be sure. Silly question.

By the way, thanks for the help and the fast answers. I really appreciate it. ^_^

 

[Crono]

So the vet appointment went great. The vet here is actually really awesome! He did end up only charging me for one visiting fee, so all in all, it only came out to $85. Split between us, that's not bad at all.

Thanks again for the advice. I cleaned their cages with bleach and have all their toys and bedding in the freezer. Hopefully in a couple of weeks, they'll be as good as new.

 

[lizmo1221]

Just out of curiosity, did you get Revolution or Ivermectin?