What to do?

[Annalise fuller]

A few weeks ago, a rat was surrendered to my local pet store. I took her home the day she was surrendered. She has lice so she's been on ivermectin (oral) for 2 weeks now and her last dose will be next Tuesday. I'm wondering what to do until then? I'm guessing she's been alone her entire life, she came in a tiny cage that would uncomfortably house a hamster. She's extremely bored, she's taken to chewing on her cage. I take her out daily to play with her, but she's so lonely and bored because of this quarantine. She loves playing with me, but the second I out her back in her cage, she starts chewing the bars. She has toys to chew on, is there anything else I can do to help her? I won't be introducing her to my other girls until next Thursday/Friday. I feel so badly for her.

 

[dspch911]

If you have her in the house with other rats in the same general area or have those rats on the same stuff (your bed, etc) as her they need to be treated to. The easiest treatment is kitten/puppy revolution you get from the vet. One drop on their back between their shoulders is all you need. No cage cleaning needed and no seperation. Revolutions last the life cycle of lice/mites where ivermectin doesn't, that is why you need so many doses and cage cleanings.

To avoid lice/mites returning you need to freeze all bedding (liter), wooden/paper toys 48-72 hours before using them.

She biting on the cage because its too small and she wants out. Nothing you can do unless you have a bigger cage.