Lice?

[Piper]

So, I was trying to snuggle with my wiggle worms yesterday, and I noticed that one of my rats had dandruff on his back, and so I was playing around with his fur, and noticed that there was a bunch of red dots. I thought it was buck grease or something, till I noticed some of these dots were moving...

Are these lice? Fleas?

All of my babies got baths in vegetable oil, then in Dawn soap today and yesterday, and after the first bath, I didn't see any movement.

I've cleaned their cage and moved them downstairs from my room and put all their toys in the wash or outside (it's currently in the single digits) for 24 hours.

Am I doing the right thing? I really can't afford to take them to the vet, otherwise I would have done so yesterday.

 

[SQ]

wash everything and freeze anything that can not be washed - such as wooden things
btw always freeze new bedding for 48 to 732 hours after purchase to kill any parasites in it

olive oil may help by smothering and bugs
but for long term treatment I believe you will need to treat them with kitten revolution (see link below - esp read re rats ill, underweight, or less then 5 weeks old, etc)
amount of meds that rats get depends on the strength of the med (mg/ml) and the weight of the rat
so a digital scale with a tare function is an important tool for rat owners
http://ratguide.com/health/integumentary_skin/ectoparasites.php
http://ratguide.com/meds/anti-infectives/selamectin_revolution.php

You will need to build up a vet account ($300 per rat) or get a credit card as rats are expensive pets and when they get ill they can not wait to see a vet and to get meds