Crawling things! I'm soooo pissed

[Jay_Bunny]

I took my little rat buddy, Monk over to my mothers house to let her see him while I went grocery shopping through her pantry. She asked if I'd go to the petstore to pick up some dog food for her and I took Monk with me. While at the store one my friends who works there was looking very closely at him and said he had fleas. Upon closer inspection we found out they might not be fleas as they do not move like fleas and don't look like fleas. The lady at the vet there (not sure if she was a vet or not) said she wasn't sure without looking at them under a microscope and the vet office was technically closed. She said to give him a warm bath and whatever they are might drown and then to take him to a vet asap. Well I work tomorrow and the vet is closed on Sundays so the soonest I could get him in would be Monday. I could possibly take some pictures of what he has but I prolly wont get a good pic because my camera sucks and he won't sit still. Oh and when I got home I looked at Kasper and Nibble and they both have it too.

Any advice? Monk is literally covered in these things and I'm really worried about him, and pissed at the store where I got him. While I did get him from a feeder bin, he shouldn't be covered in parasites. I plan on going there and saying something to the people that work there. They are nice guys and very helpful but I won't stand for parasite infested animals, even if they are feeders.

[Nate]

It sounds like Mites.

[Jay_Bunny]

What can I do for mites? Would a bath work? I got some tick/flea spray for small mammals but he's so little I'm afraid to use any of it on him and the girls.

[hoo-t]

I'm with Nate. Sounds like mites. Unlike snake mites, rat mites can and will bite YOU! A lot like a mosquito bite, but worse I think.

You can treat the rat enclosures with Provent-A-Mite the same as you would for snakes. Also, you can get flea and tick spray for rodents. If its not available for rodents, get the stuff for birds (not quite as strong as the rodent stuff). Make sure it uses pyrethrins for the active ingredient. The one I use is UltraCare Flea & Tick Spray (8in1). The rodent spray has .06% Pyrethrins. Spray it directly on the animal. Between this and the Provent-A-Mite, you can get rid of the mites pretty quickly. Treat the bedding with PAM before each cage cleaning. A couple weeks should do it.

Mites can and will kill your rat! You need to get rid of them as quick as you can!

edit: just saw your post about what to do. I use this method with everything from adult rats to pinky mice with no ill effects (besides to the mites).

Steve

[Jay_Bunny]

The babies are only two and half weeks old. Will the flea/tick spray hurt them? I don't have any PAM. Where could I find some. I've never seen it at the petstore.

The spray I have is 0.06% Pyrethrins

[Nate]

Yep Steve said it

Provent-a-Mite (PAM)

[littleindiangirl]

You can use frontline for cats, put a small small drop between their shoulder blades. I again cant remember the name of the other proven flea and tick spray. Michelle C said it in the other flea thread in feeders by Munding.

[littleindiangirl]

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=61132

[Jay_Bunny]

Darn! Somewhere I have a thing of Revolution but unfortunatly its for adult cats. I could stop by the vet and pick some up (its the only place I know of to go for that stuff) but its really expensive. Provent-a-Mite is a good idea but ordering it off line might take a while to get. I can go to the store where I bought them and see if they have any PAM there. If they do I'll get some from them (and they better do it for free too. )

[littleindiangirl]

Just make sure everything is completely dry before you put the rats back in, I wouldnt want them to get any flare ups in their respiratory system.

I remember reading here about using frontline on pinks and such. Since they are so young, you may be able to get away with using the adult cat stuff (not really sure), and dipping your finger in it rubbing your hands together and lightly going over their fur. Don't quote me on that.

edit: Found the thread! http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ine#post641437