Myco & Mites - Update Pg 4 - Back from the vet

Rachael, you shoould always freeze bedding befor you use it, for 48 hours ..lice and mites both live on bedding.

Also, I now have my two freezers stocked up with eveerything rat related.
thanks for the help guys. I really hope thiis don't shorten my ratties life span or anything
I feel so dumb

 

[Rachael]

My bedding is in bag that the rats don't go near and it isn't the bedding causing the mites and lice..... I wouldn't be able to freeze it anyway if I did want to. But I've never frozen it and it's been fine - the mites go.

 

[Rachael]

I really hope thiis don't shorten my ratties life span or anything
I feel so dumb

Why would it shorten their life? Don't feel dumb, you didn't mean to not notice.... but mites live on them constantly. They won't shorten the lifespan. I don't think it's that worrying.

 

[smilez_n_hugs]

We had dog mites that came in on two new ratties that never ever showed signs of infestation.

Fun fact...mites are actually species specific meaning your ratties can't pass mites to your dog or vice versa :thumbup:

Fun fact...there are mites that will travel from specie to specie, cheyletiella mange is one of them, skin scrape came back positive and we SAW the bugs in the microscope(because our vet is awesome like that) It is becoming my calling on these boards and goosemoose to try to tell everyone that even though mites are USUALLY species specific, that they almost always BREED species specific, they can travel and cause nasty infestations. It has gotten to where most owners don't even do scrapes because they come back negative so often, and the ones that ARE done do come back neg a lot, that no one catches it when this happens. But it happened to us. It is possible and there fore should be guarded against, instead of just being tossed aside with a catch all "it can't happen." We took in two rats with NO symptoms from a previous owner who was a dog groomer, there was no other source for mites brought into our home, and a few months later when one of our first boys immune system was lowered due to grieving for his brother, bam, nasty infestation of Cheyletiella Mange, which is normally either a Dog, Cat, or Rabbit specific mite, but can travel to rats, other rodents, and even travel on people(it could infest us, but we tend to bathe and that takes care of it). It can live up to two weeks off host, under controlled lab conditions I believe, but can live 48 with no host at all in the wild.

Sorry if I come on strong, but I feel like no matter how many times I post this, no one listens... :wallbang:

Hmm I definately missed reading that somewhere...thanks.

 

My bedding is in bag that the rats don't go near and it isn't the bedding causing the mites and lice..... I wouldn't be able to freeze it anyway if I did want to. But I've never frozen it and it's been fine - the mites go.

Lice & mites are in most bedding.

 

[Rachael]

My bedding is in bag that the rats don't go near and it isn't the bedding causing the mites and lice..... I wouldn't be able to freeze it anyway if I did want to. But I've never frozen it and it's been fine - the mites go.

Lice & mites are in most bedding.

It's just cardboard, recycled cardboard... squares. I've had a lot of rats with mites and I don't worry too much - they do live on them all of the time, and they come when stressed/ill as you know obviously, but I don't do much. Take off the hammocks and wash them, change the bedding. Treat with Ivermectin. It works - without freezing anything.

 

My bedding is in bag that the rats don't go near and it isn't the bedding causing the mites and lice..... I wouldn't be able to freeze it anyway if I did want to. But I've never frozen it and it's been fine - the mites go.

Lice & mites are in most bedding.

It's just cardboard, recycled cardboard... squares. I've had a lot of rats with mites and I don't worry too much - they do live on them all of the time, and they come when stressed/ill as you know obviously, but I don't do much. Take off the hammocks and wash them, change the bedding. Treat with Ivermectin. It works - without freezing anything.

Iv gotten lice from cardboard bedding before! since then I always freeze for 48 hours.
I'll be treating with Revo

 

[Rachael]

You don't get Revo here. Why would mites be on the bedding? I'm not just disagreeing becaue I can - I've always used this bedding and many dozens of rats later with mites, it's not been the bedding.

 

Well here, bedding is shiped to the stores on a boat, boats have lots of wild rats and wild rats have lots of lice and mites. Lice and mites jump off the wild rats and get in the bedding.

Also of people on the forum freeze bedding because of lice and mite problems.

 

[Rachael]

Ah. The bedding I buy is produced locally, sold locally.

 

Still could have mites or lice if stored in a warehouse, so be careful

 

[Rachael]

It's definitely not made a difference, not freezing it.... not sure how I'd fit a 15 kg bale in my freezer LOL. It's jammed as it is.

 

I have a spare freezer, just for ratty stuff, I freeze food and toys as well haha

 

[lilangel]

It's definitely not made a difference, not freezing it.... not sure how I'd fit a 15 kg bale in my freezer LOL. It's jammed as it is.

What we do is make smaller bags out out our stuffing and freeze little by little as us too we get a very big bag of stuffing, the size you can get of pine stuffing but its aspen its about half as tall as me(im 5'3).

For us we would rather be safe then sorry in the long run

 

[Rachael]

If I ever feel freezing it would make a difference... I'll freeze it. But it's never been something we've done and the mites have always gone.

 

So I was talking to my vet today on the phone. I described all the symptoms (itching, scaps on chins and faces) and he agrees that it sounds like mites. He wants to treat them with Ivermectin because he finds it more effective than revolution. he said he will reseach the dosages and to bring them in tomorrow when I bring Toby in for his checkup.

 

[Rissa]

I personally prefer revolution because its effective for 1 month vs having to do treatments every week. Its also safer for rats, but if your vet is administering it then i'm sure he'll get the dose right and that wouldn't really be a problem

 

[Rachael]

Ivermectin is what has always worked for mine. But never tried revo.

 

[smilez_n_hugs]

I'm with digi...revo is waaay more convenient.

 

[Rachael]

I didn't know it worked for a month but Ivermectin is either injectable (which we don't use) but all I have to do is at home, a bit to the back of their necks once a week.... it's not any bother, and it is effective.