Arrgh... Mites or lice?

[unlikelyfather]

Over the past week or so I've had bites show up on me but I didn't think much about it. Just now I saw something small crawling on the screen of my iPhone. I suspect that Rasputin has mites or lice, but the trouble is I'm not sure what. I've seen tiny flecks of yellow-white in his fur, but the thing scrawling on my screen (which I could barely see) seemed mildly brownish. It could've been the background shadow.

The treatments for both are completely different, as far as I know, but is there anything I can order that will take out both pests? Ivermectin may work for mites, but it won't work for lice, will it? I've read that rat lice won't bite humans but how reliable is this information? If I hunt down Ivermectin and dose him appropriately with it, and wash everything in the house, what are the odds of getting rid of it?


Unfortunately he's come into contact with a lot of fabric.


This is just what everyone needed, right?


Is it too early to start shaving my own head?

[unlikelyfather]

There's also another piece to the puzzle that I haven't mentioned: these bites on me are fairly large and infrequent. With how much I'm handling Rasputin and how many of my day to day fabrics have come into contact with him, I would honestly suspect the number of bites to be more. (Seriously, he's been coddled in my shirt for over half a day before without any bites showing up in the area in the next two days... I change shirts when I'm done, but that amount of exposure really seems to be quite a lot for not being bitten.)

And the other side of the story:

I have dogs. I've been very busy the past few weeks, taking care of Rasputin and getting applications in order for school and things of the like. I am normally diligent about caring for my dogs, particularly flea and heartguard type medicines, but I missed the flea application date by about a week and a half. I was nursing Rasputin constantly and didn't think the exposure to the medicine would be good for him, so I asked a friend of mine to apply it to the dogs. I'm afraid she may have done it incorrectly, as it seems to be mostly in their fur and not spaced as well as I would have done it myself.

One of these dogs sometimes sleeps in my bed, and it's every night after she joins me that I typically wake up with a new bite or two. All in all, I've had about 10 bites.

This doesn't excuse the tiny insect I saw on my iPhone, lice or mite or whathaveyou, but it may explain why the bites on me didn't add up to me thinking Ras had anything to do with it. They seem more like your standard flea bites.

I also have not seen anything flea-like in Ras's fur. The only things I've seen have been the iPhone critter and those flecks of whiteishness. Honestly, the flecks seem like dandruff and bits of milk that clung to fur. He's itched here or there but it's mostly been in areas where milk has gotten into the fur and been kind of messy. I'm not contesting that he does have mites/lice/whathaveyou, but this is how my brain justified it this whole time.

Can dogs and rats and humans all share a species of flea? Should I be checking the dog or the rat for the culprit that keeps biting me? Should I just treat them both and quarantine all of the fabric and carpets in my place? (That's probably impossible with the amount of fabric in here but I can certainly try my best.)

I've already stripped my bed and am preparing to wash everything. It sucks not knowing where these are coming from.

[lilspaz68]

How big is the buggie you saw that was brownish? If it was long, cigar shaped and slow-moving that was a louse,,and remember lice are nice Mites are invisible. Fleas on the other hand...sigh, the dog and cat fleas will bite you but not live on you, they also will bite you rat. But for your little ratman you can use Revolution once he's a bit stronger..it takes care of all those pesties for him, much safer than Ivermectin. I have MSDS on both to show you if you need it?

Here is my article on buggies with pics (of course!)

http://lilspazrats.wikispaces.com/He...toparasites%29

[unlikelyfather]

How big is the buggie you saw that was brownish? If it was long, cigar shaped and slow-moving that was a louse,,and remember lice are nice Mites are invisible. Fleas on the other hand...sigh, the dog and cat fleas will bite you but not live on you, they also will bite you rat. But for your little ratman you can use Revolution once he's a bit stronger..it takes care of all those pesties for him, much safer than Ivermectin. I have MSDS on both to show you if you need it?

Here is my article on buggies with pics (of course!)

http://lilspazrats.wikispaces.com/He...toparasites%29

It was very small and may have been whiteish. I can't tell. I did a test with some other things and everything when it's on my iPhone screen looks dark.

It sounds mostly like its mites.

It was so small there's no way I'd have ever seen it on him. The only reason I could see it was because it was noticeable on an all lit up screen.

[unlikelyfather]

If I were to get revolution, which should be ordered? Cat? Dog? Puppy/kitten? I assume they don't simply make one of the "rat" variety.

[trematode]

I took Parasitology and Medical and Veterinary Entomology.
Most mites are microscopic. The ones that show up on your pets (ie scabies, mange, eat mites) are only visible under a microscope. If you can see it, it is likely not a mite.

[Tabitha drake]

I just had this problem last week. My rat Norman that I rescued had lice. And gave it to my other boys. I noticed nits in their fur. I ended up giving them baths,cleaning cages, and threw away their hammocks (nits were all in the hammock too). Then i treated them with revolution. I live in the USA. And in Kansas we have to get it from the vet. It was $15 per treatment.


Sent from my iPhone using PG Free

[lilspaz68]

If I were to get revolution, which should be ordered? Cat? Dog? Puppy/kitten? I assume they don't simply make one of the "rat" variety.

Either...you only need a smaller dose of Dog, but even if you gave a bigger dose it won't hurt the rat, they tolerate Revolution really well. But as your little guy is VERY wee, I would wait til he's older. Watch for buggies on his skin, and scabs and excessive itching.

[unlikelyfather]

Either...you only need a smaller dose of Dog, but even if you gave a bigger dose it won't hurt the rat, they tolerate Revolution really well. But as your little guy is VERY wee, I would wait til he's older. Watch for buggies on his skin, and scabs and excessive itching.

He's been very active lately and acting more age appropriate... But should I wait until he's four or five weeks old and weaned?

Also, to those saying that mites are microscopic and you'd never see them... It's different when its on an iPhone. It was literally about the size of a pixel, but it was on BRIGHT WHITE LIGHT, and I could see it moving. At first I thought it was just a fleck of dust but it was slowly traveling across my screen.

I absolutely can't see anything on my rat.

[unlikelyfather]

Also, is it specifically revolution or would any flea & tick stuff work? I don't use Revolution on my dogs, but I'll buy separate for Ras if need be.