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Question on Rat Mites

DragonBoy

DragonBoy

Crazy Cornsnake Breeder
Has anyone every encountered rat mites in their breeding colonies? My colony suddenly turned up with them which seemed odd since I have not bought any new rats in several months. I have to wonder when I changed bedding companies maybe that had something to do with it. Any idea what to treat them with or how to treat them?
I have been assured they have no interest in cold blooded critters...is this true? having forty plus snakes with mites would really be a pain in the butt.
Thanks
Scott
 
I've had them show up in a closed colony as well. Probably from the bedding or feed.

They got REALLY bad until I dosed everyone with 1 drop under the hair on the back of their neck, of Revolution for cats. It stays in their system for 30 days and breaks the life cycle of mites so only 1 dosing was needed. Of course I didn't breed them or feed any off during this time.

Rat mites are different from snake mites so no worry of them transferring to your snakes
 
Thanks for the reply. I am happy to know this happens to others. I will talk to my vet this week about revolution.
Scott
 
Just a funny note, I only feed Rodent pro right now and have been for about 3 months. I took some stool samples in the vet recently for check ups and the vet was suprised to see mammal mites <likely the same as your "rat mites"> So even Rodent pro is dealing with these guys!

Rebecca
 
If Flagg's method worked for rats with cat drops, you might want to make sure you don't get dog drops. I know that dog drops can kill a cat, so who knows about rats.
 
Not just any "cat drops", but "Revolution". The dog version is the same medicine but just more concentrated.

Revolution is labeled as being good for controlling mites. I have heard Frontline and Advantage work as well, but I haven't tried those specifically and have read a lot of anecdotal evidence on Revolution.

If your vet won't provide it, it can be ordered online from petshed.com, It's sold OTC in Australia and New Zealand and can be shipped from there. The only reason it requires a prescription here in the US is because it's also a heartworm medication. But rats don't get heartworm so that is not an issue when using it for rats.

I had some severely infested male rats, just covered with scabs and losing hair. 2 weeks after dosing them the scabs were gone and they seemed completely recovered.

You do need to treat every single rat, even those not infested, as the mites will just move to the non-medicated rats and live there.
 
I used the one for small cats or puppies, I believe. It's the same concentration as the kitten version, but the vials contain more medicine so you can treat more rats.
 
DragonBoy said:
Has anyone every encountered rat mites in their breeding colonies? My colony suddenly turned up with them which seemed odd since I have not bought any new rats in several months. I have to wonder when I changed bedding companies maybe that had something to do with it. Any idea what to treat them with or how to treat them?
I have been assured they have no interest in cold blooded critters...is this true? having forty plus snakes with mites would really be a pain in the butt.
Thanks
Scott
Click to expand...

Did you give your rats any hay or straw ( dried grass) for making nest or just to give some extra food ?
 
If I come across mites in the rodents, I start using the Avian Mite control puck looking things.. Works. Of course a little bit of Sevin Dust would likely control it to..

Regards.. Tim of T and J
 
I use Mazuri 6F rat breeding formula for feed and they are bedded on kiln dried pine shavings. The only treat the get is the occassional dog bisquit.
 
We brought a round of "free" rats home with some free mites too one time. Got a bag of Fresh Water, Food-Grade Diatomaceous Earth, worked great. It can be safely used as a dewormer and such for inside parasites as well. Won't hurt the rats, won't hurt the snakes, won't hurt the handler, all win if you ask me :)
 
rodent mites can easily be brought in by shavings or feed. If it was warehoused where wild rodents have access, they can be easily spread to the bedding and then to your own rats.

When possible I try to always freeze any feed or bedding for several days to kill off any possible parasites, but in the warm seasons that's not always possible with a big bale of shavings.
 
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