# 2 of our white rats have some kind of parasites



## RatLover78 (Aug 27, 2010)

They have been sraching at themselves, causing sores on them, and when my wife was playing with them some kind of tiny brown worms fell off them on her shirt. Does anyone know what it could be, and how we can get them treated without a vet? we called the closest vet that does rats, they said a visit for both would be over $200, we don't have anywhere close to that kind of money.


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

Sounds like lice.  Get some Ivermectin (Bimectin, Equimectrin, etc.) paste from a pet store. It's a dewormer sold for horses. Probably less than 10 bucks. Open the tube, stir it with a long stick, and give each (adult) rat a blob the size of a grain of uncooked white rice. Sanitize and clean the entire cage with the dose as it only kills adults and not the babies living in the bedding and such. Repeat the dose every week or so for 3 weeks minimum, cleaning the cage very well every time. If you're using a paper/wood bedding, be sure to freeze the bag for at least 24 hours before using it in your rat's cage to kill off any bugs that may be living in it. That's commonly where rats get lice/mites/other parasites from. 

http://ratguide.com/meds/anti-infectives/ivermectin.php


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## RatLover78 (Aug 27, 2010)

Thanks!We weren't sure what it could be because all the pictures of lice/mites I could find online looked like insects, not worms. My wife bought some UltraCare Flea & Tick Spray (active ingredientsyrethrins, Piperonyl Butoxide) would it be good enough to take care of lice or not? If woood and paper shedding can give my rats problems, what kind of shedding can I get that I wouldn't have to worry about parasites?


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## Spider (Mar 19, 2007)

Get the Ivermectin or substitute. The Rat eats the Ivermectin, it stays in the bloodstream, the parasite eats off the Rat and dies. 
I use towels and mats on the floors and ledges, and put an inch of Carefresh Ultra in the litter box.
My youngest Girl had some parasites, I dealt with it and haven't had a problem since.


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## RatLover78 (Aug 27, 2010)

I'm not sure I could get Ivermectin nearby, the link said it was made for Horses/Sheep.


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

I wouldnt risk using that flea and tick spray personally, I'm pretty sure they're poisonous, but someone else might know if it would work :-\

Yeah it's for horses/sheep, most generic pet stores sell it though










There's lice on my boy Miles. Squish 'em on a piece of paper, should be a bloody smear if they've been feeding on your rats.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Honestly I prefer Revolution as a treatment, soooo much safer overall, but you will need to get it from a vet or order it online with a prescription or order it from the many sites in AUS where you don't need a prescription. Revolution for puppy/kittens or even cat or dog is just one drop on the back of the neck, it absorbs into the bloodstream and is effective for 30 days. I find it kills the lice in hours. You WILL need to treat ALL your rats as they likely all have the lice in varying degrees.


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## RatLover78 (Aug 27, 2010)

Thanks everyone! I ordered Revolution for Puppies, the shipping will take 1 to 2 weeks, will my rats be ok until it gets here?


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

RatLover78 said:


> Thanks everyone! I ordered Revolution for Puppies, the shipping will take 1 to 2 weeks, will my rats be ok until it gets here?


You could give them some relief by drowning those buggers in oil. You literally coat your rat in olive oil...not pleasant for you or the rats but it kills the biting adults and will make them feel better until the next batch of eggs hatch into adults. Hopefully by then you revolution will be there.


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## RatLover78 (Aug 27, 2010)

Ok, thanks!


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## RatLover78 (Aug 27, 2010)

Can someone please list some printable websites that have info on rat lice? Everyone local that my wife talks to keeps telling her that rat lice are catchable by humans and they have to be put down! Even vets and aninmal control! There telling her that it's maggots, without saying what kind of maggots! someone please help!


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## hshelton (Feb 23, 2010)

People cannot get lice from rats. I don't have any links with any info right now but I can look. And if it looks like a worm then it could be maggots. Lice do not look like worms at all. 

http://www.mendosa.com/maggot.jpg
^maggot

http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/course/ent425/text18/head_louse.jpg
^louse


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## hshelton (Feb 23, 2010)

http://ratguide.com/health/integumentary_skin/ectoparasites.php 
Here's a link on lice and mites.


