Home remedies for mites on rats?

Question

I have an albino rat that has been itching alot lately. His back is staying very red and i think he has mites. I cant afford to take him to the vet or to buy the medicine. I was wondering if anyone knows of a home remedy i can use on him to kill the mites.

thnx 4 ur help....(=

Answer 1

If you can't afford the vet, you can't afford the pet. Please rehome him with someone who can afford him. What will you do when he gets sick with something worse than mites? And why is he alone without a cagemate?

The only home remedy is olive oil and it doesn't work nearly as well as medication from a small animal vet (like Ivermectin or kitten/puppy Revolution). Not to mention it'll only work at all if these are indeed mites.

The olive oil method: http://www.sophielynette.com/oliveoil.ht...

Information on rat ecto-parasites and how to deal with them:

http://ratguide.com/health/integumentary...

Safe treatments you can get from a vet and how to dose rats with them:

http://ratguide.com/meds/antiinfectives/...

http://ratguide.com/meds/antiinfectives/...

Answer 2

There really isnt a home remedy for mites. The only thing that will get rid of mites on rats is Ivermectin. It will clear it up with in days or at least the oral kind will. You can use the Ivermectin which is a horse dewormer and can be bought at places like farm and fleet. Problem is you have to be precise when dosing it and it could kill your rat if you give it too much. I dont know the dosage of that stuff for a rat. My vet only charged me $10 for a syringe full that will treat 17 rats and that was for 2 doses for each one. You have to treat them twice. When you do treat them for mites everything in the cage has to be disinfected. Its just like lice in humans. Everything has to be disinfected after treatment so you dont get them again. Anyway good luck. Wish there was a home remedy I would use it.

Answer 3

You can try gently rubbing olive oil all over the rat. It will complain about you touching it through squeaks and squirms, but it should work after a few days.

It may also have a food allergy to protein packed things like peanut butter or colored dog busicts. Ty changing to an all naturel food. Or it could be allergic to the bedding even; so change that too if you can.

If you find the money for a vet, ask for Ivermectin. It's an ointment.

Answer 4

it could also be that he has lice. (don't worry! lice are species specifc so that doesn't mean you have them). either way, lice mites or fleas, you can buy some flea/mite shampoo that is safe for young kittens (stuff that says not for use on kittens is not safe for use on ratties of any age/size). use only every two weeks. we also bought some lice powder that is safe to apply directly to pet's fur (no more than .15% pyrethrins) and apply it to their fur and bedding after the shampoo.

when treating the bugs, it's also important to thoroughly wash anything in the ratties home or play area. use a 10-20% bleach solution for anything non-fabric. wash all fabrics you can't throw out in hot hot water and a strong detergent.

you'll need to keep up with the treatments for at least 6 weeks as all bugs will lay eggs and they will keep coming back.

A tip: I made elbow length washing wrist guards by cutting up old socks. I put the ankle part around my wrist and cut the toes off the socks for my four fingers to go through, then cut a smaller hole for my thumb (so they look like wrist warmers). these are a necessity as scared wet rats can really claw up your arms! be sure to have a nice dry towel to wrap him up in and keep him cuddled till he's nice and dry.