Oh Lord.... the boys have LICE!

[jennifervb]

I'm with Shelagh. I would scrap the bags/paper towels and go with fleece only. You can wash fleece, you know exactly where it's been, and you know it's not harboring eggs.

Thanks Javakittie!!! I will do that. :hugs: :rose: :heart:

I just love the people on this website... if our vets had half the knowledge you can find here... the rat world would be a glorious world of good health. :thumbup:

 

[jorats]

I've used Ivermectin and Revolution in the past and it's always worked. :thumbup: The Ivermectin needs to be given once a week for three weeks. The Revolution, I always needed to do a second treatment for it to completely be gone.

 

[jennifervb]

I've used Ivermectin and Revolution in the past and it's always worked. :thumbup: The Ivermectin needs to be given once a week for three weeks. The Revolution, I always needed to do a second treatment for it to completely be gone.

Thanks Jo!!!

I will ask Dr. Richards about the timing of the injections the boys are getting. She is doing one shot bi-weekly for 6 weeks.

 

[jorats]

The life cycle of the buggies is 21 days. This is why with Ivermectin, once a week for three weeks, you get them at every stage. :nod:

 

[Vanessa]

Lice don't even quicken my heart rate anymore, not after having rats absolutely infested with them.
Lice don't move around very much, and they are very slow. They only live off their hosts for a few hours and then they will die. In order to contract lice, you have to be in very close proximity to the person/animal infected.
Rat lice are species specific, as has already been mentioned, they will not even cross over to mice who have their own species of lice.
I remember when Phoenix and Horus came to me from the THS, they were covered in lice like I have never seen before. It was more apparent on Horus, because he had dark fur, that every single hair on his body was covered in nits. It was awful. Horus' fur looked shiny, but it was actually dead dull, because of the lice infestation, and the nits just made it look shiny. They had been treating them, according to the shelter, but whatever they were using wasn't doing the trick.
I gave them one dose of Revolution and that was all she wrote! They were gone in no time, and Horus had a beautiful healthy coat back within two weeks. I have heard that rats can have a bad reaction to being injected with Ivermectin, so I will not ever go that route. I would only use that stuff topically. I have used horse wormer paste, way back before I learned about Revolution, but I will not use that again because of the risks vs Revolution.
I don't clean the cage at the same time as giving the treatment. I treat them with the Revolution, wait 24 hours, and then clean the cage thoroughly. That way, the adult ones that have dropped off them because of the treatment can be cleaned away.
I freerange buggy carrying rats last, so that nobody is in the freerange area directly after them. I have purchased the bird mite spray and used it to spray the area after freeranging. I never, EVER use that stuff directly on the animal, only on the area they freerange. That way, the spray can work on killing anyone in the freerange area before they next day when the rats are out again. I wipe down the area the next day so they don't get any of the residual spray on their toes, but I don't think that it is that potent 24 hours later.
Here is a picture of Horus that I took with him covered in nits...

 

[LA]

I also prefer Revolution (which you can get without a prescription online if your vet won't prescribe it).

Shelagh can I get a link for this. Because if I have to pay one more scraping for her to tell me 'it's not mites but if you want to treat them we will' again I will scream.

 

[lilspaz68]

http://www.petshed.com/products/category347.asp

 

[LA]

So you order the pink one??

 

[lilspaz68]

Vanessa, I hope you don't mind me posting it but here's a pic of Shiny Boy...so you can see what Vanessa means.

 

[MumsyRat]

This is the outfit I've been using: http://www.pets-megastore.com.au/

Revolution is on sale this month! Puppy/Kitten is only $30 & free shipping!!

 

[dubchick]

(I know that lice are living creatures too,[/i]

they are???? i dont think we really need them. kind of like junebugs, i havent found a good reason they exist. lol . prolly natures joke. lol :doh:

ya.. it took a little while before we noticed the lice on willow too... but they def came from the pet store.. so its possible you got it from the rescue thing. sometimes they take a while before they really kick in. the buggers... :rant: well more because you may not see em right away.. they might be acting a little off.. but its hard to figure out that is the problem specificly

hope the stuff is working for your lil buddy.

 

[jennifervb]

I spoke with the vet and she said that, although Revolution can be used to treat lice on rats, it is not the most effective means of treatment.

She wants to avoid a reocurrance of the infestation so she is using the strongest treatment possible on my boys.

