i have since put her on proper food. She had horrible fleas when i got her and she has several open sores from them. The eggs are so thick on her hair that you can't even see the hairs! I can't seem to get rid of them, no matter what I do. i can't get the eggs off! She also has a large cyst on her side that keeps getting bigger but doesn't seem to bother her. does anyone have any suggestions on what to do about the flea eggs? i have treated her for all of the live fleas, but i just can't make a dent in the eggs.
2007-12-30 13:01:22 · 9 answers · asked by candice_grayson 2 in Pets ➔ Rodents
I have tried the flea combs but no success. It didn't remove many of the eggs. I have only used Vaseline to try to get them off, but I will try the other suggestions.
we just got two baby rats today that are in their own cage away from my "sick" rats... looks like they have lice too! Does anyone know if flea powder for rats with work?
2007-12-30 15:21:47 · update #1
Sorry... yes they are lice..NOT fleas.
2007-12-30 16:41:06 · update #2
Are you sure that they are fleas, not lice? Your rat will have to have had contact with wild rats to catch fleas, but lice can come from their bedding and other things.
First of all, take everything in the cage and thoroughly clean it, and then freeze everything to kill the eggs. Freeze all of your rat's bedding for two days before you put it in their cage.
To get rid of lice for good, buy a Vapona 'No Pest Strip'. You can often get them at pest control stores, and feed stores.
Cut off a piece of it 2 inches long, and place it on top of your rats cage. Make sure she can't reach it, as she will chew on it if she can and get sick.
Leave it there for 24-48 hours, and all the lice will be gone. Repeat this every two weeks, or as needed, if more lice hatch.
To help get rid of eggs, rub her all over with warm olive oil, then wait a day. This will loosen the eggs, and you can bathe her to remove them.
You should really consider going to a vet about that cyst. It sounds infected and she could get really sick from it.
If you want to try and get rid of it on your own, put a hot, damp washcloth over the cyst and leave it their for a few minutes, then try and squeeze all of the pus out. It sounds gross but your rat will thank you for it!
If the lice don't go away, go to a vet and ask for 'Revolution'. Put the medicine on their back, (an amount the size of a grain of rice, no more) and it should kill the lice.
When all the lice are gone, do consider getting another girl rat so she can have a friend. Rats are so much happier that way.
2007-12-30 16:23:02 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Some people rely on care advice given by uneducated pet store employees and don't do their homework regarding the care and maintence of their pet.
I would suggest that you take the rat to a vet, as the cyst needs medical attention.
To rid your rat of fleas try a kitten flea shampoo and follow the directions on the bottle. Follow up using a flea comb to comb out the eggs. The only way to stop the infestation is to kill the flea life cycle. Clean the cage thoroughly with bleach diluted with ten parts water. Discard any material toys, and wash anything wooden. Rince well. If you have carpeting in your home put a flea collar in the vaccume to kill any fleas that your vaccume manages to pick up. Do not use puppy or dog flea products, they can cause fatal reactions.
Thank you so much for rescuing this little rat who needs you..
Teej.
2007-12-30 13:25:07 · answer #2 · answered by Teej 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I've used cat flea powder on rats and other rodents; it has worked for lice too. Use only a tiny amount.
I'd also try washing her with dish soap or flea soap. Leave the suds on for ten minutes (don't let her eat the suds) and rinse well.
Get some boric acid powder or diatomaceous earth powder. Boric acid is sold as a roach powder or bug powder, you have to read the ingredients on the side to see what it is. dust the bedding with this powder. It kills all bugs that come in contact with it, though not instantly; but it is harmless to mammals and birds. It damages the bugs' exoskeleton so they dry up. I've seen diatomaceous earth at a nursery, it's also harmless to mammals but kills bugs.
She still has open sores from the flea bites? That's bad. Give her some cod liver oil. It's great for the skin and even helps with infections, and rats love it.
Good luck.
2007-12-30 16:59:03 · answer #3 · answered by The First Dragon 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Have you tried a flea comb for cats? Or giving the poor rat a nice rub down with baby shampoo to help try and get some, if not all, of the flea eggs off?
Thank you for rescuing the rat. It amazes me how people can't even take proper dietary care of a rat....they don't ask for much!
2007-12-30 13:08:57 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Alright so you have bugs. Bugs have cycles of life those eggs will hatch and if you keep up on it they will all go away as you keep hitting them
Mite and lice spray for birds is really great... spray let sit for 5 mins and rinse 3 times a day. For as long as it takes and a week longer after that.
A pest strip that will kill anything ! It's white and yellow. The white is a plastic cover with holes and yellow is the pest strip inside. Lay those on the cages 12 hours on 12 hours off.
With pest strip s don't use water bowls use water bottles so the water doesn't become contaminated and change bottle water once a day.
I have had over 50 rats and that worked on 17 of them. Good luck :)
2015-04-19 16:15:41 · answer #5 · answered by Angel 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i'm so glad you rescued her. it sounds like her other owner didn't give a darn about her. the first thing i would do is talk to a vet and see what they say. then i would buy one of those special combs like you need to get when people have lice, they're made special to get the eggs so it might be able to get the flea eggs.good luck. i'm sure she's with a person who will care about her now.
2007-12-30 13:11:53 · answer #6 · answered by N M 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
i used to hav a pegion that i found out side with a broken leg and there were cats around it..... so i took it home and i had it for about a week but i found out that the pigeon has lice..... so my friends kept on tellin me to put mayo on the pigeon to get rid of lice cuz they say that mayo has somekind of thing that lice cant stand.....it worked..... i dont know about rats cuz my rats never had lice....but i think u should try the mayo thing
2007-12-30 17:30:44 · answer #7 · answered by Soffiex3 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
DON'T use any kind of powder around rats - they'll breathe it in and the next thing you know they've got active myco and need a trip to an exotics vet, assuming they haven't been poisoned by what's IN the powder. Try asking the vet - NOT the local cat-and-dog vet, but an exotics expert: they might even be able to advise you over the phone. Your average vet GP won't know enough about rats to know what's safe to use around them.
2007-12-30 19:17:33 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
take her to the vet and get her checked out hope she gets better : . ) good luck
2007-12-30 13:09:25 · answer #9 · answered by sam 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