Need help...frustrated and confused - IT'S LICE!!

[shhtephanie]

My boys are all 7-9 months old and fairly healthy from what I can tell.
I am having an issue with my tilty head boy, Jasper.
He seems to have lost a fair bit of weight a few months back right after the meds I had him on for his head tilt...but he is about the same as he was then, no more weight lost. He is still pretty skinny, but super active and eats fine, etc etc.

I have always noticed the odd scab on his back, but didn't think much of it because my boys usually get the odd scab or tiny cut here and there. But lately I don't know what to do, his back has quite a few scabs and his face is covered in them (mostly around his mouth/whisker area)....I know when I am in my room I hear little fights and such, but the other boys never have anything on their faces and just sometimes the odd little mark somewhere else.

I tried to check him for mites or anything to see if it's that, but I don't see anything unusual on him. I have a feeling if it is fighting, that Shando is my guilty one, but only because I rarely see any marks on him. I separated them last night, left Shando on the top with Horace my big boy and put Jasper on the bottom with the shy, quiet Pip...just to see if it gets worse or starts to clear up....but there has to be a better solution.

Any ideas would be appreciated, I am super stressed out with them right now and get upset every time I look at Jasper

 

[lilspaz68]

it sounds like mites, which are invisible to the naked eye. They love to colonize the head, neck, shoulders and face of a rat, and you will see little scabs there from a rat scratching themselves from being bitten. Rats can get pretty cranky when itching like this so sometimes a temperament will change as well.

You need to get Revolution and treat all your rats as it will spread. Just put a drop on the back of each neck as much on bare skin as possible and that's it. After this make sure to freeze any paper or wood-based beddings for 48 hours prior to use.

You should also put the rats back together as its not due to fighting as such.

 

[shhtephanie]

I was just looking online....it says there's revolution for cats and revolution for dogs...which would I use?
Does it have to be purchased from a vet or any store?
How often would I do it...just once or does it need a few times?
Is there anything I have to do differently when using it on a rat? (dilute it or anything)

 

[shhtephanie]

Also...I am assuming it would be a smart move to clean out the cage after treating them....is there anything special I should use to clean it?

 

[victoria]

Revolution is only available from a vet in Canada, although you can get it online but it does not come right away. Dog Revolution is more concentrated than cat Revolution, but they are the same product. Most people use the cat one because one tube is more than plenty to treat several rats.

You should clean the cage when treating them (freeze all bedding and wooden toys for 48 hours to prevent them from coming back) but Revolution is very effective so a thorough cleaning with soap and water should be fine. You can use a 10% bleach solution and rinse and dry everything really well but you don't need to.

 

[shhtephanie]

Hmmm...been looking online...notice there are different colours for different sized dogs/cats....would it be the pink one, which is for kittens/puppies up to 5 lbs?

 

[jorats]

I thought the package was mauve? I believe you need the 60mg/ml.

 

[MuffinsMum]

Do you usually measure out Revolution carefully, or just do a drop? I've seen people confidently just do a drop but don't know if that comes with a bit of previous experience - and they kind of KNOW what the right dose feels like, or whether the right dose isn't rocket science?

 

[jorats]

I've always measured a correct dose.

 

[shhtephanie]

So I just found some sites saying that the proper dose for rats is 6mg/kg....does that sound right?
And what is the best way to measure it out and such?

 

[MuffinsMum]

I'm absolutely not professional on this but was here earlier:

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

they suggest a tuberculin syringe - how does the average person get hold of a tuberculin syringe? :?

 

[shhtephanie]

I plan on calling the vet tomorrow anyways to get my hands on some Revolution....I just like to find out as much as I can before that just in case...I guess I have trust issues lol

But I would assume if I was going to buy Revolution they could provide a syringe or 2?

Does anyone know if it would require an appointment or not?

 

[hopefloats]

That depends on your relationship with your vet. If you have been there recently then they will usually ok an order for some. If you havent then they may require a visit.

 

[victoria]

I dose at 6 mg/kg and I round up if necessary. I use a 1 cc syringe with a needle to draw out the medication from the tube (otherwise it evaporates crazy fast) and measure out the correct dose from there. If the rat is squirmy, I measure it onto the back of a spoon and wipe it on them right away to avoid overdosing or poking them with the needle. I store the syringe in the freezer when I'm done so I can get one or two more uses out of the tube.

The different colours are for different concentrations and different sizes of animals - toy, small, medium, large dogs, cats, etc. I think there is a rodent Revolution now that is 30 mg/ml (a friend recently got some from our vet) but I think it's only available from vets and not at all online.

 

[shhtephanie]

Ok, spoke to the vet...apparently they won't use Revolution because rats are not what it is intended for...but they have a different product that is a 1 time topical treatment.
So I have an appointment set for monday...I could possibly move it to tomorrow (except that my vet is only in the same hours I will be at work) so I am trying to see if i can do anything about that....but if not, then monday it is.

Does anybody know of anything I can do for Jasper in the short term just to give him some relief from the itching?

 

[shhtephanie]

Just got home from the vet now and all 4 have lice.
She gave them a needle and said they need another in 10 days and then 1 more in another 10 days....anyone have experience with this??
Also anything else I can do to help it along?
She said in the past little while she has seen loads of people bringing their rats in because of lice.

 

[victoria]

It sounds like they were given Ivermectin. Just make sure you do a really thorough clean whenever the rats are treated and freeze any wooden accessories for 48 hours. Freezing all bedding for 48 hours before use should help prevent them from getting lice again.

 

[lilspaz68]

sadly the ivermectin given by injection is not as effective as the ivermectin paste given my mouth or even the injectable used topically.

I do find it very funny that vets say Revolution is not for rats but Ivermectin is technically not either LOL

IF you continue to have lice AFTER your treatment is over, I will tell you where you can order Revo online.

 

[shhtephanie]

Ok great thanks!

I am hoping this will work...I cleaned the cage really good this morning before we left, so that I had a fresh cage to put them into.
So now I guess we just wait and hope for results

 

[victoria]

sadly the ivermectin given by injection is not as effective as the ivermectin paste given my mouth or even the injectable used topically.

I do find it very funny that vets say Revolution is not for rats but Ivermectin is technically not either LOL

IF you continue to have lice AFTER your treatment is over, I will tell you where you can order Revo online.

Me too, especially since so much of the research on the safety and efficacy of Revolution is done ON rats. I was told the opposite about injectable Ivermectin, that it was more effective. I prefer Revo though, it's safer, usually more effective, and easier.