Hi all, new here. Would appreciate any thoughts on this.
I started my first rat colony a month ago with about a dozen adults/sub adults. There are also now ~50 pups of various ages. Doing great on that front.
Unfortunately one of my starter males turned out to have mites. He was the only one with a visible issue (crusty ears, small scabs on head). I fed him off, but needed to treat the rest of the colony.
After a lot of research here/elsewhere, I decided to go with Frontline spray, since it would be ok on the pups and pregnant/nursing females. A few people suggested waiting 30 days before feeding any treated rats off, but now others are saying 60 days, or even to cull the treated babies outright since fipronil (active ingredient) lasts for ages absorbed in the skin/hair of the rats.
Now I’m not sure what to think. What have you done when your colony got mites? Should I wait 30 days? 60? Should I cull and dispose of this entire batch of pups to be safe? I’d hate to do it, but the health of my reptiles comes first, and I’d like to sell my surplus one day so I can’t risk having contaminated stock.
What would you do?
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