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...

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Originally Posted by Rapture

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

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Here is a great article written by a RVT for the Rat and Mouse Club...should give you a lot of info on the different mites/ticks/lice that affect mice and rats and shows that either ivermectin or pyrithrin will work.

For what it is worth my recommendation for PAM is based on the time it take to use ivermectin. Sure for 1 or 2 feeding them meds every day for 3 weeks is fine...but if you are breeding you have to feed ALL of them (because mites travel) EVERY day for 3 weeks...way to much work.

Good Luck

http://www.rmca.org/Articles/bugs.htm

I'd go ask Ralph Davis(I believe it was him) what happened to his rats when he used PAM in the bedding. Yay death and seizures!

And heaven forbid someone take 5 minutes out of the day to treat the animals with very low dose ivermectin(it's 1.87% for the WHOLE tube.. come on) and prevent a very big problem. You can also use Kitten Revolution, but you'll need to weigh the animals so the dose is accurate.

Rats should be quarantined anyway if brought in from an outside source. There are so many different viruses/bacteria they can carry and pass on, it's just not worth the risk.

But ya know.. maybe I'm an RVT for nothin' ;)

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

I'd go ask Ralph Davis(I believe it was him) what happened to his rats when he used PAM in the bedding. Yay death and seizures!

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If pyrithrin were really the cause then we would have more proof of it. Especially amoung the rat and mouse group...not to mention that pyrithrin FDA testing first occured with rats and I cannot find any negative chemical reports to show it isn't safe....but then I am also not saying you should spray so much that the bedding is damp either.

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

And heaven forbid someone take 5 minutes out of the day to treat the animals with very low dose ivermectin(it's 1.87% for the WHOLE tube.. come on) and prevent a very big problem. You can also use Kitten Revolution, but you'll need to weigh the animals so the dose is accurate.

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Correction it is a grain size amount for EVERY rat in the same area (Not just the tub). He has a litter so maybe 10-12 to try and feed every day...who will very quickly become spastic as they grow. Assuming he doesn't have any others to worry about. 5 minutes per day yea right.

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

Rats should be quarantined anyway if brought in from an outside source. There are so many different viruses/bacteria they can carry and pass on, it's just not worth the risk.

But ya know.. maybe I'm an RVT for nothin' ;)

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Agree 100%

Being an RVT doesn't mean that pyrithrin is dangerous like I said I have been using it for 10 years on rats without any issues.

But to each his/her;) own.

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Originally Posted by lord jackel

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

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My vet looked it up on VIN. I know it's not safe for rabbits, but the concensus on VIN was that it was okay for rats. :)

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Originally Posted by slartibartfast

My vet looked it up on VIN. I know it's not safe for rabbits, but the concensus on VIN was that it was okay for rats. :)

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What is VIN?:confused:

Here is where I found the info on Fipronil something called the National Pesticide Telecommunication Network.

http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/fipronil.pdf

Veterinary Information Network

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

Veterinary Information Network

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Thanks:)

just to weigh in very lightly here, i saw what i thought might be lice on one rat in my colony. i took becky's advice and treated every rat with an uncooked grain of rice sized dose (a little less for babies/juvies) of ivermectin every day for 3 weeks. we're talking about approximately 20 adults plus 2-3 litters of babies. it really wasn't that big of a deal--probably 10 minutes max each time. there have since been no signs of any lice/parasites/etc. all rats are healthy, reproducing and doing well--it has been several months--totally worth it to ensure parasite-free ratties. :)

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Originally Posted by lord jackel

What is VIN?:confused:

Here is where I found the info on Fipronil something called the National Pesticide Telecommunication Network.

http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/fipronil.pdf

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That's a good info sheet, but the toxicity in rats was when exposed to the pure (or nearly so) product at 96.5%.

The spray contains 0.29% fipronil.

I can't think of any commercial insecticide that isn't pretty darn toxic at high concentrations. I suppose you just have to pick what you're comfortable with. If any of the kiddos seem sick in the next few days, I'll bring it up. This does beg the question of whether I should feed them to the snakes though, as that was to be the eventual destiny of the babies.

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Originally Posted by slartibartfast

This does beg the question of whether I should feed them to the snakes though, as that was to be the eventual destiny of the babies.

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Now this is a great question and I would love it if someone has some real information on it...but we do all this stuff to take care of the "food" but what issues are we creating for the snake?