Zen-has passed. -notice to rat train adopters

[jorats]

The ivermectin liquid can be used topically but should be given orally for it to be more effective. But the treatment must be one dose, once a week for three weeks.

 

[Riana]

I'm so, so sorry to hear about Zen. At least he got a forever home with a great mommy, and had lots of brothers and sisters to be with. You're really an inspiration, to me atleast, for just how far you'll go for the wellbeing of your babies.

 

[twitch]

I'm very, very sorry about Zen.

About the bugs - how noticeable were they? My three have been to the vet already, two of them twice, and I've checked them over pretty thoroughly. Since mine were girls, I'm going to assume that there is a little less chance they could have 'mingled' together and been in very close contact with any of the boys. *fingers crossed*

i'm sorry i missed this. the bugs weren't that noticable at all. zen is a white rat and he had flakes, which i thought was just buck grease flaking off. the vet had seen him a number of times and never noticed it. even a more personally rat experienced vet saw him and didn't notice. it wasn't until today when i was preparing his body, washing him with a damp face cloth and combing his fur that i noticed flakes MOVING on him. when i saw them under a magnfying glass i saw they were bugs. and again, this is on a white rat. he didn't even scratch or seem itchy when alive with me for the past 2 months. given my experience with it i think it would be VERY easy to miss on a darker colored rat.

as for the chances of your rats having them. i would say it is equally as high as any of the train rats to have them. first they can actually move around. not far on their own but far enough for clark or someone else to have accidently passed them around the cages. then there is the trip with all of them close together. personally, i think the chances are high for all rat train rats to be infected.

i do believe the ones that made it to ontario first all were dosed with revolution at their staging area at moon's but this vet says revolution and ivermectin may not kill them. she is among the first to say that she does not have a lot of experience with rats though so i don't know if she's right. i'm going to talk to my reg vet when she gets back from vacation about all this too. in the meantime though i am going to be using the spray and giving everyone a bath.

my suggestion to other adopters is to consult your vet and check your rats. the bugs are small and brown. they have a roundish shape to them. use bright light and a comb if you have to. they are going to be VERY difficult to see on a darker colored rat. i barely noticed them on a white one and as the vet said, he was "heavily infested".

 

[lilspaz68]

Revolution and/or Ivermectin will work for all ectoparasites of rats. The only one Revolution won't work for is ear mites (sarcoptic mange) which needs Ivermectin.

http://ratguide.com/health/integumentar ... asites.php

ALL the Train Rats were treated except the Liverpool boys since they had just been treated by SQ. The US-bound ratties were treated in Montreal and the Ontario rats were treated at the Meetup in Markham at moon's work.

The only ones who might have a problem are locally adopted rats who missed the Train Rat's treatments.