URGENT: Mites on Rats/Wooden Toys/Cage Cleaning?

[Olympia✨]

Hello all!

I literally just created an account to get advice

So about a week ago I treated my dog for fleas and the other day I found mites on my ratties
I’m lucky to be in the UK because we have some pretty good spot-on for rats with ivermectin (called beaphar) which should arrive on Wednesday with some small pet insecticide wash and an anti flea/mite powder for the floors and mattress (because my boys love to play on my bed.)

So getting rid of them isn’t much of a problem, what I’m unsure about is how I go about cleaning the cage, plastic toys and do I need to get rid of my wooden toys and chews? How about my lavaledges? Money isn’t much of a problem, and I think I’d be too paranoid to put them in the freezer because I’m worried about re-infection. I also have carpet in my bedroom which my boys love running on, so will the powder be enough or should I wash the carpet with something else, if so what?

Also, how often should I wash them with the insetcicide? Do I need to freeze their hemp toilet filling in the freezer, should I replace their pee rocks? I also have loads of hay houses, should I also bin those?

Sorry for all the questions, I just really don’t know what to dooo Please drop some tips if you can, thank you so much

Btw, these are my little rattie boys:

 

[Rattymouse]

You can clean the plastic and wooden toys in soapy water, rinse and let dry. Throw out all the food in the cage, check the food bag for mites sometimes they come in the food, throw out all the bedding from the cage and clean. Do not use insecticide that could be dangerous for the rats! Use hot water and dish soap to clean everything except the rats, use warm water for them with special pet soap.

 

[Olympia✨]

You can clean the plastic and wooden toys in soapy water, rinse and let dry. Throw out all the food in the cage, check the food bag for mites sometimes they come in the food, throw out all the bedding from the cage and clean. Do not use insecticide that could be dangerous for the rats! Use hot water and dish soap to clean everything except the rats, use warm water for them with special pet soap.

Nooo don’t worry it’s a natural solution for hamsters, rats and other small animals from Johnsons https://www.elmpets.co.uk/johnsons-insecticidal-shampoo-125ml-p-8617.html

I plan to dilute the solution a bit and I’ll only really use a pea sized amount

 

[SQ]

Check with your vet before you use anything .... because meds etc sold by pet stores etc are often toxic and harm or kill small pets .... even those sold for small pets are often toxic to them. I would not use that product with my rats. Insecticides used in you place will also likely harm your rats so again, check with your vet.

I would suggest that you get meds from your vet so you will know that they are safe.
This is what we use here, and I would assume that your vet has it as well http://ratguide.com/meds/anti-infectives/selamectin_revolution.php It is good for mites, fleas and lice.

Always freeze bedding after you buy it as it may contain parasities.
Btw, if you can see the buggies, they are not mites but selamectin/revolution will safely kill several types of parasites.

 

[Olympia✨]

Check with your vet before you use anything .... because meds etc sold by pet stores etc are often toxic and harm or kill small pets .... even those sold for small pets are often toxic to them. I would not use that product with my rats. Insecticides used in you place will also likely harm your rats so again, check with your vet.

I would suggest that you get meds from your vet so you will know that they are safe.
This is what we use here, and I would assume that your vet has it as well http://ratguide.com/meds/anti-infectives/selamectin_revolution.php It is good for mites, fleas and lice.

Always freeze bedding after you buy it as it may contain parasities.
Btw, if you can see the buggies, they are not mites but selamectin/revolution will safely kill several types of parasites.

Hiya, after some research I decided to not use the shampoo and instead gave them an olive bath and cleaned it off with a bit of baby wash, I gently combed it out and their skin looks much better already Beaphar is the over the counter equivalent to revolution. I weighed my boys and they only need a pipette each (1 for over 300g rattie) and my boys are around 385g each.

