# Lice. (revolution help?)



## Kinsey (Jun 14, 2009)

My lovely boy, Romeo, had a louse today. I only could find 3, but i want a jump start before they get bad.

Or they could have been mites, they were very small, looked like rice grains, and were red and moved when bothered. I pulled one off and killed it, and it was full of blood. 

I know to use revolution or ivermectin, but where to get it, how much is it, and how do I use it?



*I don't have experience in the way of lice on rats*


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## sawyerashton (Dec 14, 2009)

I got a single dose of Advantage for Kittens 0-9 pounds and put just a drop on each rat between the shoulder blades.
It was like $17 at my vet's office. 

You can order some on the internet but they usually sell in 4 or 6 packs which is probably much too much.


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## AvaAdoreSmashing (Dec 31, 2009)

I found this site helpful http://www.ratfanclub.org/skin.html


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

Sounds exactly like lice, my boys had em in November, suspecting from a bag of aspen. Mites are too small to be visible, so they're usually suspected when there is scabbing around the neck, shoulder, and face area. Since my vet would/could not give me a small amount of Revolution, I just went to a pet store and picked up a tube of Bimectin (ivermectin for horses). I took the cap off the syringe, mixed it all with a skewer stick, and took just a tiny bit for them. It was about $14, but all the pet stores here over charge... I think it should normally be around $7-9. Since my sister has horses and needed to deworm them she just bought the remaining tube from me so it was free in the end. I gave them a rice grain sized amount once a week for 3 weeks off the end of a toothpick and super cleaned and bleached their cage with every dose, as the ivermectin is absorbed into their blood and kills the adult lice that feed on it, as opposed to the babies living in the bedding. I freezed the last of the aspen and started using fleece instead. Worked great, and they liked it... it was apple flavored.


















There's some pictures of the lice and their fur condition. Miles had a lot of porphyrin too. Just for comparison, this is what they look like now/normally.


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## Kinsey (Jun 14, 2009)

My boy's lost some guard hairs, but otherwise not much change. He's a rex, so it's not very noticable. That's exactly what they look like, except I only found 3 or 4 on all of his body.

I will try the ivermectin when I return home


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

Yeah, I only saw a couple on Miles at first, and they rapidly multiplied in two days.  Be sure to mix the entire tube of ivermectin well before measuring doses as it could be more concentrated in some parts. Dose size for adults is the size of an uncooked grain of white rice. Wash all the bedding in hot water if you use fleece, freeze it for a day if you use a paper or wood bedding. I sprayed the cage and washable toys down with a bleach and water solution and then rinsed everything well each dosing day. Be sure to freeze or toss any wood or paper products the lice could be living in as well.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Some one on Rat Shack donated me this awesome pic of a louse 










I have heard Advantage works on lice but I found it useless with mites. Ivermectin works with lice but not always with mites anymore (resistant due do to overuse) which is why I prefer Revolution, works everytime, too easy to use and less dangerous for the rat.


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## Kinsey (Jun 14, 2009)

I unfortunatly don't think I can get revolution here without a presciption and pricey vet visit, so I am going to try ivermectin.

That's what they look like, but very small and slightly redder.

EDIT: Dosed the IVM by putting it on the fur. I bleached the whole cage and replaced toys, they're staying in a smaller cage for now so I can clean it easier with throw-away toys.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

did you use injectable ivermectin? That's the only one you can use topically...if you used the paste it must be oral.


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## Kinsey (Jun 14, 2009)

I did oral paste, they groomed it off. That's how I got them to take it- they're religiously clean xD


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