# Trying to tell if my rat has mites



## HelloDers (May 27, 2013)

I have four rats, two intact males and two spayed females who all share a cage. I noticed that one of my male rats had sores on his skin about a week and a half after I changed their food. I went online to research it, and the two possible solutions I got were that the rat could have mites or the new food could be too high in protein for him. None of the other rats had the sores, so I assumed that the food was too high in protein and purchased another bag of food that had quite a bit less protein in it. 

My first rat's skin has cleared up some, but not completely (changed their food about two weeks ago) and now one of my female rats is getting similar sores. Still, the other two are perfectly healthy. Also, I have taken a flashlight to see if I could see the mites or the eggs in the rats' fur, but have found nothing. 

This is very confusing to me because when I see pictures of rats who have mites online, they are quite obvious (unless they just use their more obvious photos to post online) and I don't think it would be an issue with the protein because one of my female rats is experiencing the same thing. Do you guys have any ideas of what it could be and how I could take care of it?

Thanks


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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

Pictures will probably help. (Yes, often pictures of rats with mites you find on the Internet are of more severe cases)

It's not unusual or unheard of for a group of rats to have mites or lice and only one or two of them to show any major signs. Have they all been itching more often? Have you bought any bedding that hadn't been frozen or baked in the oven first? (after you bought it). I've heard of lice and mites coming in lab blocks but I haven't had that happened.

It's possible it's another issue. What shape are the sores? Was it just patches of skin or were there scabs?

It's also possible that it's a food allergy. Is there an ingredient in the previous food that isn't in the new food, and vise versa? I'm not sure how likely this is but worth figuring out.


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## HelloDers (May 27, 2013)

I'll try to get some good pictures. The boy who has been effected by it is a rex, so his fur is really thick. Also, the other boy decided he was going to pee on the rest of them, so they all got baths today and I discovered that it is now both of the boys who have it.

As for the marks, they tend to be along their sides and on their bellies but the girl has some under her chin as well as some missing hair on the top of her head. On the rex and the girl, the sores seemed to have healed more than the other boy and their sores looked kind of like pin-pricks. The other boy's sores were more fresh because they just showed up today. Some of his were in the same shape as the other two's and others were in a more oblong shape like he had scratched the skin off. The other girl still doesn't have any sores at all

I have not frozen their bedding. I found out that I should do that today when I was researching the problem and I will be freezing the bedding tonight as I clean their cage. 

ETA: Here are the pictures I got of them. Sorry if they're blurry, my phone's camera is not that good.

This is the little girl and her hair loss. It seems like a bit of it has grown back, so I'm thinking that might also be over-grooming from the others









And here is her chin where most of the sores are. There are some more on her body, but she was squirming too much for me to get a picture of them. They are the same as the rex boy's









Here is the rex boy. It was difficult to see the sore, so I put a green circle around it









This one is a bit more blurry, I apologize for that.









And here is the boy whose sores showed up today.


















And it seems that the green circle didn't appear in the photo of the rex boy. Hopefully it's clear enough


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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

On the girl it looks like on her back it could be barbering.

The scabs make it look like it's mites/lice so would probably be good to try to treat them for mites/lice and see if they improve. (and make notes if they show any unusual signs or if symptoms don't improve).

you can get invermectin at places like Tractor supply. When my boys had mites I was able to get a green apple flavor one (smells like the sour apple goo candy you can buy at the gas station) for around $3. Give them the size of an uncooked piece of rice (if they are younger rats try to go for a bit smaller) once a week for 3 to 4 weeks. Make sure on everyday you give it to clean their cage very well since it only kills off adult mites. Also I would give it to them separately (so take one out of the cage for it at a time) to avoid them getting overdosed. (If your paranoid about over dosing one of them get some activated/medical charcoal, you can normally 100 capsules for around $10 at a health store).

If your able to get Revolution (will probably need to see a vet for it) that would be a lot easier. I'm not sure on the actual dosage for rats but it's only a one time treatment that last for a month and kills off all the mites/lice.

If it doesn't improve in a few weeks or starts to get worse with treatment then it could be a food allergy or for some odd reason your rats all have a medical issue that is starting to show at the same time (not impossible but not very likely).


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## HelloDers (May 27, 2013)

I have read online that Frontline will also suffice and I already have some from when I got my cat. Is that a good substitute for Revolution?

Thanks for the reply!


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## Maiden (Mar 9, 2012)

OMG I HOPE! I am going to start googling. Hopefully someone that knows more then me will come along.

Yikes, strike that. A little googling and I found another forum where someone was talking about using frontline for rats and someone posted this:

Frontline is *very toxic *to rats if injested and it does not work well for fur mites.
Frontline is not recommended for rats.
No dosage info. given for frontline in my rat book because it is dangerous for rats.

http://www.jorats.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=11862


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## HelloDers (May 27, 2013)

Maiden said:


> OMG I HOPE! I am going to start googling. Hopefully someone that knows more then me will come along.
> 
> Yikes, strike that. A little googling and I found another forum where someone was talking about using frontline for rats and someone posted this:
> 
> ...


