Couple Quick Questions!

Best place to buy Revolution to treat mites in my rats?

Sorry to make a new thread, but I can't find the place to change the title of my existing thread. It's hard to navigate in this place. D;

I'm either going to buy it from Petshed or Pets Megastore. Can anyone tell me from experience which of these is good to buy from or if both are? I want to order ASAP cause my Simon is loosing fur and getting more scabs. Poor guy.

Also, is there anything I can do to make my babies more comfortable until the meds get here? They both itch a lot, and even though Luffy has no scabs I know he's got what Simon has. I don't want them to itch for the next two weeks until I can get the meds. :c

title change http://www.ratshackforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29834&highlight=change+title

just put title change in search next time...

I get revo from my vet its a prescription. You only have two so you only need 1 tube. Where do you live? That would make it easier for us.

Pets Megastore get it from NZ I believe so it can take 3 weeks to arrive.

It is best to get Revolution from your vet since it's a prescription......at least it is in the US. (Not sure where you're located.) It would probably be a good idea for your vet to examine your rat before starting on Revolution since your vet may even end up recommending a different course of treatment depending on exam findings.

I am in the U.S.

I went in today and got the Revolution without an exam cause I know the main doctor's son. One of the vets agreed it sounded like mites and Revo would be the best treatment. If it's something else, then the Revo won't work. But, I'm 99% sure that it's mites.

I'll be keeping an close eye on them for the next few days and seeing if they improve

Hope it works! Keep us posted!

Well when I got home they weren't really itching, but now they're itching again. I've read the life cycle of the mites is 3 weeks approximately. Could they just be itching the newly hatched larvae? How long does it usually take for them to go away completely? :c

Samii said:

Well when I got home they weren't really itching, but now they're itching again. I've read the life cycle of the mites is 3 weeks approximately. Could they just be itching the newly hatched larvae? How long does it usually take for them to go away completely? :c

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Calm down and give it a day. New rat mommy nerves.... I was the same way..... cycle is 30 days, but the revo outlasts the cycle that is why you only need to apply once. Just freeze all bedding for minimum of 48 hours from now on.

Yeah, you should have seen me yesterday when I thought I didn't put enough on him. I was a mess.

I have some bedding in the freezer right now and they'll get a full cage cleaning and scrub down on Tuesday when the bedding is ready. Whats the best way to wash down their cage? I've heard vinegar, just regular soap and water? I'm going to kill those buggers for making my babies suffer.

And it must have come from the bedding. I got some carefresh for super cheap from where I work. Now that I think about it Simon was showing symptoms pretty soon after I put the new bedding in. Stupid bugs.

That's another great thing about the revolution NO cage clean needed, other than what you would normally do. I mix vinegar and water, plus we use dye free/fragrance free baby wipes. I've also used ivory liquid soap and hot water (when I use tub or garden hose). You can also feeeze food and wooden toys. We make a habit of putting a new bag in the feeezer when we take one out so its in there for weeks.

Really? That's pretty cool. I thought I'd need to clean/wash everything to make sure the mites were gone. That's also good to know. I was also worrying about them being in their uncleaned cage until Wednesday. Is there a reason that you don't have to clean everything and sterilize? Do they just die off without a host on their own?

The idea with freezing the new bag of food is a good idea! I'll probably start doing that too. I do NOT want this to happen again.

Mites are parasites and need a host to survive on. So you are correct! They will die off without a host. And if they do try to latch back on to your ratties they will quickly be dead. Any new itching since the revo treatment is due to new hatchlings that will die off before they get a chance to lay new eggs. I'm sure we all had new mommy worries. So glad I had this place to ease my mind.

dspch911 said:

That's another great thing about the revolution NO cage clean needed, other than what you would normally do. I mix vinegar and water, plus we use dye free/fragrance free baby wipes. I've also used ivory liquid soap and hot water (when I use tub or garden hose). You can also feeeze food and wooden toys. We make a habit of putting a new bag in the feeezer when we take one out so its in there for weeks.

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dspch911, I'd never thought of freezing wooden toys. I've been mulling over in my mind for how long I should keep wooden toys around due to their being difficult if not impossible to sanitize. Freezing is a great idea!

I've bought mine from petshed. It came even faster than they said it would and was overall a good experience and good price. I'm in the US too.

I agree. Without this place I would be stressing even more than I am now. You guys have been so helpful and have eased my nerves a lot! I thank you for that. :3

They're getting a cage clean on Wednesday regardless so I'm just going to clean it extra good so they have a chance to stop itching and for the Revolution to truly work. I imagine it'll be even easier to keep mites under control when you use fleece bedding. I can't wait. That reminds me. MY CRITTER NATION IS HERE! But, my boyfriend won't let me touch it until Christmas *pout* But, it's here and I can stare at it and make liners and more hammocks. So excited.

