Ivermectin for rats?

[squirrelfriend]

I just noticed lice on one of my rats. I was checking her out because she is not looking so well. I noticed a few lice on her. I was wondering if Ivermectin would be safe to use on her. Since the rat cage is right next to all of the squirrel cages I guess I will have to dose all of them too.:shakehead

[fritzp]

Ivermectin is commonly used on rats and mice for lice, mites, etc. The dose is 0.2-0.4 mg/kg by mouth or injected under the skin. It is given twice for mite infections, 7-10 days apart.

Good luck:)

[island rehabber]

squirrelfriend, i would go with fritzp DVM's dosage instead of the one I PM'd you.....vets trump rehabbers in this department! :bowdown :)

[justmare]

Lice are species specific, so you shouldn't have to worry about rat lice infecting your squirrels.

The best (safest) method of dosing with Ivermectin is orally. You can get horse wormer paste containing 1.87% Ivermectin from KV Vet Supply very inexpensively. http://www.kvvet.com/KVVet/productr.asp?pf%5Fid=20007&gift=False&HSLB=False&mscssid=6066AF732DD24D5E8199D7D7ECCCDB35

Or you can go to your local feed/tack store and buy some. Brand names are Ivercare, Rotectin 1, Equimectrin, Equalvan, Zimecterin. As long as it says it contains 1.87% Ivermectin it's what you want.

Dose: Using a toothpick, give the rat a small amount (about the size of an uncooked grain of white rice) once a week for three weeks.

If you have to order it through the mail and want to get rid of the lice right away, go to your local pet store and buy Mite & Lice Spray made for birds or small animals. It will kill any live lice, but you will still need to give the Ivermectin for three weeks to be sure the infestation is gone.

Make sure you completely clean and sanitize everything the rat lives in and has come in contact with.

[TinyPaws]

The amount should be the size of a piece of rice....should have one dose per week for 3-6 weeks....
CAUTION: it can cause fatal bleeding in some rats if given by injection so it's safer if givin orally......and DO NOT GIVE to pregnant rats or mothers nursing babies under 2 weeks of age.......Rats seem to like the taste so they should lick it right off your fingers......:)

[squirrelfriend]

ok, thanks guys. I am giving it orally to them. They don't seem to mind it at all like Tinypaws says. We'll see how it goes from here.

I am concerned about the squirrels as well though. I looked at the lice under the microscope and it looks exactly like the ones I posted on the board for the squirrel lice. Is it easy to tell the difference? Do rat lice and Squirrel lice look alike?

[4skwerlz]

=
Or you can go to your local feed/tack store and buy some. Brand names are Ivercare, Rotectin 1, Equimectrin, Equalvan, Zimecterin. As long as it says it contains 1.87% Ivermectin it's what you want.

Dose: Using a toothpick, give the rat a small amount (about the size of an uncooked grain of white rice) once a week for three weeks.


Thanks. I feel this is more useful than those complicated formulas for diluting with propylene glycol and then .05 cc's...etc.....

Are you sure it's okay just to give them a grain-of-rice dose of full-strength 1.87%? I want to dose Henry and Hazel, just in case. They seem to be scratching a tad more than usual lately.

[TinyPaws]

First you need to know there are 3 types of mites...and mites are species specific and live on only one type of animal so humans can not get rat lice. .They live their whole life on their host, laying their eggs on the hair...snd so lice can't live on hairless rats..

there are 3 types they can get...the tropical rat mite is more like a tick and is basically round in shape......the larve are microscopic but the adults range from about a pinprick to over 1mm long when filled with blood..they will appear to be dark red to brown or black...they live in cracks aroung the rats cage and will crawl on the rat when they need to suck the rats blood....these types of mites will also bite humans and other animals...

The rat mange mite is not so common and live in the skin of the ears, nose , tail and sometimes the feet and genitals...this mite will burrow into the skin and causes what's known as horny warts (i do not know why they call them that), with yellow crusts on the ears and nose and red bumps or blisters in other...this mite is microscopic and is about 0.04 mm long and can only be seen under a microscope..

The fur mite.....lives on the skin or in hair follicles, sucks blood and is much more common...this mite can cause intense itching, leading to self-inflicted scabs most comminly seen on the shoulders, neck and face....these mites are too small to be seen easily....to see them take a skin scraping and look under a microscope...sometimes you will get a false negative even if the rat has these types of mites....

Both the fur mite and the rat mange mite can not live on people or other animals.....

There is what is called the rat lice...yellow-brown or light tan to brown or red and is mostly on the neck, back and shoulders which are difficult spots for rats to reach easily...these lice are cigar shaped and not as easy to see as the flea....it's easier to see the eggs on the coating on the hair, a silvery coating...
these are also species specific and live only on one type of aimal so people can not get rat lice ..they live their entire life on the host, sucking blood and laying eggs on the fur...

The rat lice is cigar shaped.....the tropical rat mite looks similar to a tick but way smaller.......the fur mite looks similar to a boul-weavle (flour bugs), again very much more tiny.....the mange mite is rounder then the others with 2 longer, thicker legs in the rear of the mite.....

I hope this helps in identifying what is on the rat......


:jump

[TexanSquirrel]

Good luck!

[justmare]

Thanks. I feel this is more useful than those complicated formulas for diluting with propylene glycol and then .05 cc's...etc.....

Are you sure it's okay just to give them a grain-of-rice dose of full-strength 1.87%? I want to dose Henry and Hazel, just in case. They seem to be scratching a tad more than usual lately.

It's okay for rats. I have no experience with squirrels and Ivermectin, so I can't /won't say it's okay. But if others here have used Ivermectin with squirrels I would think the dose would be similar, maybe a little more since they're bigger than rats? But I honestly have no idea what the toxicity levels would be for squirrels. Sorry I don't have more info for you!

[squirrelfriend]

well I dosed 5 of them last night with a tiny drop orally and I just got home and there is no signs of illness from toxidity. I haven't had a chance to check the lice. I am going to dose the rest of them today. THis is not the one that I found. This is one that I found on my squirrel grumbles when I first got him. The one I found on the rat looks just like this though. what type would this be? I didn't see any of the tell tale eggs and the lice themselves are easy to see. They are long not round like the mange mites. I could take a picture of it if you need me to.

[FLUFFYTAILNUT]

well I dosed 5 of them last night with a tiny drop orally and I just got home and there is no signs of illness from toxidity. I haven't had a chance to check the lice. I am going to dose the rest of them today. THis is not the one that I found. This is one that I found on my squirrel grumbles when I first got him. The one I found on the rat looks just like this though. what type would this be? I didn't see any of the tell tale eggs and the lice themselves are easy to see. They are long not round like the mange mites. I could take a picture of it if you need me to.
Good night..that is one..ugly..little cuss!!!
I hope you get rid of those things!!
Poor..you it seems..like you always have something going on..over there..!:grouphug

[TinyPaws]

It resembles the fur mite...where did you find them on the rat..what part of the body...and can you see them on the rat at all? they are easy to rid your pet of them...you will need to strip the cages and wash everything...
I know bleach is not good for squirrels and i read an alternitive to bleach is viniger (whie), very cheap...and it's not a chemical...
do any squirrelies know about viniger being safe??:dono

[thundersquirrel]

which bedding are you using?

my rats got lice once. i was informed that many wood beddings carry bugs like that. :pissed