Several important questions!

[FrauleinAsh]

Hello ratty people ...

I have several important questions and thought Id save some room here and post them *all* in this one thread:

1~I have rats with mites right now and I normally use the olive oil and they go away just fine. However, this time around ... the guys have mites on their *faces*. I've never put oil on their faces before. Some of their marks are very close to their eyes. Is it safe to put oil on their faces or close to their eyes? (and for those of u wondering, yes I am aware of some better mite treatments, but times are very rough for us right now and we're trying to save our vet money for emergencies only)

2~Many of my rats have gotten weird bumps on them, some are different than others but they *all* start out the same. The rats are *all* related, so I guess its genetic. It starts out as a tiny bump UNDER the skin and stays that way for quite some time. On some rats, these bumps surfaced. The first one turned into a round "ball" looking scab, and fell off. No problems there. Then he got a second one that turned into a round "ball" like scab .. and it remains. Another rat had one surface and it turned into something very different looking ... it appeared to look like a tiny piece of flesh colored cauliflower, or a tiny brain. He scratched it like crazy, but it never effected him in any other way. My vet has NO idea what any of these are .. has never seen them before or heard of anything like this. But she says they seem to be uneffected by them. Any ideas? (No, I cant take photos now .. the rat with the "cauliflower" one recently passed away, and I have to un-pawn my camera before I can take photos of the others)

3~Abt alpha males: How is an "alpha" rat chosen? In my mischeif, it always seems like the alpha "chooses" the alpha that will replace him after he passes. Like, when the alpha rat starts to get old or feels like hes getting old .. I see him spending a LOT of time with a certain rat during those last months/weeks of his life, then that rat is always the next alpha. Is this normal? Coincidental? Do u guys notice any familiar traits that all your alphas have shared? I did notice that size has nothing to do with it.

Any help on any of these questions is greatly appreciated. Kisses and scritches to all your little fuzzbutts.

~@sh

[Mischief Mistress]

I've never heard of using oil for mites before. But I swear, 6 dollars on a tube of 1.67% Ivermectin paste at the horse store will last you up until the expiration date. No joke. If you want I can PM  you on details of using the medicine.

As for the cauliflower thing, I've seen them on horses as a pure calcium build up with nothing bad ever coming of it. I would go to another vet for a second oppinion, do more research on it and if something really needs to be done I'm sure the vet can freeze/laser it off like a wart. This is based on very vague descriptions. Lol, my little disclaimer. You can go to google and type in rat illnesses. I have a site on the tip of my tongue but I can't remember the name! Rat something. Oh tartar sauce!  ......SNAP! Ratguide.com

As for the alpha question, I have no clue, My alpha doesn't spend any particular amount of time with any particular rat. I do know which one of my rats is most aggressive and he will most definitely take his place. I haven't really found an importance in knowing that information though.

[FrauleinAsh]

Hey mischief mistress ... I have searched the internet high and low for several weeks now looking for info on all these questions. Ratguide was the *first* place I searched like a maniac. I usually do quite a bit of searching on my own before posting any threads that I could have answered on my own.

I have used ivermectin on the rats before, and it didnt work as well as the oil. Horse stores arent around chicago Id have to order it from a website, and I dont have a credit card. Its an idea that I may try again in the future .. but these guys need immediate relief from their soreness and itches, which is why the oil treatments work well. It drowns the mites and kills them, but not the eggs. U have to keep repeating the treatment to kill them all, which is a pain in the arse, but it is effective (u can do searches on this site for oil treatments for mites, many ppl do this)

Thanks for the response!!

~@sh

[FrauleinAsh]

Im giving this thread a *BUMP* bumpedy bump in case there were some members that didnt see it before that can possibly help me with these questions. I would love u guys foreverrrrr!

~@sh

[Mischief Mistress]

As for the little bump things, sometimes, if my rats get mites for whatever reason they do, they get the bumps. They go away and only comes when they get bugs so it's probably in relation to them. I think mites come from store bought bedding, food, other animals. However, I'm at a loss, currently treating for mites, where have they come from? I don't buy store bedding, I buy fleece. I don't buy store bought food. I buy treats and some archer farm trail mix for a treat. I am treating with ivermectin. Reason being is if they bite them it will kill them the medicine is in their blood. It will also kill any other mite/bugs that aren't currently on the rat. It stays in the system until *all* of them are gone, whereas you need direct contact with the oil to kill a mite. Might as well douse a rat in oil because they can be anywhere. You can also try revolution, kitten kind. I've never used it before.

To answer your oil on face question, I wouldn't see anything wrong with it. It might annoy them but just try to keep it out of the ears, eyes and nose.

I tried to go over what I could the best I could!

[JustJenna]

When my girl had mites, I ordered Revolution online and had to wait for it to arrive.  It was fantastic for treating the mites and I would highly recommend it, but before it arrived, she was itching and so uncomfortable that I tried a bunch of stuff to offer her some relief, including oatmeal baths and olive oil rubs.  I even tried a sulphur bath (HORRIBLE!) the the vet gave to me out of desperation for my little girl.   

The oatmeal bath didn't help as much as the olive oil.  The olive oil soothed her quite a bit, but the next day she was itchy again, and sticky too.

I had read on the boards where someone had used Selsun Blue, a medicated dandruff shampoo on their rats.  I found the Selsun Blue for Sensitive Skin at Target for $6.00, and it provided some relief for my girl for a couple of days, which was much better than the olive oil for us.  The vet told me that it has a mild soothing agent that helps soothe the scratches, as well as washing away some of the mites.  It's not sticky, it's not unpleasant-smelling, and it rinses clean.   

