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View Full Version : IVERMECTIN: to Use or Not to Use? Discussion thread



Milo's Mom
12-05-2015, 08:54 PM
Have you found it to be effective with lice? WMB said "some" lice. So we were hoping to use revolution or something else but was not sure of its safety.
I'll try to upload a pic of what Pink sent me.

They did not look like fleas .

I just saw this baby a month ago and there was nothing but the picture of healthy and the picture I saw today looked like the poor thing was eat up!

To be totally honest with you Steph, I don't know. The Ivermectin treatment is standard protocol for me, EVERYONE gets it on intake. Bleeding stopped, breaks stabilized, warmed, sub-q, Ivermectin, rest in dark quiet place for 30 minutes then reassessment and treatment plan is developed/modified (written down - as I've been thinking about it since the moment they arrived in my hands), and meds, if needed.

If there is a creepy crawly that does not die with Ivermectin I have not yet come across it. It is rare for me to do a Dawn bath. Out of 92 squirrels this season, 1 got a Dawn bath and her entire body was covered with fly strike, the bath was out of pure desperation.

I have Revolution on hand at all times, but I will most likely never use it. I've seen and assisted too many squirrels/rehabbers that have had horrible allergic reactions to it. Burnt skin, significant loss of fur at drop spot, breathing difficulties, loss of appetite, vomiting...the list goes on.

The reason I do Ivermectin on everyone (and I mean everyone, pinkies included) is that it also covers most of the internal parasites, even when applied topically. By doing this, I've ruled out the majority of the internal parasites that might not present on intake.

Lice are a type of ectoparasite, as are mites and fleas, so I don't know why it wouldn't work and it always has for me. Oooh, it also works on flea larva!! I wondered if it would so I watched closely...it was so cool!

Actually, this year with the ant bite babies I had (remember them?) I discussed their entire intake with her...as in from the moment the finders dropped them off into my hands up to the minute I was on the phone with her. She was pleased and complimentary that I had already treated them. My vet here at home is also very happy that it's part of my SOP.

EDIT: Again, I did not come up with this on my own. I was trained by several people on TSB, but 2 of them brought me into their clinics and did hands on training. This is their protocol and now mine. They've done 1,000+ squirrels and one in particular also happens to be the "goto" for many of the higher ups here on TSB.

Nancy in New York
12-05-2015, 09:06 PM
EDIT: Again, I did not come up with this on my own. I was trained by several people on TSB, but 2 of them brought me into their clinics and did hands on training. This is their protocol and now mine. They've done 1,000+ squirrels and one in particular also happens to be the "goto" for many of the higher ups here on TSB.

Really, WOW! :thumbsup
Maybe when I become one of the higher ups I too
will learn this mystery member.

Nancy in New York
12-05-2015, 09:39 PM
You know her very well Nancy, you've raised squirrels for her and she's released squirrels for you. Her name is Squirlgirl.

Yup, I know her well.

Administration
12-07-2015, 08:03 PM
TSB members: please note that Administration acknowledges the practice of dosing all intakes with ivermectin as one that some experienced rehabilitators and/or veterinarians may do as a matter of course. However, TSB does not recommend that anyone adopt this practice without training or a considerable amount of experience calculating and dosing meds.

Ivermectin is extremely easy to overdose, and the result is always death. The dilution required for using a large-animal medication on very tiny patients is very complicated and should not be attempted by newcomers to the field of wildlife rehabilitation. There are safer ways to defeat internal and external parasites, and we'd all feel a whole lot better if those were used first.