# Itchy boys. Alternatives to freezing bedding?



## ruffles (May 13, 2012)

Heeellooo, guys. Hope you're doing well...tonight. This morning. Whatever time it is. Ha.

I think my boys have managed to get some mites from their bedding. Should have seen it coming, really; they WOULD get it from the first bag of bedding I've bought for them, haha! Examining them, I can't find any scabby parts, no visible bugs, no dandruff and not too much buck grease. They COULD be allergic to...aspen...but I'm not seeing that as incredibly likely. It's the only new thing in their cage, other than a very low likelihood of dawn dish detergent residue.

So my best idea is mites. They're not itching constantly, but they'll stop several times a day/night and spend a minute or two scratching and biting whatever they get on their little toes. I could be overreacting, but it seems to be picking up.

I know the diagnosis there; ivermectin, which is easy, and freezing all bedding. Except I live in a giant household with one fridge, and the freezer is never even slightly empty enough for a bag of bedding. Not even a one-change bag, since their new cage's base is massive.

There's also that I'm going to switch to a carefresh type bedding that the reviews say is nearly dust-free -- the aspen's smell-resistance is not pleasing me, and the cost is crazy here for some reason -- and while I COULD put the aspen in the oven, I don't think that's a good idea with paper bedding...?

So is there any other way to parasite-free it? Or will I just need to give the ivermectin regularly?


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

I personally would look into Revolution, much safer, easier (less labour-intensive), easier on the rat. 

http://www.pets-megastore.com.au/revolution-c-165_6_159.html

Then since you cannot freeze, switch to pelleted paper litter. Carefresh is just as notorious as cheap aspen to carry mites. The pelleted paper is processes sois a lot safer. For your freezing dilemma, if its winter, put it outside (below freezing) for 48 hours, for using your own freezer, just put a small amount in a bag, stick it in for 48 hours, take it out, poor it into a sealed container or another bad, then do another small amount, all week long until you have enough for your weekly cage clean...I have had to do this in the past.


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## Gannyaan (Dec 7, 2012)

look for scabs and other signs of mites before you panic  hopefully its not... it might be dry skin? one of my rats has dry skin/fur and itches a lot. its winter so....

on a side note, hows the aspen for smell? what did you mean smell resistance? carefresh is expensive.... i buy it because im afraid to switch to anything else for smell/comfort purposes... 


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## SaraBRattie (Aug 29, 2012)

Get rid of that bedding and switch to a paper pelleted bedding or something on the line. I HATE wood chips! Clean everything they own really well including the cage and the bars. Make sure you get all the nooks and crannies well. Scrub it with white apple cider vinegar and dawn. Rinse well. Bath your ratties in either dawn or baby soap. Make sure they dry well. Apply a small amount of revolution and tada no more mites! Might try a VERY small amount of Ivermectin as well. Just be careful to only give them each a dose the size of a grain or rice. More than this and its toxic.


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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

Another alternative is baking it in the oven. I bake our Aspen at about 200 for an hour. Works and is faster then freezing, especially if you have a small freezer, though I still like freezing since my room tends to get hot (It's Texas) so the colder bedding helps my boys out. After you bake it put it into clean Zip lock bags or a clean plastic tub if you want. You can also do it in smaller batches or the whole bag, I tend to do it in smaller batches since we buy large bags of Aspen (Oddly, Aspen is the Only bedding I've found that both me and my boys like. I may have Liked Kaytee Clean and Comfy but when your allergic to the protein in rat urine, the Aspen helps out better. Guess my guys are the odd balls)


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## ruffles (May 13, 2012)

Revolution sounds good! It'll be another two weeks before my next check gets here, but I can do that. Not with any particular joy, because I am brrroooke, but c'est la vie. Safer than the ivermectin is good, at least! I'd hate to hurt the little guys.

Two calls for pellets? That's a can-do, too; no harm in trying, anyhow. I'm already paying as much for the aspen as I would for carefresh or the other expensive kinds, so what can I lose! Ha. http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12341297&f=PAD/psNotAvailInUS/No Pellets like those? I kind of like the sound of them. Horribly ugly, they are, but I guess there's no accounting for taste.

I could freeze in small batches, really -- most of the time there's just enough room to squeeze in a ziploc baggie or two. Or if I continued with the aspen I could certainly bake it, have baked wood in the oven before for birds when using natural wood for their perches, but I don't know. As for the smell, the aspen...I don't know, I could be using it wrong. I've got a little over an inch down, and the boys tend to dig it to where it's piled in some areas and bare in others. It's NOT working for smell, even with me being absolutely obsessive over wiping down all clear surfaces (bare spots included) every day. I absolutely adore the aspen, the smell of it makes me smile and I don't mind the mess, but I don't like that it's not working. So I'm amenable to change, for sure.

Hmmm...there AREN'T any scabs, you know. Shawn, having just gotten rudely awoken and asked to come to the door, was pretty good for me and let me examine him all over. Even on the spots where he's been scratching, there just aren't any. No hot spots or dull hair, and they aren't itching as much any more. I'm not sure what's wrong; maybe I AM overreacting. It just seemed a rather large coincidence, the itching starting so soon after I started using the aspen. Their skin isn't dry, though, and they have a fair amount of olive oil in their diets, and I just...can't think of what else might be causing it, you know?

Okay. Game plan. Thank you guys so much for your advice; you're always so helpful. You're awesome. Since I've got two weeks before I'll get my check anyhow, right now I'm going to watch them. I'm going to borrow enough from the parents to buy a bag of the pellets -- I currently have a daily potential for a ride into the town an hour and a half away where I can go to the petsmart, so I'm thinking those that I linked -- and I'm going to switch to that. Before I do, I'm going to wash down the cage and my room and everything else I can think of including the boys. Dawn, can do. They haven't had a bath in about a month so it won't hurt 'em to get another.

...would bleach be okay? With plenty of hours given for airing out and a good rinse, of course. I have...really bad reactions to strong vinegar. Feeling slightly nauseous and lightheaded thinking about it. I'll do it, of course, if bleach wouldn't be okay, but. Yeah. Somehow less likely to pass out when bleach is involved than vinegar, ha.


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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

I personally am against everything bleach. You might be able to get a product called 1-18 (it's by Envirox) but you can only get it janitorial warehouses from what I know. It will kill all bacteria, but it doesn't smell, so if you want it to smell better what I did was put a small amount of baby shampoo in a water bottle (with a lot of water) and lightly misted the cage with it. There is another product similar to 1-18 I believe it is like f10? It's used mainly for reptiles but it works for rats. You could also try wearing a mask while cleaning their cage (dust masks? it's what painters normally wear). 

You can bake paper bedding, I've done it before. Just instead of 200 for an hour do about 160 to 180 for an hour.

Actually some beddings Can cause itching simply because of their texture. If you want to stay with Aspen try Sani-chips, their made for reptiles, and there fore are super soft as a snake's belly scales (ventral scales) are very sensitive. you can try seeing if that might help. But those pellets would probably help as well, just not too sure about the added baking soda.


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