My rat is scratching, losing hair, and has bugs. How to treat?

It sounds indeed like your rats may be suffering from a mite or louse infection. Treatment usually consists of applying an avermectin such as Revolution or ivermectin available either in pet shops, your vet or over the internet. You can use the Revolution for dogs up to 5 lbs, at a dosage of 0.1 ml/lb of rat (you will need a 1ml syringe to measure out the dose correctly. Of course it would be easier to have the treatment done by your vet after he or she verifies whether this is indeed a mite infection/louse infection. Make sure you remove and destroy all bedding and disinfect all cages and toys.

In such a young rat the most common reason for hair loss is parasites, I would trear him for them anyway as they can be hard to see. If that doesnt help then I would consider allergy, dust free bedfing can help and good quality pellet food specifically formulated for rats.

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! When I see patients like this the first thing I do is a skin scrape to check for residual parasites like mites (which I suspect here) If none are found, often I will do a culture to make sure no resistant bacteria or fungi (like ringworm-another possibility high in the list) infect the skin, and if so what kind. Thank you for attaching pictures! It is very helpful to us. The "blood" that you are seeing is likely a secretion called porphyrin...it can be released due to stress or illness. I hope this information helps! If you need further assistance or would like a consult please don't hesitate to ask.

Thanks for reaching out about Mike. Mites often cause scratching to the point of dermal scabs, often found around the shoulder area. Mites are more common in newly acquired pets. Being hyperactive is not necessarily a sign of illness, maybe being stimulated by smell or sounds. If the problem persists and you are concerned, a veterinary visit is recommended. Good luck.

Usually if a pet is going to have an ectoparasite (parasite that lives on the pet's skin/fur), it will be on the pet itself and not out in the environment/on the floor. I would recommend getting a fine tooth comb and using it to look over your rabbit carefully. Based on the photo you provided it is possible this is a tiny baby cockroach (if you google search baby roaches you may find some similar looking bugs). Mites would be too small to see with the naked eye and lice have a different body shape. If you don't feel you can look through your rabbit's fur carefully/closely enough, a vet exam is never a bad idea!

What a cute little guy! Mice do get lice, and it's usually because they're in poor husbandry conditions (like being sold for food). This means your mice are likely infected with other parasites like dwarf tapeworm that definitely is zoonotic (meaning it can infect you). You should treat this little guy with Revolution for cats, which is a spot-on treatment you can get from your vet, and use it topically ever 3 weeks until the parasites are gone. Disinfect his cage and throw out all the bedding as well. If you spray the cage/furnishings with fipronil topical spray this helps kill all the eggs and disinfects the environment. Hope that helps, and best of luck!

He could have mites. A skin scraping should be performed and examined under the microscope. It could also be the beginnings of a growth that your rat is trying to bite or scratch off. I'd recommend an exam to better assess the affected area.