Rat Mites?

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rattietatties

rattietatties

Member
Joined
Jul 26, 2019
Messages
23
Location
Schaumburg, Illinois
So today during free range with my rats i noticed one of my rats was itching a lot and when i picked him up he had small little red marks all around his body. At this point i was freaking out and after searching around the internet I found a forum about mites. The images sort of looked like what the rat had so I went to go find treatments. I did contact the vet and while doing that i found people recommending Revolution and moxidectin (Is that how you spell it?) Though the vet hasn't replied I wonder if they will just want me to bring them in for treatment even if there are easier (and cheaper options). I feel like such a terrible person seeing as these marks were quite populated on his skin and i failed to notice this prior to today. Hopefully i can learn from this mistake and treat whatever he has. I was wondering if anyone had any other recommendations on treatment methods as well as possible causes (Could it be their bedding? i currently use Yesterdays News cat litter) if anyone has any tips on if i should like totally clean out their cage and scrub everything too that would be helpful! (Sorry for any typos)
 
Can the mites live off of the rat? I cleaned the free range blankets last night but I’m not sure if I should do anything with the stuff in the cage. My other boy is hairless and hasn’t show any signs of scratching or scabs so I wasn’t sure of it could be contracted to them or if i should still treat him?
 
I was doing a little more research on this and I was wondering if it could be allergies? It’s like little red scabs/cuts around the back of his shoulders. He gets yogurt drops so it could maybe be a dairy allergy. I don’t have time to go the vet for another week at least so I might try to wait that time to see if it dies down if I don’t give him the yogurt drops
 
It does sound like classic mites and nakies not having fur don't seem to get them. Revolution is always my choice for treatment. I also advise freezing your YN for 48 hrs before use to kill off stowaways. Revolution let's in the bloodstream up to a month which is longer than the life cycle of the mites
 
Okay thank you! I don’t know if I have a way to be able to freeze the bedding so I might switch them back to fleece. Should I still treat the hairless one or is it pointless cause he can’t get the mites?
 
Is there anything else it could be? I don’t want to treat him for something he doesn’t have. Sorry for all the questions but do you think it would be cheaper to get it from the vet or from the UK of AU with shipping fees.
 
what you described is almost always due to parasites so it is treated with revolution.
You will need to look into costs to find out which option is the least expensive. Also consider how long it will take to get the revolution because your rats are suffering.
 
So I’m under 18 and live with my parents. My dad says we should wait a bit to see what it is and doesn’t seem to concerned. I’m literally sitting in the bathroom crying cause I hate that he’s suffering. I’m supposed to go to my grandmothers on Monday and my dads says wait till we get back but I don’t think he understands this at all. I hate myself for not noticing sooner and I just really want him to be okay.
 
Honestly this is such a small thing that could be easily fixed by me talking to my dad but I just can’t. He and his brother are my first rats and I’ve never felt so attached to an animal in my life and I’m scared that he’s suffering cause my dad wants to wait for he vet or something (they don’t have available doctors till Monday)
 
Okay I worked up the guts and talked to my parents. Since no vets are available till Monday I’ll call then and try to get an appointment in. Is their anything I can do till then to help with the mites? Also would the hairless one need treatment?
 
Glad that you will be contacting a vet on Monday.
Try to find a good vet with the experience and knowledge to treat rats. You will want to get kitten revolution.
This link may be helpful as it contains a lot of info, including dose http://ratguide.com/meds/anti-infectives/selamectin_revolution.php
Ratgude.com is a vet approved medical site for rat owners and quite reliable - you vet may find the information useful
Your boy is being bitten and is itchy but not in pain …. and please don't blame yourself, owning pets involves learning and being observant …. now you know and next time you will catch it earlier.

If you are going to your grandmothers for the day then make sure they have at least 2 sources of water in the cage, along with food. If you will be longer then the day (ie several hours) then you will want to take them with you or else have someone check on them twice a day to make sure they have food, lots of clean water, are not too hot, and are not ill.
 
Thank you so much for all the help. My dad will be watching them while I’m gone though I might not go depending on how I feel. Hopefully he will get better soon. I think ill change their bedding back to fleece but I’m not sure depending on if I have the capabilities to freeze the YN. Again thank you for all the help you have provided.
 
Many of use fleece, cotton baby blankets, paper, or unscented paper based bedding ……. and also use a unscented paper based kitty litter such as yesterdays news in their litter boxes. Some [people make or buy cage liners.

I freeze small amounts of unscented yesterdays news at a time. I also freeze bags of bedding in the winter by leaving it in the truck of the car
 
That’s what I’m going to do from now on. I have a bass pan so I didn’t want it to go to waste so I’m planning on using paper bedding in the bottom and fleece for the shelves. When they were on YN they didn’t have a litter box but to put it to good use I’ll probably try litter training them. Hopefully the rattie will be all better soon after we go to the vet tomorrow
 
rattietatties said:
I was doing a little more research on this and I was wondering if it could be allergies? It’s like little red scabs/cuts around the back of his shoulders. He gets yogurt drops so it could maybe be a dairy allergy. I don’t have time to go the vet for another week at least so I might try to wait that time to see if it dies down if I don’t give him the yogurt drops
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Scabs on upper back and shoulders are classic sign of mites. Treat with Revolution (or Stronghold, which is European marketed Revolution, exact same product but obtainable without a prescription) or Ivermectin ( 1.87% Horse dewormer paste), but many formal forums discourage this method because the paste is highly concentrated, may not be mixed well (which is dangerous), and must be dosed at the correct amount (uncooked grain of rice-sized amount) once a week for 3 weeks, which is more involved that Revolution, which is dosed just one time. Either way, you must also thoroughly clean their cage and any belongings you want to keep. I recommend tossing out all disposable items, especially any cardboard boxes, and washing all fleece, etc. Lastly, they will continue to scratch for awhile even after the mites are gone ( with Ivermectin, my rats' mites are immediately dead, but the scabs are still itchy) to alleviate any itching from healing scabs. Good luck.
 
rattietatties said:
So the appointment for my rats is in two hours and I was wondering if they’re was anything I should ask the vet while I’m there
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Yea, ask him why my big boy keeps getting recurring scabs like mite symptom scabs, even though I have treated him (and the others) repeatedly with both Revolution and Ivermectin (at different times). I also comb out the scabs and apply bacitracin, put him on oral antibiotics, and keep his cage clean as can be. But every time I have cleared him of any scabs, after a week or so he starts breaking back out with little raised bumps of dead skin that eventually build until he scratches them off or I comb them off, and then I'm committed and restart the various treatments. Oh, and you don't have to ask your vet if you don't want to,vim just frustrated and at my wit's end.
 
Rocket99 said:
Yea, ask him why my big boy keeps getting recurring scabs like mite symptom scabs, even though I have treated him (and the others) repeatedly with both Revolution and Ivermectin (at different times). I also comb out the scabs and apply bacitracin, put him on oral antibiotics, and keep his cage clean as can be. But every time I have cleared him of any scabs, after a week or so he starts breaking back out with little raised bumps of dead skin that eventually build until he scratches them off or I comb them off, and then I'm committed and restart the various treatments. Oh, and you don't have to ask your vet if you don't want to,vim just frustrated and at my wit's end.
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Why don't you ask your vet.
Or post the info plus pictures on the facebook group Real Rat Lovers Want To Know as there is at least 1 vet on there
 

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