Mites/Lice

Question
Our rat is between 6-8 weeks old. He has mites/lice and the vet informed us that he is to small to dose with revolution or imervect.  What do you suggest we do to get rid of the varmits?  Seven dust has been suggested, but in our research many people say do not use this.  Also, people say do not purchase anything from the pet store because it is too toxic.  Any suggestions?

Answer

I have to disagree with the vet.  You can safely use revolution on young rats but they must be 5 weeks and older. Never use revolution on sick or malnourished rats, or on rats that are under 5 weeks old. For smaller sized rats older than 5 weeks reduce dosage by half.

It goes by weight. For a rat under 1/2 lb, they would use 0.05 cc of revolution, so you would cut that in half for a younger rat and it would be a very tiny tiny dab of around 0.02ccs.

As for ivermectin, it is not recommended that ivermectin be given to pregnant rats, or rats that are nursing baby rats under 2 weeks of age.
The injectable can be applied behind the rats ear.  

However, if you do not feel comfortable using the revolution just yet, you can spend some time sitting on the floor with a flea comb trying to comb out the critters, although they tend to live among the litter, inside cardboard toys, etc... and only get on the rat to feed.

Some readers have written to me saying they rub olive oil on their rat and it suffocates the mites.  Sounds messy though doesnt it?

You can try these things for another week or two till the pups get a bit older, but it is ok to dose them with revolution at 6 weeks and older.  

Remember, it should be the kitten strength solution in the mauve colored package.

As for over the counter products, yes, these are very bad to use for any animal, including dogs. They are not really regulated by the FDA and can cause death in animals.

The seven dust? You should not expose rats at any age to dust of any kind, no matter what.
I would pass on that, too.