so one of my guys has been scratching alot on his back, ive frozen everything for 72 hours before ive put it in his cage, and i only bath him with water and a super soft toothbrush, but now the skin on his back looks pink and irritated the hair is also falling out rather quickly, my guy is 4 months old..but im getting really worried..his energy seems down and i dont no what it could be, if he has mites or something would they be visible because ive looked all over his body very carefully and i dont see anything other than redness..hes still very kissy and lovely but hes itchy..any ideas??
losing hair
- Thread starter jiley506
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sausage4ever
Well-Known Member
He probably has mites, you can't see them...I'm taking my boy in tomorrow to the vets to get meds to treat the lot as I already tried treating them here and it didn't do anything.
Ivermectin and although you can get it at a feed store in a paste, I still prefer the liquid form administered by my vet.
If he is walking around, I suggest you do alot of vacuuming as mites do leave their host after feeding. Once your vet gives the ivermectin, it will stay in his system for 7 - 10 days so any adult mites that bite will die. The treatment will need to be repeated 3 times as the life cycle of a mite is 30 days on average.
Good luck, mites are nasty!
If he is walking around, I suggest you do alot of vacuuming as mites do leave their host after feeding. Once your vet gives the ivermectin, it will stay in his system for 7 - 10 days so any adult mites that bite will die. The treatment will need to be repeated 3 times as the life cycle of a mite is 30 days on average.
Good luck, mites are nasty!
emerson
Well-Known Member
Nope, it's not injectable. It's a topical solution I believe! Mites are basically invisible to the eye so it sounds like that's what he has. Does he have any scabs around his neck?
Not yet but the redness and hair loss only started today..hes just been scratching like crazy , i did notice little brownish spots on him though, i feel so bad!! as soon as i noticed i started balling my eyes out, but im going to take him to the vet tomoro, but i havnt been able to find one that has any expertise in rats in my area, so i wanna make sure i no what to expect..cuz i dont want them hurting him, or doing unnecessary treatments that could harm him!
Liquid Ivermectin in Oral form 
It sounds like the brown spots could be blood from all the scratching. Mites are NOT visible by the human eye and my vet does a skin scrape to confirm it is in fact mites. If your little guy has lice, you will be able to see them, but you have to move the fur around with your finger and look quickly as they are speedy. With lice you will see "pepper" looking things near the skin, which will be the lice poop but to me it sounds like mites.
It sounds like the brown spots could be blood from all the scratching. Mites are NOT visible by the human eye and my vet does a skin scrape to confirm it is in fact mites. If your little guy has lice, you will be able to see them, but you have to move the fur around with your finger and look quickly as they are speedy. With lice you will see "pepper" looking things near the skin, which will be the lice poop but to me it sounds like mites.
I don't know what they have in BC but here in Ontario some pet stores carry a spray product called "shower bath" which will kill any adults and stop the biting but it does sting when you put it on. If your going tomorrow, I would just leave it. In another 12-24 hours the treatment will start and he'll be on his way. Once you start treatment, keep in mind he will continue to scratch for the next 2 days or so as the mites still have to feed in order to die.
When did your boyfriend let him walk outside, cause it normally takes 3-4 weeks before you notice hair loss from mites: therefore, he may have had them for awhile. If you have more than 1 rat, you MUST treat them all.
When did your boyfriend let him walk outside, cause it normally takes 3-4 weeks before you notice hair loss from mites: therefore, he may have had them for awhile. If you have more than 1 rat, you MUST treat them all.
lilangel
Well-Known Member
you can also get Revolution for kittens and puppies by the vet and only needs one treatment
http://ratguide.com/meds/anti-infective ... lution.php
http://ratguide.com/meds/anti-infective ... lution.php
He let him walk around outside i think about 3 weeks ago, he just confessed to it now, when i called him at work crying about mites lol, i didnt realize he had let him, so i just figured he was itchy so i bathed him regularly and kept my eye on him..but over the past couple of days he started losing his hair (thats not normal right?) i can pretty much just pinch his hair lightly and a bunch comes out, poor Hank!!
From my experience with mites, and I've had many with mice, it sounds like that is what you are dealing with. It seems dead on, it takes approximately 3-4 weeks before the fur starts to fall out.
I have used revolution to prevent but never to treat so make sure you get the proper dosage to apply if you go that route. I'm sure someone on the forum can help you with that if your vet doesn't know.
I have used revolution to prevent but never to treat so make sure you get the proper dosage to apply if you go that route. I'm sure someone on the forum can help you with that if your vet doesn't know.
Leala
Well-Known Member
Sometimes a bath in olive oil helps to relieve the itching and can "drown" the mites, but it's only a temporary solution.
Well im gunna take him in first thing in the morning, do i really need to get a skin scrapping (could they tell me that day if he has them or would i have to wait for results?) or can i just say, looks hes obviously got mites, lets treat it now, the treatment wont harm him at right so lets just do it.. hes energy is really really down today, he wont play or anything he seems very uncomfortable, but its kinda sudden, i think im gunna go with the ivermectin because it will work for sure, i just dont want him suffering anymore i wish i would have known sooner, i feel like sucha bad mom :doh:
Leala
Well-Known Member
Skin scrapings often are ineffective in rats and can be VERY PAINFUL for your furry friend.
I'd advise against it. Get the ivermectin and treat him with that. Use the olive oil to help with the itching as well.
I'd advise against it. Get the ivermectin and treat him with that. Use the olive oil to help with the itching as well.
Leala
Well-Known Member
jiley506 said:
I doubt it, just go in be like. "My rat has mites I need ivermectin"