As for their wooden toys I threw them out because I don’t want to risk anything. For their bedding I use fleece which I washed on a sanitiser setting and I also checked their oxbow to make sure there was no bugs there. I’m still 100% sure that somehow they must have got them off my dog

 

[SqueakingJellybean]

If they were fleas, then yes, there’s a chance that they might have come from your dog. (I am not sure how species-specific fleas are; someone who has dealt with the problem more often might be able to provide more info in that regard.) If they were mites or lice, don’t blame the dog. Fleas don’t spawn mites and lice any more than rats spawn chipmunks.

Is there an open window with a windowsill near the rat cage? If wild rats have been in the area, there’s a small chance of some transfer.

As far as mites and lice go, I think they tend to be much more species-specific. Rat lice will only feed on rats. Once off a suitable host, rat lice die within a few days (if memory serves).

 

[Fidget]

Hi Olympia (& beautiful boys)! Are you certain it's mites and not lice? No difference for medicating, I think most people use Revolution but I've used Ivermectin for years.. And the oil bath is added help.
Mites are harder to get rid of & require more cleaning of their stuff than lice cause they can live in cracks & crevices for a long time, whereas mites die off-host pretty quick, as SqueakingJellybean says. Whenever I've had mites here I believe they either came in on the bedding (yes, they can come in commercial bedding) or the newspaper I shred for their hideyhouses.
Plastic stuff you can wash, I avoid wood just in case of a mite infection, you can't wash it well enough, but freezing Will do the job for anything that won't wash well.
I see you use fleece, but for anyone who uses commercial bedding it's a good idea to put just enough for a bedding-change in the freezer and use it and replace it when you do the next bedding change.
My kids don't run on the carpet so I don't know, I'd think the anti flea/mite powder and a few good vacuums should take care of that. Good luck, and Welcome!

 

[Olympia✨]

Good afternoon everyone,

Hope you and all your rats are well

I just wanted to update everyone who gave me advice, after treating my ratties with an olive bath and a beaphar spot on they are now mite free!! (and so is the dog) I decided to throw out allll their wooden toys and had to spend another £70 on new toys which wasn’t so nice but had to be done c:

The boys are doing very well and all their scabs from their mites have healed.

Thanks again to everyone who helped

 

[Ame]

Nooo don’t worry it’s a natural solution for hamsters, rats and other small animals from Johnsons https://www.elmpets.co.uk/johnsons-insecticidal-shampoo-125ml-p-8617.html

I plan to dilute the solution a bit and I’ll only really use a pea sized amount

HI. What's the olive bath you mentioned?

 

[Ame]

Hiya, after some research I decided to not use the shampoo and instead gave them an olive bath and cleaned it off with a bit of baby wash, I gently combed it out and their skin looks much better already Beaphar is the over the counter equivalent to revolution. I weighed my boys and they only need a pipette each (1 for over 300g rattie) and my boys are around 385g each.

As for their wooden toys I threw them out because I don’t want to risk anything. For their bedding I use fleece which I washed on a sanitiser setting and I also checked their oxbow to make sure there was no bugs there. I’m still 100% sure that somehow they must have got them off my dog

What is the olive oil bath you mentioned?

 

[Olympia✨]

What is the olive oil bath you mentioned?

Hiya Ame!

All you do is take some extra virgin olive oil and lather the ratties up with it, leave for 5-10 min and wash off with baby shampoo. It helps with itching but also smothers the mites and their eggs. It doesn’t work to get rid of mites by itself so you’d have to buy a rat spot-on but does help a lot to relieve the rat xx

 

[SQ]

Olive oil is usually only used in exceptional situations when revolution can not be used. For example: I have read of a nursing mama being given this treatment because treating her with revolution would have harmed/killed her babies but she was so infested that the parasites would have killed her babies .... so the oil bath reduced the number of parasites and when the babies were old enough, revolution was used.

According to lilspaz68: "Oil baths are sometimes used in a pinch to help a severely infested rat with ectoparasites until you can get a proper treatment.
I don't recommend them at all as
1) they hate it
2) they cannot regulate their temperature with it on and it can lead to a respiratory infection.
3) if they ingest too much oil it will give them diarrhea." https://www.ratshackforum.com/threads/what-is-an-olive-oil-bath.35370/