Scabs

[Willow Bean]

Willow used to get scabs around her face and ears that look like maybe her toenails were breaking the skin. They went away after I separated her from Baby Girl, but now they are coming back again. Do you think that it is from the stress of losing her litter or something else? I checked her coat thoroughly for parasites since she got a few scabs when she got lice from Ghost (poor sickly rat that Ghost always was) but she is clear of them. We trimmed her nails and so I don't think that is the total cause of it... Maybe just an over-groomer?

Thanks in advance!

 

[jorats]

She most likely has mites or lice. I'd get her treated asap. Which could very well be what's making her act differently these past few days.

 

[lilspaz68]

It sounds like mites. Mites are microscopic and you won't see them, but you will see the symptoms. Are you able to get Revolution or Ivermectin over there?

Here is a classic case of mites

And here on the face of another boy

Mites can hitch a ride in your bedding, etc, but they also are naturally in rats skin and times of stress/illness can flare them up.

 

[Willow Bean]

illred: Looks like it's back to the vet for more Ivermectin! Those pics are exactly what her scabs look like. Will they need to do tests or should I be able to just pick it up like I did for Ghost's Baytril? They are usually pretty good with us and figure that we pretty much know what we are doing (for the most part anyhow) with our Ratties.

I'm guessing that she got it from the bedding. We have her on fleece and carefresh Ultra. I know that it isn't the best stuff but it works better for us than Yesterday's news did and there aren't too many bedding options here that are paper based. I know about the freezing of the bedding before use but could microwaving it work as well to kill off parasites?

Also, the scabs didn't come until after about a week and a half after separating Moosh and Willow, would he need to be treated also? He has no scabs.

 

[jorats]

I would recommend treating all the rats. Mites can stay on the rats without any effects until such time the rat becomes weaker and the mites over populate the rat which can cause even more stress on the rat.

 

[LA]

I just went through this with my girls. Can you get revolution to treat them, it would be better. Also if you vet is willing to medicate without a scraping then go for it. It costs extra and you often get a false negative.

It was the first time I went to the vets and she didn't know me at all. So she treated the rats for me, and did a scraping which came up negative for mites. She treated them with revolution anyways just in case although she didn't feel it was mites. I am glad she did because it cleared up right away.

 

[Willow Bean]

Is there a Revolution for rats or is it for kittens? There aren't any vets in the city that are really that great with rats and I asked last time I was there how many rats they see and they said that we are pretty much it. From time to time they get other people in for a PTS but for general health and treatments, it is just us! How horrible! Anyhow, I'm getting off topic... I think that the vet should be able to get us Ivermectin but I will have to ask about the Revolution. ills:

When we brought in the Rat pack for lice we got a false negative, but you could see the lice and we were picking them off at the vet office. They said that it was obvious that they had them but that none had shown up, so I know all about the false negative. :roll:

 

[lilspaz68]

Revolution for puppy/kittens is best if you only have a few rats...they are smaller tubes than the stronger dog ones.

It all depends on how many you have to treat. All in this case.

Revolution is dosed at 6 mg/kg (as per ratguide)...kitten/puppy is 60 mg/ml and dog is 120 mg/ml...the strengths are on the tubes themselves. Selamectin is the active ingredient.

 

[Willow Bean]

Oh boy... I'm terrible at math and equations and all that. Never made it through trig or calculus, LOL! I'll see if I can pick some up and then I'll make sure that I have my dosage correct (hopefully with your help) before I dose my little guys.

Does microwaving bedding clear it of mites, lice and other parasites?

 

[ben]

I bought Revolution today at my Vets. The tube was listed as Revolution/Pup 15 mg. (60mg per ml)
The rats weight we used was 300 gms just to see if my calculation was right.

The directions: Give 0.1 ml per kilogram of body weight. 1kg= 1000 gm I converted the kg to gm so everything is the same to work with.

recommended dosage = ? desired dosage
recommended weight your rats weight


0.1ml (recom, dose) ? (how much drug
1000 gm (recom weight) = 300 gm (rat weight)


0.1ml divided by 1000 x 300 = 0.03 mls That is the first 3 lines on a Tuberculin syringe under the 0.1 mark. A very minute dosage.

Hopes this helps you. I don't usually have to calculate medications according to weights so this is good for me to practice too.
It is always good to get someone to check who knows what their doing, at least for me!


300 gm rat gets .03mls revolution. MAKE SURE IT'S .03 ml AND NOT 0.3 ml THERE IS A BIG DIFFERENCE AND YOU WOULD BE OVERDOSING!

