What to Do If Your Pet Rat Has Lice

Kill the Lice

If you suspect your pet rat has lice, search medical consideration out of your distinctive pet veterinarian immediately. Your exotics vet can diagnose your pet with lice and cope with it appropriately, presumably using a drug like ivermectin or selamectin off-label (meaning the drug should not be meant for this goal nevertheless veterinarians routinely use it and are legally allowed to take motion).

Do not attempt to buy over-the-counter medication from a drug retailer or pet retailer to cope with rat lice. Human lice therapies are far too sturdy for a small pet and may kill your rat. Pet retailer therapies might be dangerous of their very personal correct, inflicting seizures or just being ineffective and a waste of money. It’s increased to rid the lice out of your pet than the pet from the lice, so play it safe and converse alongside along with your vet.

Clear the Cage Fully

After your rat has acquired appropriate remedy out of your vet, and sooner than returning your pet to his enclosure, fully clear and wash the cage, dishes, and any toys throughout the cage with water and some mild dish detergent. You must undoubtedly rinse all the cleansing cleaning soap sooner than inserting current bedding in. Throw out any bedding and meals that will have been beforehand contaminated, and freeze any remaining provides to kill any bugs which can be hiding out for on the very least 24 hours. Whether or not it’s beneath freezing exterior you might on a regular basis put your rat’s cage and belongings exterior in a single day to freeze (nevertheless not your rat!) after which change the bedding, water, and meals the next day.

Species Specific

This means individuals get human lice, mice get mouse lice, guinea pigs get guinea pig lice, and rabbits get rabbit lice. So do not fret about you or your toddler getting lice from their pet rat with pediculosis (lice infestation). If a rat louse jumps on you it’ll not chew you, and it’ll not survive. In numerous phrases, you might’t get lice out of your rat and you will’t give it to him each.

Mites vs Lice

Merely put, mites are arachnids like spiders and ticks, and lice are bugs like ants. There are moreover two types of lice, sucking lice and biting or chewing lice. The sucking lice are further worrisome than chewing lice because of the potential for ​blood-borne sickness transmission and anemia (excessive blood loss). Regardless of the type of lice, every are pretty itchy. Don’t delay remedy for individuals who see your rat itching.

Pets at Menace

Rats, mice, guinea pigs, and gerbils are the most common pets to amass lice. Oddly adequate, as commonplace and overbred as they’ve grow to be, hamsters are normally not broadly acknowledged to get contaminated with lice nevertheless guinea pigs usually do. Rabbits will generally grow to be contaminated, notably in the event that they’ve frolicked with totally different rabbits, resembling at a very good or a rabbit current.

In case your rat is itching it is best to get him checked out by his vet after cleaning the ambiance and making certain the air will not be too dry in your personal house.