I have another question completely unrelated to Revolution or mites. Can weather change make rats congested? My babies seem a bit congested(might just be my mind), but I only notice it half the time and only know it's there by slight clicking sounds. Mostly in the morning or the middle of the night. The room is warm. Simon makes grunting noises as well and I'm not sure if that's normal or a sign of respiratory problems. He seems normal otherwise, no sneezing, no porphyrin. I just treated them not to long ago for the sniffles and he got better. Maybe this is too big of a question for this topic? XD

AboutPetRats said:

dspch911, I'd never thought of freezing wooden toys. I've been mulling over in my mind for how long I should keep wooden toys around due to their being difficult if not impossible to sanitize. Freezing is a great idea!

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I don't freeze mine before using - probably should, but I only buy wooden stuff for them to chew on. When they smell like pee I throw them away - I sniff during cage cleaning.

Samii said:

I have another question completely unrelated to Revolution or mites. Can weather change make rats congested? My babies seem a bit congested(might just be my mind), but I only notice it half the time and only know it's there by slight clicking sounds. Mostly in the morning or the middle of the night. The room is warm. Simon makes grunting noises as well and I'm not sure if that's normal or a sign of respiratory problems. He seems normal otherwise, no sneezing, no porphyrin. I just treated them not to long ago for the sniffles and he got better.

Maybe this is too big of a question for this topic? XD

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yes, if your some where where its cold and dry you need to set up an humidifier. If you use an ultrasonic one you need to put it outside the room where you keep them, something about the noise we cannot hear can hurt their ears.

Kay, that's good to know. I live in California, in a pretty hot place It got cold this past couple weeks. He was fine until it started to get a bit colder, and dryer, like you said. Guess I'll need to invest in a humidifier! Thanks for the millionth helpful answer.

Samii said:

I agree. Without this place I would be stressing even more than I am now. You guys have been so helpful and have eased my nerves a lot! I thank you for that. :3

They're getting a cage clean on Wednesday regardless so I'm just going to clean it extra good so they have a chance to stop itching and for the Revolution to truly work. I imagine it'll be even easier to keep mites under control when you use fleece bedding. I can't wait. That reminds me. MY CRITTER NATION IS HERE! But, my boyfriend won't let me touch it until Christmas *pout* But, it's here and I can stare at it and make liners and more hammocks. So excited.

I have another question completely unrelated to Revolution or mites. Can weather change make rats congested? My babies seem a bit congested(might just be my mind), but I only notice it half the time and only know it's there by slight clicking sounds. Mostly in the morning or the middle of the night. The room is warm. Simon makes grunting noises as well and I'm not sure if that's normal or a sign of respiratory problems. He seems normal otherwise, no sneezing, no porphyrin. I just treated them not to long ago for the sniffles and he got better. Maybe this is too big of a question for this topic? XD

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Sammii, If you're hearing any sounds coming from your rats, it's highly likely they have a respiratory problem. Rats don't make any sounds at all when breathing unless there's a health problem. Simon's grunting sounds are not normal, nor are clicking sounds even if they're intermittent. Are you able to take them in to see your vet? It could be that they're having a "relapse"----you mentioned they were treated recently for the "sniffles".

If you want to give us more information such as what medication(s) they were given for respiratory disease, for how long and how long ago they received their last dose, we might be able to help more. I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, I just want you to keep your rats healthy and I know you do, too!!!

That's fantastic you're getting a Critter Nation cage for Christmas.

I didn't think it was normal and I knew they'd have respiratory problems considering I got them from a pet store(I know that's a nono, I'm adopting next time). When I brought them home Simon was sneezing and when it got more frequent I took him to the vet. His lungs were clear but he prescribed me two pills to dissolve in water and treat them for two weeks. I forget what the medicine was called, but I believe it's the same one we use at my work. It's called Ciproflaxin(I think).

The medicine seemed to work great. They no longer sneeze except every now and then, but he has the new symptoms I've described; Light grunting, clicking, and sometimes(very rarely) he does this thing where it looks like he's having trouble breathing, though it's very breif, it's really hard to describe. Other than that he is very bright and alert, eats and drinks fine, plays, and usually very quiet even when breathing. It's hard to think that something more could be wrong with him when he acts so normal, and I know rats and other small animals can hide their symptoms really well. I've ratphoned him too and his lungs sound fine. I will probably end up taking him to the vet.

Note: He seemed to have less symptoms today. It was a rainy day. I heard little to no grunting when he was on my shoulders.