Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My rat has lice. EEWW. I am going to bathe him this week, but is there anything I can put on him like Frontline ( spray or drops) to guarantee I kill all the bugs? Where could he have gotten them? I've had him and his brother 1 1/2 years and he's from Petco so I wouldn't doubt it if he's always had them. I just lost his brother, Ziggy, last weekend. He lived over 6 months with both of his lungs collapsed, but he died fom cancer. I was thinking about getting Jack a new buddy but he's going to get another health checkup first. And since the next boys will likely be from the pet store ( unfortunately) I don't want to risk having another outbreak of lice. So, are there any preventatives safe for a rat?

Try some Revolution. There's been reports of Frontline causing death in pet rabbits.
I used Revolution on a group of rats that had lice 3-4 years ago, one dose for each & I never had a problem ever again.
Love that stuff...but you can't get it without a prescription....

Good luck & remember "lice are nice" meaning they are species specific so they won't infect anything else.
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PHRatz

Do I use Revolution for cats or dogs, and do I use the entire dose on one rat? Thanks.

>>Do I use Revolution for cats or dogs, and do I use the entire dose on one rat? Thanks.

I used the one they make for the smallest weight dogs.
I used one tube but I sucked it out by the drop with a syringe & needle then put just a drop about 0.01 cc on each male rat at the nape of the neck just like with a dog. I used 0.05 on the smaller females.
You should keep the rats apart until it dries on them- which only takes a couple of minutes or so.
I remember my vet has a set dose for this but I don't recall what it is, she told me that a drop was fine as long as it works but I could've actually used a little more without harm to them. Hopefully your own vet will have a set dose to give you.

Then the next thing I did was I bleached their cages & everything in them. I went over the wire & cage bottom with dog flea shampoo- just in case any lice were wandering around in there.
What I love about Revolution is that when the lice eggs hatch, it's still working on them so it kills what hatches when they hatch then the eggs are gone & no more lice!
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PHRatz

I know I'm late on this one, but I'd like to say that Revolution works great and PLEASE get a correct dose from your vet based on your rat's weight. Also, a second follow up dose in 2 weeks is a good way to go as a back up measure. And definitely do the bleach thing with the cage, all toys (throw away wood or paper toys that cannot be bleached safely), wash all food bowls and water bottles in the dishwasher, if not doing so already. Then do the bleach thing with the cage and toys again in 2 weeks. Then you can breathe easy that all the little buggies are gone, gone, gone!!
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Eileen
I WUV RATTIES
Georgie, Lennon, 'Cartney, Ringo, Sophia, Sunny, Stormy, Jazzie, Peanut, and Ginger