Again, I would highly recommend the Revolution to actually treat the mites, but for some relief in the meanwhile, I would definitely use the Selsun Blue again.


 

[Mischief Mistress]

That's some darn good advice. I never thought to soothe the owies on the skin. But I most definately will from now on. 

[FrauleinAsh]

As for the little bump things, sometimes, if my rats get mites for whatever reason they do, they get the bumps. They go away and only comes when they get bugs so it's probably in relation to them. I think mites come from store bought bedding, food, other animals. However, I'm at a loss, currently treating for mites, where have they come from? I don't buy store bedding, I buy fleece. I don't buy store bought food. I buy treats and some archer farm trail mix for a treat. I am treating with ivermectin. Reason being is if they bite them it will kill them the medicine is in their blood. It will also kill any other mite/bugs that aren't currently on the rat. It stays in the system until *all* of them are gone, whereas you need direct contact with the oil to kill a mite. Might as well douse a rat in oil because they can be anywhere. You can also try revolution, kitten kind. I've never used it before.

To answer your oil on face question, I wouldn't see anything wrong with it. It might annoy them but just try to keep it out of the ears, eyes and nose.

I tried to go over what I could the best I could!

Thanks so much for replying  How hard is it to get your rats to ingest the ivermectin? Does it taste bad? Do u have to mix it with something and if so, what do u mix it with? I found a horse store abt 45 minutes away and Im gonna go there this weekend. How long does this take to work? Will I have to repeat?

Abt the bumps ... I doubt they are caused by mites. I sooo wish I had my camera right now so I could post photos, but if u saw them I think you would agree. Some of them look like tiny skin colored cauliflowers ... one of my boys has one (maybe the size of this "O", only 3-d) on his testicles  and the other had a larger one on his side abt the size of 2 peas. My boy Nexus is the one who had the large round scab that fell off and now has another one. They arent normal scabs, they're like ... round "bubble-like" scab balls that dont go away with any treatment. I just find it so darn odd that neither of my vets knew what either of these skin things were, and I cant find *anything* abt it on any of the medical rat sites, its bizarre!

Does anyone know where I can find some rat studies on their behavior in a mischief? I like to study rats as much as possible  and have many books, but cant seem to find anything on this particular area.

Thanks everyone!

~@sh

[KoalaLou2]

Just a suggestion about the mite medication, most online places make you order like three tubes of Revolution or such and most rat owners don't need all of that and can't use it by the expiration.  Perhaps try posting on Swap Meet that you are looking for any extra someone may have on hand and they'd be willing to ship it to you.  Shipping wouldn't cost much!  Its worth a shot.

[Mischief Mistress]

As for the little bump things, sometimes, if my rats get mites for whatever reason they do, they get the bumps. They go away and only comes when they get bugs so it's probably in relation to them. I think mites come from store bought bedding, food, other animals. However, I'm at a loss, currently treating for mites, where have they come from? I don't buy store bedding, I buy fleece. I don't buy store bought food. I buy treats and some archer farm trail mix for a treat. I am treating with ivermectin. Reason being is if they bite them it will kill them the medicine is in their blood. It will also kill any other mite/bugs that aren't currently on the rat. It stays in the system until *all* of them are gone, whereas you need direct contact with the oil to kill a mite. Might as well douse a rat in oil because they can be anywhere. You can also try revolution, kitten kind. I've never used it before.

To answer your oil on face question, I wouldn't see anything wrong with it. It might annoy them but just try to keep it out of the ears, eyes and nose.

I tried to go over what I could the best I could!

Thanks so much for replying  How hard is it to get your rats to ingest the ivermectin? Does it taste bad? Do u have to mix it with something and if so, what do u mix it with? I found a horse store abt 45 minutes away and Im gonna go there this weekend. How long does this take to work? Will I have to repeat?

Abt the bumps ... I doubt they are caused by mites. I sooo wish I had my camera right now so I could post photos, but if u saw them I think you would agree. Some of them look like tiny skin colored cauliflowers ... one of my boys has one (maybe the size of this "O", only 3-d) on his testicles  and the other had a larger one on his side abt the size of 2 peas. My boy Nexus is the one who had the large round scab that fell off and now has another one. They arent normal scabs, they're like ... round "bubble-like" scab balls that dont go away with any treatment. I just find it so darn odd that neither of my vets knew what either of these skin things were, and I cant find *anything* abt it on any of the medical rat sites, its bizarre!

Does anyone know where I can find some rat studies on their behavior in a mischief? I like to study rats as much as possible  and have many books, but cant seem to find anything on this particular area.

Thanks everyone!

~@sh

OHHHHHHHHHHH. Those sound like abscesses! As for the ivermectin, my one old boy spanky hates it and this past time I haven't bothered to mix it with anything. I usually but a half of a cheerio size on a blunt end object. Something I can stick through the FN bars. Most of my rats usually attack whatever comes into their cage thinking it's a treat. Not violently lol, so I trick them and they attack it so fast they have no chance of noticing it's icky medicine. So they ingest enough into their system. They usually get some on their whiskers and it's funny watching them lick it off. You want them to ingest about a uncooked grain of rice size once a week on the same day for 3 weeks. So they get three doses. It works really super fast and does a really super and thorough job. You can mix it with yummy stuff if you want to and my tube will last until the end of next year! Make sure you get 1.67% ivermectin. Usually any brand will work, I have zimectrin gold, I just bummed it off the trainer at my barn

Another thing about the bumps, they sound pretty harmless, maybe you have too much protein in the diet (just throwing the possibility out there) if not, next time your into the vet have them get a sample for testing.