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mvZD

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Hi guys. So I’m pretty sure one of my boys has mites. He has very small scabs around his left shoulder and neck, and scratches quite a bit. None of the other 8 rats have any visible scabs, but they do all stop and scratch themselves here and there. Im taking my boy to the vet on Thursday to hopefully get some Revolution for him and all the others.

I’m looking for advice on cleaning now. Every Thursday I do a full cage clean. Wash all of the fleece in hot water, and wipe everything down with vinegar and water. Should I just do the same thing once I’m back from the vet and everyone gets their Revolution? Do I need to wash every piece of fleece I have? What about lava ledges, how to clean those? And where could the mites have come from if I use fleece bedding? I use Yesterday’s News in the litter boxes, could it be from that? Should I freeze all the litter I have left?

Thank you!!
 
What I would do is treat them all with Revolution. You only need around a drop for each of them,
and the tube dries out quickly so it’s worth it just to treat them all at once.
Mites usually aren’t a big concern to healthy rats and are only a problem when the rat is stressed, so something must have happened to stress your one rat out and not the others.
If all rats are treated, there is no need to worry about cleaning everything. Just do cage cleans as usual. If you are concerned about future mites, freezing the carefresh and any absorbent toys will help.
 
Mites are in the environment, but it is important to freeze bedding (yesterdays news, etc) for 48 to 72 hours after purchase to kill any parasites that may be in it.

You can wash everything and freeze (for 72 hours) everything that can not be washed ..... but when treating all rats with revolution, most people do not bother since revolution kills parasites for a month
 
Thank you guys! Your responses made me feel a lot better about this, I was panicked for a minute thinking I had to throw everything out!
 
Well I just left the vet with my boy. He had a skin scrape done and the vet said he did not see any mites or mite eggs? He was given a dose of Revolution anyway just in case. The vet did not want to give me a vial/tube of Revolution. I asked if I could have enough so that all the rats could be treated but he said he would not do that unless they came in for an exam. The only exception is my two newest boys who were in a couple weeks ago for their neuters. I told him I weigh my rats regularly and am comfortable dosing them myself :/ at $50 an exam it would be $300 plus cost of meds. He also prescribed my boy some antibiotics (smz) in case of secondary infection from the scratching and scabs. Total of $120 for him today.

If this isn’t mites, what could it be? I haven’t changed my detergent or bedding or anything. Should all of the rats get Revolution? Should I just buy ivermectin online so that I can treat them myself?
How often do your rats stop and scratch themselves, is this just a normal amount of itchy ness?
 
I find that they stop and scratch quite a lot, but not so much that it’s very noticeable. Just like cats, they’re constantly grooming and I think scratching can be part of that.

If none of the others are showing symptoms, you should be fine with only the one dose for the one rat. If you’re in Canada, Revolution doesn’t require a prescription so you can get it from a different vet. It sounds like you live in the US or somewhere else that does require a prescription though.

If the vet doesn’t have any concerns about parasites and has looked at the patch of scabs, I would personally just wait and see if the Revolution works, because it likely will.
 
Mites often always come up negative during a skin scrape.
Ugh, that makes me even more disappointed with this whole visit. :(
Thank you guys for the advice! I’ll see if the one dose makes any difference with my boy and go from there.
 
no one ever does skin scrapings because the results are unreliable http://ratguide.com/meds/anti-infectives/selamectin_revolution.php

and it is normal practice to treat all the rats with revolution ..... maybe check around for another vet that charges re time ... ie if an appointment is 15 mins, then the vet charges for 1 appointment slot and the amount of meds used even if all your rat are seen during that time, instead of charging for each animal

Of course, when it comes to vets, the most important thing is to have a good vet with the knowledge and experience to treat rats and a willingness to learn

good luck
 
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