Provent-a-mite on rodents?

I was doing a little research on this myself and came across the following information from http://www.cababstractsplus.org/goog...No=20053170966

English Title: Use of permethrin eradicated the tropical rat mite (Ornithonyssus bacoti) from a colony of mutagenized and transgenic mice.
Personal Authors: Hill, W. A., Mandrell, T. D., Randolph, M. M., Boyd, K. L.
Author Affiliation: Department of Comparative Medicine, College of Medicine, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee, USA.
Document Title: Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Animal Science, 2005 (Vol. 44) (No. 5) 31-34

Abstract:

The tropical rat mite, Ornithonyssus bacoti, was identified in a colony of mutagenized and transgenic mice at a large academic institution. O. bacoti is an obligate, blood-feeding ectoparasite with an extensive host range. Although the source of the infestation was likely feral rodents, none were found in the room housing infested mice. We hypothesize that construction on the floor above the vivarium and compromised ceiling integrity within the animal room provided for vermin entry and subsequent O. bacoti infestation. O. bacoti infestation was eliminated by environmental decontamination with synthetic pyrethroids and weekly application of 7.4% permethrin-impregnated cotton balls to mouse caging for five consecutive weeks. Visual examination of the macroenvironment, microenvironment, and colony for 38 days confirmed the efficacy of treatment. We noted no treatment-related toxicities or effects on colony production.

Publisher: American Association for Laboratory Animal Science

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TekWarren

~rise up oh dead topic!~

I was wondering the same thing as the OP about POM and rodents. I've stopped my in-house rodent breeding for a time to re-think/organize how I want to do it. Anyway I've started buying rodents from a women who runs a pet store. At first things went pretty good and the animals looked healthy but the last couple times not so good. I usually keep the rodents for a week or so especially this time because they where just not clean. I keep them in tubs and give them as much food/water as they want. This last batch of mice is looking even better visually over night.

Backup to yesterday...being that I'm not a bit nervous with the quality of the live rodents (they are fed pre-killed) I wondered if I could treat their fresh bedding with POM so I did some searching. I found this on Ralph Davis's website in the first page of search hits:



In that last line "everything" does NOT include the rodents he was treating.

Reading this was enough to convince me...I have POM in my herp supplies so I treated the bedding. I gave it a lite spray in each tub (rats/mice) I then agitated the bedding to "mix it up" and each tub got some drying time outside.

Already yesterday evening I had a mouse in bad shape I would guess nerve/neurological damage as he was leaning heavily to the side...practically laying over. When attempting movement it was more or less in a circle and could not get to food or water...I took his misery away. I noticed he had some bite/chew marks under the tail close to the base of the spine also.

Now today I have another mouse who is showing similiar signs of leaning over and and while CAN still get to food and water walks in the same cicular pattern but not as bad as the one I found yesterday. This mouse was seperated with easy to reach food and water for observation.

Now I'm worried if its the POM doing this?? Or severe inbreeding which takes pretty deep in-breeding I had thought? OR something related to the conditions at the shop I purchased them from. At this point the other remaining mice are fine. The rat tub was treated in the same manor as I said but I have not seen any of them having issues.

I'm thinking I will dump the bedding to be safe? I've raised mice for years but this one of the few times I have done any sort of "treatment" and the first time with POM. Would it affect them this quickly? One nearly dead in just a few hours and another looking that way the next day? I did not pick the mice nor inspect them aside from putting them into my own containers when I picked them up but that would not have been long enough to see these signs.

Any suggestions, comments, or experiences?

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POM? whats that....you mean PAM

Holy double thread necromancy batman!

The last post before the one you quoted was in 2005, the last one before you posted to quote it was from 2007.

Using the search button you have been. :ninja:


dr del