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## RatLover78 (Aug 27, 2010)

Some very sad news. Our 2 white rats started to breath heavy and chirped instead of squeeked. We couldn't afford a vet visit, so we had to give them to the local animal shelter. Hopefully they will be able to get their URI and parasite infestation taken care of and find some good homes. 

Thankfully our other 2 rats that we kept seprate from the 2 white rats are doing just fine.


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## RatLover78 (Aug 27, 2010)

More sad news, my wife called the animal shelter vet and they had to put the 2 white rats 2 sleep. They said that they were 7 years old, they did have tape worms, but the spray and the bath that my wife gave them got rid of the tape worms,. They put them to sleep because of their age/severe URI/ they were so heavy that the vet called them obese. I just wish that I found this forum earlier. The vet said they were well taken care of and obviously loved, and that we gave them a good home.

Their names were Salty and Sugar.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

rats do not live til 7 years old (that is the age of the oldest rat in the Guiness book of world records).

IF your rats had tapeworms they got it from infected food but more commonly from cat litter boxes, do you have cats?

Rat lice is NOT contagious to humans, it is species specific.

I am sorry for your loss, but if you cannot take these rats to the vet for a URI, you had better start saving up for a vet fund for your 2 remaining rats as they WILL need to go to a vet sooner or later.


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## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

7?!
My oldest rat was 3.5 and he was ancient.


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

Rats VERY rarely live to seven years. And shelters should not put down animals because they are obese, have a parasite infection and a URI! 


   ???

Thats very sad to hear the outcome for Salty and Sugar, but I think you would know if they were that old. They would of looked like old men, thinning hair, thinning waist lines, muscle wastage etc. All they needed were to be treated with Revoultion and then given a course of baytril and doxy.


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

7 years old is pretty much impossible for a domestic rat to live. That's absolutely ridiculous and just proves your vet really had no idea what they were talking about. Surrendering to the shelter is probably the worst thing you could've done for them. Some shelters really have NO tolerance for sick animals and wouldn't hesitate to euthanize a dog at so much of a sneeze. You had some serious responsibility to care for these rats, which obviously you couldn't do. If you don't have enough money to take your rats to a qualified vet when they need it, you should seriously reconsider having pets at the moment. If your wife did give them that spray, against my word, then she likely contributed to their sickness - that stuff is bad bad bad for rats. An unfortunate fate for the two "white rats" you couldn't even give genders that sounds like it could have been prevented. Terrible.


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## Kinsey (Jun 14, 2009)

I agree with Jaguar, this is just sickening. You need to get rid of your other two rats before you cause them the same amount of misery, it's just not fair. The two "white rats" could have been saved, but of course, you were too lazy to go buy a couple of medications to treat your pets, so you got them killed. Yes, it's your fault they died, the shelter sucks, but you gave them the rats, knowing full well what would happen. UGH, people like you. >.<


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## RatLover78 (Aug 27, 2010)

Those were the resons and age that the animal shelter told us after my wife called them to see how the rats were doing. Our 2 rats that we have left are healthy. And yes we are going to save up a vet fund for them and will be getting them health insurane. If we knew that there was a chance that they would have been put to sleep we NEVER would have given them up!
And we were not too lazy to get them medicine, I had already ordered the medicine for the parasites online, but we noticed that they were having a hard time breathing, and all the local vets said that a visit would cost $70+$50 for parasite meds+ $50 for antibiotic meds minimum each = $340 for both. We did not have anywhere near that much money at that time,so we gave them to the animal shelter thinking that they would get treated and found good homes. And yes my wife gave them the flea and tick spray as soon as she got home before I could post that she got it here, I told her not to use it again, even though on the bottle it said it was for rats. And why did anyone think that we did not know what sex our rats are? The 2 white rats were female, and the 2 we have left are female. I didn't post their sex because I didn't think that would matter with parasites and URI.


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

At this point I would contact the shelter and tell them you are VERY unhappy with the outcome. It sounds like they fed you nonsense (that no licensed vet would say) as an excuse to why they would not give the rats a chance. Those rats should not of been put to sleep with how easily treatable their ailments were.


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