Dead rats with small bugs?

Question

Hello, so have four rats all together and today they all slowly died one after another for reasons we dont know, anyway I noticed that on one of the rats (the black rat) there were these small white things hanging on at the top of its hair, on closer inspection I saw that they were small white bugs that hardly ever moved, could anyone have a guess what these might be?? and maybe if they have something to do with the fact that all our rats died on the same day?. (PS. they arent maggets because the rats JUST died)

p.s. the bugs were WHITE

Answer 1

Lice come to mind, when you mention the color white. You cannot get lice from them, as they are species-specific. They're bloodsuckers, and again, if left unnoticed, will cause anemia and possibly even death.

The person below me is wrong, saying that mites are harmless. Anything that is a bloodsucker can be fatal, if left untreated...that's quite the opposite of ''harmless''.

Answer 2

Its a possiblity that they could be tape worms. But if you say that they are bugs, I am not sure. I would clean the cage out really good and next time don't buy the rats from the same place.

Answer 3

They're probably mites. Most hairy or furry animals are plagued with their "brand" of mites- and rats are NO different. They usually do no harm (unless their numbers get out of hand, as they can in cats ears- where they can cause scabs & itching).

Answer 4

They were probably fly eggs.They are white,and don't move,but will hatch into maggots in 24 - 48 hours.A fly probably laid eggs on the rat when it was dying or after it died.

Here is what the eggs look like:

http://www.justbajan.com/health/articles/flyeggs/

Answer 5

it could be mites. you might also check the www.rmca.org they are really good.