Mites or fleas on my pet rat?

Question
There are little black bugs all over my rat and the area surrounding his cage, I have a few itchy bites on me as well. They are very small, and when I took him to the vet, the vet said they were fleas and sprayed him with a flea spray for dogs. The spray didn't do any good, he had the bugs back within a week...and I cleaned his cage, soaked everything in hot water. Is there something else I need to be doing?? Should I buy a spray myself? I should mention that where I live there is only one vet that will even look at him, and that is the one I took him to...
Please help

Answer
Can you buy some ivermectin spot on from a petshop? This goes on the back of their neck and they needed treated with it once a week for 3 weeks. Usually with most treatments for parasites once isn't enough. I tend not to like flea sprays for rats because they have a lot of fumes that can cause chest problems in rats. If you use the spot on, make sure that your rat doesnt like it off. Also another question is does your rat have any friends? Rats are such social animals and really thrive with companionship. www.fancy-rats.co.uk is a great forum and you will be able to get loads of help there about the fleas and also about getting him a friend or two if hes on his own, though if you do decide to its probably best to wait until hes flea free first. Hopefully he will feel a bit more comfortable soon. Good luck