please help!!!

Question
I will try and make this quick.I bought 2 rattys from my local pet store and brought them home. I put them in a glass tank with a lid, and last week, i found the most awesome bird cage at a garage sale. I brought it home, and removed the old toys, bleached the cage, washed it off, i thought about removing the branches but didnt.I put my rattys in and they were in hog heaven, until yesterday when i realized they were loosing hair. Upon closer examination i see very tiny (VERY TINY)red mites on my babies.I went to the local vet supply and got the ivermctin for horses and gave them one little dot a peice....is there anything that is safe to put ON my ratties to get rid of this?I have removed the bird cage from my home, wiped all areas(floor, table cage was sitting on, ect. with tactik(mange mite solution)I hate that i am not a responsible mommy, my babies are back in their tank, which i am scalding with boiling hot water from the stove every day, and keeping them on newspaper bedding(fresh every day) Please help if you can, Misty

Answer
The rat community has, for many years, shared a recipe using horse worming paste. The truth is, this is not an effective way to treat mites in rats. The best way is to use revolution, which is prescribed by your vet and dosed as per weight of the rat.  You have done everything right so far as for cleaning the cage and as long as you dispose of any wooden products or cardboard since mites live off the rat among this items and only get on the rat to feed (they suck their blood) Ivermectin applied topically is also a good way to rid the rat from parasites but I have seen better results using selemectin (revolution) You can purchase a vial from the vet for around $15 and this vial will treat three small to medium sized rats.