If her treatment fails.... I will hang her up by her shoe laces and let the boys clean her face. :laugh4: :bunnydance:

 

[jennifervb]

(I know that lice are living creatures too,[/i]

they are???? i dont think we really need them. kind of like junebugs, i havent found a good reason they exist. lol . prolly natures joke. lol :doh:

ya.. it took a little while before we noticed the lice on willow too... but they def came from the pet store.. so its possible you got it from the rescue thing. sometimes they take a while before they really kick in. the buggers... :rant: well more because you may not see em right away.. they might be acting a little off.. but its hard to figure out that is the problem specificly

hope the stuff is working for your lil buddy.

The boys seem to be doing really well! Albert still has scabs on his back but he is not scratching as much as he was.

They are all starting to enjoy their daily combing. Roquefort just lies in my hand with his eyes closed. He seems to love the full body scratch. :heart:

 

[lilspaz68]

Revolution has now become the treatment of choice because it is effective against almost all ectoparasites except for ear mites (sarcoptic mange). A few vets are a bit wary of using it since its off-label use but if you think of it, almost all meds/antibiotics are off-label use for our small domestics.

I hope the injections work but please consider Revolution in the future, no needles, no possible injection site problems, one treatment only.

 

[jennifervb]

Revolution has now become the treatment of choice because it is effective against almost all ectoparasites except for ear mites (sarcoptic mange). A few vets are a bit wary of using it since its off-label use but if you think of it, almost all meds/antibiotics are off-label use for our small domestics.

I hope the injections work but please consider Revolution in the future, no needles, no possible injection site problems, one treatment only.

Thanks Shelagh,

I will push for Revolution if this happens again. My problem, this time, was that I had absolutely no idea what I was dealing with and no clue what various treatments were possible.

As always, I didn't "get wise" until I posted to you guys and by then, it was too late.

Dr. Richards did warn me to monitor the injection sites for any bleeding or bruising. Of course I monitored the boys like crazy.... the only thing I was missing was an electron microscope for real hard core precision. :laugh4:

 

[OceanEyes117]

After reading all the stuff on here I just went ahead ond bought some kitten/puppy revolution from this site: http://www.joespetmeds.com It was only 25.00! Only thing is you can't track the shipping, or at least I haven't been able to figure out how...

 

[SQ]

I also prefer Revolution (which you can get without a prescription online if your vet won't prescribe it).

Shelagh can I get a link for this. Because if I have to pay one more scraping for her to tell me 'it's not mites but if you want to treat them we will' again I will scream.

Please don't let a vet do skin scrapings for mites.
The results are not reliable ...

Just treat everyone with revolution because if they are scratching excessively, chances are they have mites.

 

[jorats]

Poor LA, her vet refuses to give treatment unless he does a skin scraping. :redhot:

 

[mercurydust]

While I'm trying to figure out just how in the :rant: my boys managed to pick up lice.... I have just invested in a steam cleaner and a lice comb (advice from my vet)! Fortunately, the steamer was on sale (a Bissell) so I got it for less than $100! YAY!!! :happydance: :joy: :bunnydance: :bunnydance: :bunnydance: :bunnydance: :joy: :happydance:

It appears as if the lice is breeding on poor, little Albert, because he has a serious scab on his back. Dr. Richards told me that she was able to find lice eggs on Albert but not on the others. :shock:

They are all being treated with ivermectin and are supposed to stay in the cage for the next 6 weeks!!!! I told her that this would not work so we have agreed that the boys can run in the bathroom. I can mop the floors afterwards and there should be no problem.

Needless to say, all boxes have been tossed out and their wooden toys are all in the freezer for 48 hours.

I am going to steam clean the living room carpets this evening and then again tomorrow to kill any, nasty, *******s in the shag! :stickpoke: I will also be combing the boys to rid their fur of eggs and lice. :sick2:

My poor little noses!!! :hugs:

Dr. Richards told me that the boys were so brave when they got their shots! No squeaks, jumps or bites from anyone! :heart:

Their appointment was at 11:30 so, of course, I had to wake them up. They are all still dozing so I will leave them in the cage tonight. Dr. Richards said that the ivermectin can make them tired for a day or two.

If anyone has any advice on anything else I can be doing for my boys, please let me know! Should I get flea/lice powder for the carpets as well?

This is the first time something like this has happened, so I am not sure if I am doing everything I can to help rid them of these hideous pests.

Of course, no one can blame me for having taken comfort in a Five Guys Cheeseburger after such a day... :laugh4:

My rat Lily is infected with lice at the moment. I started to noticed little scabs on her back and at first thought that she was cutting herself on something sharp in the cage. I checked her cage very carefully and found no sharp edges. Then I learned mites can come from the bedding that you use. I stick the bedding in the freezer for a 2 days before I use it from now on.

 

[SQ]

Hope she tries a different vet.