Treatment of Lice & Mites on a Pet Rat
Lice and mites are external parasites that not only can cause your rat pain and suffering, but might also seriously affect his, and possibly your, health. When treating these parasites, it is important to understand that it is not only the adults and eggs currently on your pet that must be killed, but also the larvae and eggs that are either in the bedding or attached to the fur.
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Instructions
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Treat Your Rat
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Examine your rat to determine what sort of parasite he has. Mites have eight legs and only can be seen with a magnifying lens or a microscope. Lice are six-legged and can usually be seen with the naked eye. Pressing a piece of tape to your rat and then examining the tape can help you determine whether it has mites or lice. For some types of lice and mites, though, you must bring your rat to a vet for a skin scrape and test.
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Administer the treatment your vet prescribes. Invermectin is a medication that is commonly used to treat parasites in rats. It can be given orally or injected. Your vet might also prescribe a spray or shampoo or other topical treatment.
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Never treat a rat with medication meant for other species. Medication meant for dogs, cats or birds can be too powerful or administered in a manner inappropriate for rats, and is likely to kill them.
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Clean out your rat's habitat to make sure all the parasites are gone. Throw out bedding material and clean the cage thoroughly with bleach at the time of treatment and at regular intervals afterward.
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Freeze new bedding before putting it in your rat's cage. Freezing the bedding helps kill mites that are already present in the material.
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Tips & Warnings
Rickettsia typhi, the cause of typhoid fever, can be transmitted by lice.
References
- Photo Credit the rat in the glass image by Oleg Sviridov from Fotolia.com
