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ivermectin mice

chausies

chausies

New member
does anyone know if mice treated with ivermectin (pour on) are safe for snakes to eat at some point? I recently acquired some mice that were treated a few months ago (supposedly this was applied as a preventative measure). I am using these mice as breeders, so there are no direct issues at the moment. I assume that a few months after treatment, the ivermectin will be out of their system and harmless to snakes?
 
Ivermectin Safety

I manage a pet store and ivermectin is what is recommended by my guinea pig breeder to get rid of mites. I've used it on rats, hamsters, gerbils, mice and chinchillas with great success. I've always used oral paste. As for feeding the treated animals to your snakes I don't see a problem. Ivermectin is the main ingredient in heartworm medicine and horse wormer and should not be over used or overdosed.
The issue that should give one pause, is the fact that most feeder animals that are sold in retail stores are dusted with sevin dust by the breeders to rid them of external parasites. Given that sevin dust, an insecticide, causes all kinds of neurological issues in warm bloods that come in contact with it in large doses, it concerned me when I learned of its routine use in the feeder trade. That said, I have never seen a direct causation of harm when treated feeders are consumed by prey animals.
 
chausies said:
Thanks! Good to know :)
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I treat my mouse colony with IV on a fairly regular basis. I have never had any problems feeding them to my snakes. I also use IV on my snakes too, without any problems. IV is very safe, and the dose is the same for all animals, so even if you just treated your mice, I do not believe it would be a problem, even if it was still in their system.
 
ecreipeoj said:
and the dose is the same for all animals
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I have never heard that before.

In fact, there are many potentially fatal side effects of ivermectin, including, neurological disorders, tremors, blood flow problems, coma, and eye problems (early onset glaucoma). With any drug/treatment, there is usually a potentially harmful toxicity level.
 
In mammals, ivermectin stays within the body for extended periods of time and is metabolised by the liver. Accumulative overdose has been seen in rats where they have had 4 or 5 repeated (once weekly) injections. Symptoms of toxicity and overdose are clumsiness, lethargy, fits, and death can result.

Congenital abnormalities have been seen in studies where pregnant rats were given high doses of the drug. It was also found to concentrate in the milk of lactating does.

I have no idea how this directly translates to snakes, but my advice would be
1. Be careful how much you're dosing your rodents, and how often.
2. Don't offer snakes ivermectin laced food on a regular basis as it will remain in their body for extended periods of time, and small amounts over a long time may contribute to an overdose.
3. Be careful feeding ivermectin'd mice to breeding females in case it's transferred to the egg.

To be honest, if you're not bringing stock in on a regular basis, your rodents shouldn't need regular ivermectin treatment. If they do contract mites or lice (not fleas - ivermectin works by promoting the release of an inhibitory neurotransmitter that leads to paralysis and death of the parasites, which fleas do not use, rendering it ineffective against fleas) then one treatment a week for three weeks will normally kill the parasites. A single treatment is not enough as it will not kill eggs, only hatched animals, so you need to give the eggs time to hatch too.
 
Thanks Toyah! I have never used ivermectin on mice and never saw a reason to do so (I've never had nor seen a rat or mouse with mites or lice but I have heard that some mouseries have been exposed due to infected bedding etc.) So hearing that breeders use it when there is no sign of pests (or exposure to pests) confounds me.

Oh, and I checked your rodent website, awesome rats :)
 
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