Lice!? Help Please.

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R

Randomrat

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2008
Messages
919
Location
Barrie, ON
What does lice look like? Does it look like they have dandruff in their fur (the nits I suppose?) and little brownish bugs? They do have some scabs, that's what made me check in the first place.

I think my girls have lice...if not then something similar.

1) I understand it is species specific but can my gerbils and hamsters get it as well?

2) Revolution would work right? Do I get this from the vet...bringing the six of them in for some revolution sounds expensive. Can you buy it online?

3) Will I need to clean everything after the revolution, like the entire room that they're in or just their toys, cage and supplies?

4) And to make my Mom happy....humans can't get it, right?


I don't know how they got it. I usually freeze all of my bedding. Actually my neighbour brought over a bag of carefresh that I never got around to freezing. I guess that could be the cause. I feel so bad about this and my parents are making me feel like I'm some bad owner. Anyways is there anything else I should know?

*edit* I was reading some older posts on revolution and a few members mentioned the pets-megastore to order it from, so I think I will do that. I have six rats (plus 2 gerbils and 4 hamsters if they count) how much will I need and what kind? Also how much do they each get?
 
Hi! You certainly are not a bad owner, we've had our fair share of lice/mites here as well.
Revolution is the best. Some don't do a full scrub down but I always do. Your hamster and gerbils should have the same lice as the rats but if they got some of that carefresh, they might have lice specific to them. Revolution should take care of that too.

And most importantly...no, humans can't get it.
 
Aww no way are you a bad person. A few people, even people that have owned rats for years and years, have been having lice/mite problems lately. Its just a fact of life and something you deal with. It probably wont be the last time you come across this either, but atleast next time you will know what to look for.

We all have to learn one way or another :p Even if it does cost a bit of cash ><
 
Is the cat/kitten revolution best? If so what amount should I get like the '6 month pack' or some other size? I have 12 rodents to treat. Thank you so much guys.
 
You shouldn't need a lot, kitten will be fine. If you get 6 months worth you'll have some left over, and it takes a while to expire, so might be handy to have on hand just in case.

Don't feel bad, everyone gets lice/mites at some point.
 
Thanks Jo and Moon and Ryelle. I'm feeling better about this, even though it isn't great news.

I think I have just one more question...what should I do until I can get the revolution?
 
I don't know that you can do a whole lot without the revolution... no point in doing a big clean if the buggies are still on the rats....

Although I've heard grumblings of an olive oil treatment? Maybe someone else can shed light on that as I really don't know. I don't know if it's more for lice or mites or what.
 
I've come across that^. I think people do it to help check for lice. The lice will try and move away from the oil so it helps you see them moving. I don't think they serve much other purpose. Guess the rats will have to suffer until then, not that they won't be spoiled with food and cuddles.
 
hi, I just picked up a rescue mama rat and her 7 babies, ALL of which had lice!
The babies had them crawling all over them, and I wasn't sure what to do.
Shelagh/Lilspaz suggested olive oil treatment, since you can't give a nursing mama and teeny bubs revolution.

All I did was pour some olive oil into a dish, hold onto the rats, and drizzle the olive oil onto each of them. I used my fingers to drizzle, and than I rubbed in the oilive oil, soaking them down pretty good. The poor dears HATED it, and they were really sticky and greasy for some time, but it did suffocate the live lice, and hopefully if they return, i'll be able to treat them with revolution by then...

Any other questions regarding this method you certainly can PM me!

Good luck!
 
I think for 12 buggie ratties you are better off with the Cat Revolution not the Puppy/Kitten. They only sell uppy/kitten in 3 vials and each vial will barely do 3 rats, so its just not enough. The next one up should work well, and is the same concentration (60 mg/ml)
http://www.pets-megastore.com.au/produc ... ucts_id=77

don't feel badly, it happens, I have had lice through my colony twice now...
 

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