Ooo, ok thanks! I found the invermectin on the Doctors Foster and Smith website (apple flavored too) and will be ordering ASAP!


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## Maiden (Mar 9, 2012)

I would put a hold on that. I read that it only kills adult mites and because of this you would have to super scrub down spotless clean everything for a period of four weeks as you continually medicate the rats.

http://www.joespetmeds.com/flea-control/revolution-cats-dogs.htm

Here. You can buy the revolution online too.


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## bsash (Apr 17, 2013)

I've had mites in the past, my solution was very simple. I bought flea and tick powder for cats and sprinkled it in their bedding and mixed it in. Then I also treated the rats with a much less harsh flea and tick spray than Frontline or something like that, both products are made by HARTZ and worked great for me, I attached links below. The spray needs to be applied once a week for about 6-8 weeks. I just applied a tiny spray to the back of their necks, they try to groom it off but it stays in well.

[URL="http://www.amazon.com/Hartz-InControl-Flea-Tick-Spray/dp/B00106Z7VU"]http://www.amazon.com/Hartz-InControl-Flea-Tick-Spray/dp/B00106Z7VU
http://www.amazon.com/Hartz-Mountai...4&keywords=hartz+flea+and+tick+spray+for+cats

[/URL]


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## HelloDers (May 27, 2013)

bsash said:


> I've had mites in the past, my solution was very simple. I bought flea and tick powder for cats and sprinkled it in their bedding and mixed it in. Then I also treated the rats with a much less harsh flea and tick spray than Frontline or something like that, both products are made by HARTZ and worked great for me, I attached links below. The spray needs to be applied once a week for about 6-8 weeks. I just applied a tiny spray to the back of their necks, they try to groom it off but it stays in well.
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/Hartz-InControl-Flea-Tick-Spray/dp/B00106Z7VU
> http://www.amazon.com/Hartz-Mountai...4&keywords=hartz+flea+and+tick+spray+for+cats


Thanks! I think they carry both of those in my local Meijer, so I'll check there.

The only place I use bedding for my rats is in their litter box, otherwise, I use fabric exclusively. Would you suggest putting some on the fabric or would that be unsafe for them?


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## bsash (Apr 17, 2013)

HelloDers said:


> Thanks! I think they carry both of those in my local Meijer, so I'll check there.
> 
> The only place I use bedding for my rats is in their litter box, otherwise, I use fabric exclusively. Would you suggest putting some on the fabric or would that be unsafe for them?


I would wash the bedding and instead of using the powder on the fabric I would just give it a light mist with the spray once a week, just don't make it wet, in case they want to lick it.


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## alexn (Sep 30, 2012)

I'd just like to chip in and say NEVER use front line (or any licensed medicine) for ANY animal that it wasn't prescribed for. 

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## WinonaGun42 (Feb 2, 2013)

Please don't use that powder. I think it was the reason my older cat died so suddenly a few years ago. My two younger ones were ok, but my 10 year old boy died in the middle of the night, on the way to the emergency vet. 

Also, please don't use the Wal-mart or pet store, pet drops. Only use Revolution. I worked at a Veterinarian hospital for many years. There were so many otherwise perfectly healthy cats that came in with spasms and unable to breathe after being dosed by a cheap spot flea treatment. Many of them could not be saved. I can't believe that stores continue to sell that stuff to this day.

Just remember that trying to save a few bucks on treating your pet with medicine, can mean a lot of money goes to vet bills.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

For those folks that live in rural locations ivermectin does seem to do the trick from what I've read. 

But revolution is the method of choice as it is less toxic and has fewer bad reactions.

I've tried the sprays and I have never had any success either with the cat or bird products and I soaked the rats.

Seriously, I pay about $17.00 for enough revolution to treat all my rats. You can buy it from nearly any vet. You don't need a visit or a diagnosis because you can be using it preventatively. 

I've also never seen a single mite but I've seen plenty of scabs and now as soon as my rats start scratching and I see scabs, they get dosed and the problem is gone. The revolution works for 30 days and your rat sucks up all the mites it leaves around and poisons them for you and your problem is fixed. Rat clean, cage clean and house clean.

Years ago rats were kept on cedar chips that killed or controlled the mites, (we didn't see many mites back then so that might have worked) and then there were supposedly people that coated their rats in olive oil (I'm not sure that turning your rat into a salad was ever a good idea... but it supposedly worked for reptiles) and I suspect that there's anecdotal evidence that howling at the moon naked helps (at least it might make you feel better).

But seriously, don't muck around with mickey mouse fixes, it will cost you more in the long run and you might just poison your rats. I found a vet that doesn't treat rats, but does sell revolution for my outdoor shoulder rat for mite, lice and flea treatment and "prevention"... They even tossed in a free syringe which didn't come with a tip... It might take a few phone calls, but it's worth the trouble. It's a one shot fix that works.


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## HelloDers (May 27, 2013)

Ok, thanks for the replies! I will be calling the vet that I take my cats to and see if they sell it. If not, I live near a big city and there are plenty of vets to choose from so I can definitely get the Revolution somewhere.


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