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Post by valkyriestorm on Aug 13, 2009 17:40:11 GMT -5
My last rat Freya is two and a half years old and has some kinda very small worm type of stuff on her skin/fur. It does not seem to bother her much, she itches once in a while. They are not fleas or mites, they almost look like maggots. Very small whitish clear in color with a dark spot. I have never put her on the ground outside and havent put her on my floor in years. I think they are coming from her or the food in the cage, like chicken, veggies ect. I clean the cage once or twice a month, its huge for one rat. I try to take out what she does not eat if I can find it. So I was wondering if I could use Flea Away, its made of Diatomaceous earth and it is all natural?? It says its only for dogs and cats. I dont know what else to try. Or is Seven dust safe to use on her?? I took one of my older rats that died a year ago to the vet to get him put to sleep and he also had these on him and the vet did not know what they were. Seems to happen to all my old rats.
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tako
Cageless and Roamin' Free
"Future Ferrent"
Is overworked and not paid at all...
Posts: 268
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Post by tako on Aug 13, 2009 21:36:39 GMT -5
I don't have particular rat experience, but I can offer you what I do know, and what things have helped with other animals and similar situations in the past.
Seven Dust is definitely not safe to use on a rat, I know it's been said that it can be used on animals, but I wouldn't ever on ANY animal it has things in it that are commonly used in higher concentrations to poison rats, and animals as large as cats have been reported to have horrible reactions to it being used in the yards they are let into, such as horrible festering wounds, raw skin, and hair loss. As for the diatomacious earth based product, I would not feel comfortable myself using them directly on her based on how sensitive a rats respiratory system is. You might try giving her a bath with a citrus scented Dawn dish soap (lemon supposedly works best, but I have noticed a difference between the different citruses). It's not the greatest for their skin or hair in that it is a bit drying, but it is a gentle enough soap for animal of all sizes if you rinse them well and most insects really do not like it/it kills them. I would try washing her, taking apart and scrubbing her cage and discarding or doing the same with any bedding, and try to keep up with getting her uneaten food out sooner/more thoroughly in case it is maggots. Maggots show up practically instantly because of the super short life cycle of flies. Even if it isn't fly larvae, it could be larvae of another sort, which also grows just as quickly.
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Post by valkyriestorm on Aug 13, 2009 22:16:14 GMT -5
Thanks. I was just thinking about using Seven Dust because I have used it at my job before for the feeder mice that came in with mites once. I will try washing her with the soap. I have been bathing her, but with Ark Natural shampoo and it does not seem to work. The tiny worms will not wash off no matter how hard I scrub her skin. Maybe the citrus will work. I do have Citrus Magic natural hand soap, Pink Grapefruit. Would that work?
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Post by weloveourweasels on Aug 13, 2009 22:56:22 GMT -5
I am 99% sure your rat has lice. Do not worry it is species specific so you or the ferrets cannot get it however you need to take her to the vet ASAP as the lice could drain her and be fatal. It is not rare for lice to kill rats. I have 2 rats of my own which is how I know. They vet will get rid of the lice but you cannot do it on your own as they are nasty stubborn creatures.
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Post by valkyriestorm on Aug 13, 2009 23:10:52 GMT -5
How do they get it?
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Post by weloveourweasels on Aug 14, 2009 20:27:26 GMT -5
from the bedding probably you should freeze it 24 to 48 hours before use.
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Post by valkyriestorm on Aug 15, 2009 17:35:28 GMT -5
I use carefresh
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Post by weloveourweasels on Aug 15, 2009 19:01:35 GMT -5
Carefresh is NOTORIOUS for containing pests. It is because it is made of wood pulp. The solution is to freeze the bedding (all types of bedding) 24-48 hours to kill any mites or lice. I highly recommend you join goosemoose pet portal. They can help you more with the lice problem and let you know how they took care of it but you do need to get her treated ASAP because as I said they can be fatal because they make the host anemic. www.goosemoose.com/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,118/forum,rat/ good luck
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Post by zoologist on Dec 15, 2009 12:06:59 GMT -5
i know this is from way way back, but your rat does have lice. my boy alton had it too when i first picked him up from his home (he was a rescue). i used purrscriptions cat shampoo which kills fleas/ticks and lice. it worked like a charm and he has been lice free ever since.
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Post by Lynxie on Dec 18, 2009 19:15:30 GMT -5
If you are using carefresh you need to clean your rat's cage a /lot/ more than once or twice a month. It should be cleaned once a week at the least. My babies get their cage freshened up every three days, and completely changed every week.
Goosemoose is a good site for information, as is bruxnboggle.com. A lot of the same people frequent both sites.
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