This is just an example, it would depend on what your rat weighs. The Vet should be able to double check for you as well!
Hope this doesn't frazzle your mind.

 

[lilspaz68]

Oh boy... I'm terrible at math and equations and all that. Never made it through trig or calculus, LOL! I'll see if I can pick some up and then I'll make sure that I have my dosage correct (hopefully with your help) before I dose my little guys.

Does microwaving bedding clear it of mites, lice and other parasites?

No problem, just make sure to get an accurate weight of your rat.

 

[lilspaz68]

Oh boy... I'm terrible at math and equations and all that. Never made it through trig or calculus, LOL! I'll see if I can pick some up and then I'll make sure that I have my dosage correct (hopefully with your help) before I dose my little guys.

Does microwaving bedding clear it of mites, lice and other parasites?

No problem, just make sure to get an accurate weight of your rat for dosing

I would think that microwaving would work but I have never heard it confirmed. I can't see why not since baking wood products kills parasites why not microwaving?

 

[Willow Bean]

:urock: THanks for the equations! I will ask my vet to do the math then check back with you guys, hopefully everything works out the correct way! I'll let you know! Since no one else has the scabs and Willow's have just popped up in the last couple of of days it could be anything else? I'd hate to drag all 6 to the vet if I don't need to, but I certainly will if you are sure that's what it is. The pictures look just like the ones on Willow's throat. *cheers for her vet's multiple-pet discount*

 

[user 78]

You shouldn't have to take everyone in in order to get them treated. Unless your vet insists on treating the rats themselves or you're unable to get their weights at home.

 

[LA]

You shouldn't have to take everyone in in order to get them treated. Unless your vet insists on treating the rats themselves or you're unable to get their weights at home.

That's what happened to me as it was the first time at the vets so she didn't know me at all.

 

[Willow Bean]

We have a tough time sometimes at the vet. Our normal vet knows us pretty well and knows that we research treatments and suggest them to him when we have our visits so if I can see him I shouldn't have to bring everyone in. If it's any other vet, though, they haven't treated rats. 1 vet has treated Willow and Baby Girl, but that's the extent of his rat knowledge. It really depends on if we can get our vet. I'm on the phone with the vet office right now, so I hope to know more in a couple of minutes.

 

[Dewi]

I'm just curious, do you guys need to see the vet in order to get Revolution? Over here (Australia) you can buy it without having to see a vet. In fact, in addition to vet clinics, they sell Revolution, and all the other flea products, at pet shops. Even stores that sell livestock & horse feed sell the stuff.

Just find out first if you need to make a vet appointment in the first place. It'll save you some $ and I'm sure a vet or vet tech would be nice enough to calculate the quantity to use for free. I'm sure someone here would be able to calculate the quantity for you.

Dewi

 

[Willow Bean]

I'm almost wondering if I can get Ivermectin from the vet without a visit if I say that it's for lice instead of mites. The dosage would be the same, wouldn't it? 3 weeks, one oral dosage per week?

It sounds like I need to go to the vet (and bring everyone, according to them) to get anything for the mites since "the treatment might be different since they have been treated for lice in the past with Ivermectin" according to my vet's technician.

 

[user 78]

Treatment isn't any different, no matter how many times they've been treated. Revolution is easier on everyone, as it's a single drop [.05cc or less] once a month. Ivermectin is a dose of a single grain of uncooked rice of the paste, or a dosage of injectable given orally once a week for 3-4 weeks, with a thorough bleaching of the cage, toys, disposal/freezing of all paper or wood products, and vacuuming the floors and baseboards.

If your vet is unwilling to prescribe Revolution, or doesn't sell it, the Ivermectin will do it's job. it's just harder on everyone involved.

 

[Dewi]

I'm almost wondering if I can get Ivermectin from the vet without a visit if I say that it's for lice instead of mites. The dosage would be the same, wouldn't it? 3 weeks, one oral dosage per week?

It sounds like I need to go to the vet (and bring everyone, according to them) to get anything for the mites since "the treatment might be different since they have been treated for lice in the past with Ivermectin" according to my vet's technician.

Sounds like your vets are jerking you around. Could you contact another vet, or get someone else to contact your regular vet, and tell them you would like to get some revolution for you pet rabbit (who has fleas) but you don't want to make an appointment because it's just fleas and you can't afford an appointment.

BTW, the dosage for the ivermectin will be the same and you don't need to go to a vet to get it.

Dewi