# Revolution dosages



## Asteria (Jul 6, 2016)

I have treated my rats with a very small dosage of kitten revolution to treat a lice problem, it's been a week and while it significantly helped in the first few days it didn't kill all of them and now they seem to have come back. I can visibly see them as small brownish-red dots in their fur. Is it okay to go ahead and treat them again? I don't want to wait a month in fear that it will get worst.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

It's actually pretty hard to overdose, I can't exactly remember where but there was a chart somewhere on line that said that revolution was tested on rats and the lethal dosage was pretty outrageous, as in a massive overdose...

I've done two treatments a week apart for mites and no harm was done...

So I'd say best guess, unless you massively overdosed the first time that a couple to a few more drops shouldn't hurt. Just make sure they actually get onto the skin.


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## LilysPets (Jul 1, 2016)

Were the doses done correctly to your rat's weight? 

When I used to work in a vet clinic, I remember my co-workers explaining to me that these treatments should not be over dosed. I cannot remember the chemical name at the top of my head as it's very late at night right now, but too much of it can be harmful. 

It has only been a week, which isn't very long to kill all the pests, actually. I would give it more time to settle and do its job. If the lice problem is very bad, it could take longer than a week to treat. If you wish to bathe your rats to help get rid of the lice, it is safe to do so and will not affect the effectiveness of the Revolution. If you see the marks on your rats' skin, it's most likely the droppings. 

Are you also properly cleaning your home and the cage? Such as the appropriate spray/cleaner. It is just as important to keep up with the cleaning of your own home, especially the area your little guys are most exposed and contact with, when getting rid of these annoying pests. You can treat your pets for as long as you can, but it won't solve the problem if the environment itself isn't inhabitable for them. 

Where did you get your revolution? If you didn't get it from your vet, whom should've given you the correct dose for your furbabies, check to make sure that it didn't expire. 

Hope this helped!


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

According to the product safety sheet the lethal dosage for rats is greater than 1600 mg/kg if consumed orally... 

The blue tube contains only 45 mg total... 

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

So how many drops or rather tubes applied topically would be required to kill 1 lb rat? I'll leave the precise math up to someone else. Likely the alcohol is the most toxic component if swallowed and that's at >2000 mg/kg, there's more of it in the tube. The Butylated hydroxytoluene is a bit more toxic at 890 mg/kg but we don't know how much is actually in the vile... 

Link to safety sheet

http://aycardovetcenter.com/downloads/RevolutionMSDS.pdf

I'm sure that there is a point below lethal that may do some harm, but the lethal dose should give you some idea of how safe revolution is.

But the low toxicity is what's so great about Revolution. 

Seriously, I've used the same dose on mice as rats and mice are a lot smaller... 

I'm not recommending that anyone use lethal levels of Revolution or anything close. Less medication is always better, but when in doubt whether enough reached the skin.... one or two more drops shouldn't do any harm. Don't take my word for it... read the information I've linked for yourself and do your own math.


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## Paul_Julian (Oct 31, 2011)

In EU we use Revolution too ( as Stronghold). One drop a month. Dont use more medicine, instead brush your rattie's fur or wet them with wet cloth ( if it's warm)


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## Asteria (Jul 6, 2016)

The doses were calculated by my vet, but I've used Revolution on mice before and I feel as if the dosage she suggested may have been too small. Generally in the past Revolution acted pretty fast to kill parasites, but maybe with lice it takes a little longer? 

Their cage is cleaned every 3 days and I use a pet grade disinfectant. Their fleece is washed in extremely hot water and their toys are also cleaned every 3 days so their environment is always very clean which should mean they won't become hosts again after I wipe them all out.
Will bathing them make the lice bite or increase discomfort? My boys despise baths so I don't want to stress them out because they are very prone to myco flare ups. 
I'll maybe consult with my vet again, I don't think another treatment will lead to overdose at all because I've treated mice with it and they are absolutely tiny in comparison. I can't remember the exact dose in mls, but it was so small it was basically the drop off the end of a syringe which I don't think is enough to kill them all. 

