Rodent Mites?

Last night I noticed some very tiny red(?) mites on one of the baby rats. I am sure I picked these up from pet store feeders that I bought and kept for breeding. What's the best way to safely get rid of them?

Thanks

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Originally Posted by Rapture

Last night I noticed some very tiny red(?) mites on one of the baby rats. I am sure I picked these up from pet store feeders that I bought and kept for breeding. What's the best way to safely get rid of them?

Thanks

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Most mites are black/brown...could they be chiggers? Anyway use P.A.M. to get rid of them it will work on just about all bugs equally well.

Yeah they could possibly be chiggers. I'll have to treat everything this weekend...

Uh NO, NO PAM... If you treat the bedding, like normal, they will undoubtedly ingest some of that spray and poison themselves.

Get some horse ivermectin paste from the feed store, 1.87%($5-$6 and treats up to a 1200lb horse), and give them an uncooked grain of rice sized dose once daily for 3 weeks, and keep those enclosures clean. It will also help get rid of any internal parasites they may have, and they will be healthier in the long run(being able to absorb their food they eat).\

Tropical rat mites/lice are both red and tineeensy.

If they came from the place I'm thinking.... I had the same thing show up when I brought Virgil home... I hit him w/ Ivo like Becky said... never had another problem! :D

It's easy to overdose on Ivermectin, use Frontline spray instead.
This is very topical for me, because this weekend we found lice on the rats that we keep at my vet clinic. We took a tape sample and looked it under the microscope and confirmed the presence of the mouse louse. They are sortof clear, but look red when full of blood. I'm not sure how long we had them, but when the white babies were born, the lice became very visible.

We sprayed the adults with a half-pump of Frontline spray, and then (wearing latex gloves) I sprayed my hands and then rubbed each baby. I also sprayed the bedding lightly and mixed it up. There were no visible lice the following day. Frontline is great stuff, much safer and without the neurotoxic side effects of pyrethrins or ivermectin.

I've had some bad luck with topical sprays, so I think I will go the ivermectin route.

I don't really look forward to watching more animals lick topical stuff off their fur and foam at the mouth/vomit.

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

Uh NO, NO PAM... If you treat the bedding, like normal, they will undoubtedly ingest some of that spray and poison themselves.

Get some horse ivermectin paste from the feed store, 1.87%($5-$6 and treats up to a 1200lb horse), and give them an uncooked grain of rice sized dose once daily for 3 weeks, and keep those enclosures clean. It will also help get rid of any internal parasites they may have, and they will be healthier in the long run(being able to absorb their food they eat).\

Tropical rat mites/lice are both red and tineeensy.

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This must be your opinion. I have been using pyrethin based sprays for my rats for years with out issue. I even have a horse sprayer in my rat room (garage) that automatically sprays a pyrethin based mist to make sure I never have ANY bug issues.

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Originally Posted by slartibartfast

It's easy to overdose on Ivermectin, use Frontline spray instead.
This is very topical for me, because this weekend we found lice on the rats that we keep at my vet clinic. We took a tape sample and looked it under the microscope and confirmed the presence of the mouse louse. They are sortof clear, but look red when full of blood. I'm not sure how long we had them, but when the white babies were born, the lice became very visible.

We sprayed the adults with a half-pump of Frontline spray, and then (wearing latex gloves) I sprayed my hands and then rubbed each baby. I also sprayed the bedding lightly and mixed it up. There were no visible lice the following day. Frontline is great stuff, much safer and without the neurotoxic side effects of pyrethrins or ivermectin.

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Frontline is a big no no...the active ingredient is Fipronil which has been proven to cause neurological issues in rats.

Well I guess I have a few things to consider then...