olive oil bath and mites? any tips?

dubchick · **Posted:** October 4th, 2008, 1:43 am

ive been hearing about bathing the girls in olive oil when they have mites...
can anyone give me a rundown of exactly how to do this.. our girls have mites.. from poor lil honey i presume..we were pretty careful.. so im wondering if thats why it took so long to really kick in.. i have an apointment on thursday.. but ive heard that olive oil bath can work just as good? i dont mind taking them to the vet. but if theres a healthier way to solve a problem, id rather go with that option.

jorats · **Posted:** October 4th, 2008, 8:29 am

I have not heard of this home remedy. I did a quick google search and it seems that it's for ear mites.

LA · **Posted:** October 4th, 2008, 9:26 am

When I finally sat down and thought about it, both times my girls got mites was after I got a rat from the petstore. Although there were no signs on the rat themselves of any mites.

CardboardCastles · **Posted:** October 4th, 2008, 2:19 pm

When I got my two rescue girls from MMR, they had been bathed in olive oil because they thought they had mites....dunno if they really did or not, but they didn't by the time they came to me

dubchick · **Posted:** October 4th, 2008, 4:01 pm

hmm. shey are scratching on a pretty frequent basis now.. and the apointment is for thursday.. ill just bring them in ... i dont want to prolong it. was just wondering if anyone else knew anything for sure about it, i figured it couldnt hurt to ask. thanks tho.
:thumbup:

MumsyRat · **Posted:** October 4th, 2008, 5:27 pm

I think the olive oil helps sooth and moisterize the skin so they don't feel so itchy. And of course bathing them is going to remove some of the pesky critters but it's not a cure. It certainly won't hurt to give them a bath so that they are more comfortable until they get to see the vet.

Insist on having them treated with Revolution. Injectable ivermection is old school (and more expensive) and you risk pain and/or abscess at the injection site.

SQ · **Posted:** October 4th, 2008, 7:36 pm

If you get a digital postal scale so you can weigh each rat, you should be able to pick up revolution from a vet and apply the correct amount yourself.

jorats · **Posted:** October 4th, 2008, 10:53 pm

If your vet insists on injectable ivermectin, it can be given orally.

Ktina · **Posted:** October 4th, 2008, 10:56 pm

When my rats had lice I used it, it is supposed to suffocate them. I'm not sure if it works the same for mites. It is also not a cure, it just helps get rid of some of them and helps with the itching. If it's a bad infestation, it's definately great to use with Ivermectin or Revolution.

dubchick · **Posted:** October 5th, 2008, 2:15 pm

yay linds is back :joy:

anyway thanks for the tips.. we will go give them a bath today and put a bit of olive oil on them..

PiedPiper · **Posted:** October 5th, 2008, 4:02 pm

Ange - Check out the Holistarat pet group on Yahoo, Sandra Beasley is the Moderator (she may even be a member of this forum - if she is, I don't think she posts much). Anyhow, she really knows her stuff and would be able to tell you the correct way to use the olive oil method as treatment for mites or lice. It sounds kinda messy and although I consider myself extremely conservative and holistic minded in my approach towards my own and pets health care, I'm with the others on this one ... nothing beats a little dab of Revolution to get those nasty critters in a jiffy!

olive oil bath and mites? any tips?

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