Thank you both for your help


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

It's very possible that you underdosed. I love treating licey rescues as I watch the little buggers die. Usually within 3-6 hours they are pretty much dead. If your are still moving 1) the doses might have been too little to be ineffective or the Revo was expired. If you can tell me what Revo you have and some approximate weight I can tell you what dose they should have.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Do NOT purposely overly overdose a rat! Two drops instead of one, no problem but much more or a whole dose is way too much. The lethal dose says that 50% of the rats will die at that dose, but it doesn't say the percentage of rats that die at half the lethal dose for instance. On RatGuide and that's the best resource for rats medicine dosing info it says :"If too much liquid is accidentally applied, wash the rat immediately and wait 2 weeks before reapplying"and they cite a research that says so. Also the toxic level Rat Daddy mentioned was performed on lab rats that were killed for the research so there is no knowing what other adverse reaction or long term damage those rats would have endured due to the overdosing of Revolution. Stay safe and follow the recommendations on RatGuide.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

I posted the spec sheet for informational purposes only... basically to reassure people that a little more doesn't hurt... When dealing with a squirming and furry rat it's hard to get a precise dose on to the skin. 

And yes, I fully expect everyone to measure a precise dose and give it a try at least once, but then from personal experience your rat is going to squirm and about half of that precisely measured dose is going to get absorbed by the fur or wind up everywhere other than the skin where it's supposed to go.... This is where good planning and perfect measurement meets the real world. So you typically wind up with an under-dose... that won't kill the mites and after a week the mites or other bugs are still alive... And thus the quandary of what to do now.

Knowing that revolution isn't toxic until you get to a pretty extreme dose makes life a lot easier. When I apply revolution, I pretty much try and get two to thee drops from a syringe directly onto the skin, and I know that even some of that's getting absorbed by the fur. In the end, I use an eyeball measurement and err a bit on the high side. Knowing I have a massive margin for safety doesn't mean I would push it anywhere near the limit, but when in doubt, I'll go an extra drop.

Compared to other parasite treatments revolution is way safer, it has a comfortable margin of error, which is why I believe that people can use it at home to treat their own rats in the first place. 

I might also add that revolution is typically prescribed to dogs and cats on a monthly basis to prevent parasite infestation. It's not just used as a treatment.

As most rats don't go outdoors and hang out with other rats most don't need prevention. And I don't believe in taking more medications than are actually needed... ever, but I think it's comforting for someone to know they aren't going to mess up and poison their own rat unless they really screw up in a truly massive way. So to the OP's question, if after a week the parasites are still there and revolution is the correct treatment for that particular parasite, and unless the first treatment was a massive overdose already, a second dose shouldn't do any harm... I'm guessing if the dose was originally measured properly, the rat moved and too much of the medication was absorbed by the fur or the dose was too light in the first place...

Absolutely and most certainly there's no reason to go nuts with revolution or any other medication... it's just nice to know and extra drop or two will not harm your frantically squirming rat.


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## Asteria (Jul 6, 2016)

> Also the toxic level Rat Daddy mentioned was performed on lab rats that were killed for the research so there is no knowing what other adverse reaction or long term damage those rats would have endured due to the overdosing of Revolution. Stay safe and follow the recommendations on RatGuide.


I would never administer a toxic substance onto one of my rats without consulting a professional first. I believe I was under the first time I treated them because no chemist in my area will sell me a syringe under 3ml, so it was extremely difficult and near impossible to measure out the correct dosing (plus I think the amount I was told to give was under as well). 
The problem seems to be better and I found much less lice on the actual skin after combing through my white rats fur, they seem to be falling to the end of the shaft which I assume means they're dead (?Someone who's dealt with lice before please confirm) it's hard to tell on my other rats though. 
Since there is no scabs or hair loss and it just seems to be itching, I really think I'll be okay doing a re-dose in a few weeks time (assuming their is no hair loss, scabbing or discomfort in that time).


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

The lice stop moving and eventually the rat scratches and grooms the bodies off. It sounds like it worked.


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## Paul_Julian (Oct 31, 2011)

Ussually month is enough. You can help your rat and brush the fur


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