Rats - Lice Prevention?
My rat Squishy unfortunately has lice. He was purchased from a local Petco store two weeks ago. Along with his lice infestation, he also came with a mycorplasma infection (a serious upper respitory infection that can scar the lungs of rats, and if left untreated can be fatal). The mycroplasma is under control with the use of antibiotics, but my question is regarding the lice. I gave him his first dose of ivermectin (orally) yesterday afternoon, and soon after the lice have already begun to die. I’ve taken extra precautions and have froze everything (with the exception of his water bottle, and of course him) for 48 hours to kill off any lice that may have hitched a ride. My question is, after he is done with his treatment over the next three weeks, how would I go about preventing an invfestation again? I am taking into account the fact that he was neglected at Petco (along w/ his littermates), and had a very low immunesystem which allowed these little buggers to thrive on him..(cont)
(Petco purchases animals from APET, a breeder of small animals like ferrets, mice, rats, etc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ltIFL8rY4M ). Any advice on preventing these nasties from returning besides freezing all bedding, etc and ofcourse cleaning the cage every 4 days? Can I use revolution, or something similar to keep the nasties at bay? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!
Oops, I mean mycoplasma. =P
Why even bother answering, Askbabs? It wasn’t the rats that caused the plague, it was the fleas and the filthy conditions in which the people affected lived. There was waste and human excrement left to rot on the streets. People didn’t dispose of the dead properly back then (actually left them out on the streets in piles at times to decompose), which also spread and harbored disease. How about overcrowding?? Don’t blame the brown rat for the plague. Blame it on human carelessness. There’s a reason why the bubonic plague isn’t around anymore (there have been cases in India - but that is attributed to over crowding, lack of reliable healthcare..not to mention bathing in the Ghangis River, which is seething with human excrement) - because humans no longer live in filth, and we have polices regarding the disposal of waste.
Question posted courtesy of: Head Lice Treatment
