Spraying Ivermectin over bedding

by cerial Tue 27 Jul 2021, 2:52 pm

So I have been fighting a battle with mites/lice for a few months now and they are still are causing my mice problems. Here is the thing. I have 6 fancy and 14 deer mice(I have had them in the tank since babies). Most of the deer mice will come to me for treats and such. But as you can imagine sneaking a dropper over there head to apply medicine is next to impossible. They either try to drink it or simply run away.

Now I have a rather large living area consisting of 4 tanks. A 55 gallon long tank, with a 10 gallon with the top and bottom removed allowing it to sit atop the end of the 55 with a mesh bottom, a 10 gallon stacked on top of that lower 10 gallon with half the bottom removed and the edge ground smooth, and a 58Longx23widex28high enclosure made out of old single pane windows. The one 10 gallon has a mesh lid and the rest I used single pane thin windows from like a moble home that allow for easy lifting yet give 1/8" gap above the tanks for fresh air to come in. Everything I picked up used or free and I have less then $200 into the entire setup. It allows for easy cleaning, daily food and water adds, and just giving them treats.

Needless to say they have tons of room for running, jumping, digging and so on.

When it comes to bedding I give them 2 to 4" thick throughout the entire bottom of the tank. Now if I was to buy this stuff from the store it takes right around 160 Liters(just over 3 big bags) to give them the thickness I like them to have then after a few days I give them another half a big bag or 20Liters(I did it twice then said screw it). Because this stuff is not free(that's around $80) I have a different method for bedding.
I go to good will or other thrift store and grab dictionary's or outdated material and then I shred the 1200-1600 pages into 1" pieces. This page material often has very low if any dust and hey were talking about $2 to $3. Plus I am giving back by shopping at good will. It easily fills the tanks the 2 to 4" they can easily pick up the stuff moving it around to make nest, dig in it, and even after 2 weeks there are almost no areas that have become wet.

When I clean the tanks I hush all the mice into the bigger cage made out of old windows clean the 3 smaller tanks (there is a hose connecting the 3 to the one that I block) then I hush them into the 3 tanks to clean the big cage. I don't need to remove all the mice which frankly can become a game that has taken over a hour before. Deer mice are fast. Cool

Now I use cardboard boxes in the 55 gallon sleeping area with a few sticks in this area, this is also where there food is. The lower 10 gallon is another nesting area I place 2 mesh cups and a mesh letter organizer in there for them to sleep on the different layers then I have sticks to the upper tank. In the upper tank I have the 2 waters and a wheel or saucer. In the bigger tank I have a whole mess of sticks and 2 or 3 wheels.

The sticks I grab from my yard or the woods and most of them are a inch to 3 inches in diameter. I replace the sticks after a month and replace the cardboard boxes every 2 weeks(every cleaning).

So I am not getting mites/lice from hay or other potential bedding sources everything is tossed after a month. The plastic/mesh stuff is dipped into the sink full of hot water/soap and allowed to soak. And the insides are wiped down with a liberal amount of diluted window cleaner.

With the bedding being paper I am wondering If I could not simply spray a liberal coating of diluted Ivermectin over the bedding and on top of areas I know they will brush against like inside the hose connecting the tanks or the mesh containers I know they will sleep inside.

While not as good as rubbing it into the fur. It should at least get the stuff to all the mice and throughout the tank and I am hoping after 2 months will kill the things so my mice are happy.

But I also am a bit concerned of the stuff getting in eyes or being eaten or having to much applied by using this method. So here I am seeking advise before I just go spraying the stuff over the bedding. We are talking about around 180 Liters of bedding. I am thinking or spraying 4 ounces in the 55 gallon and 6 ounces in the big tank sprayed over the top of the bedding before letting the mice inside to brush against it while it is still wet. As far as the actual mixture I am thinking of using a 26 ounce spray bottle with 3 ounces of Ivermectin and the rest water.

I will be cleaning the tank on the 7th and throwing everything away(except for the plastic/metal) so I have a bit of time to figure this out.

by cerial Sat 31 Jul 2021, 12:59 pm

Bit of an update. I did a test run spraying some soapy water consisting of 1 drop of dish soap in a 20oz bottle full of water.
This was a instant fail with them licking it undetured or just avoiding any areas that were wet.

Well I have a ramp that is 1.75" wide with 1.25" sides going from the 55 gallon to the lower 10 gallon I placed a 5" washcloth over the top of the ramp zip tied so it does not sag and blocked so they need to go under the wash cloth.

Currently I am shooting the middle 3" with the soapy mixture so the washcloth is moist to the point it will leave a light residue on the mouses back after passing under.

Right now they hate it. But I am hoping in a day or two they will no longer mind it. I am going to shoot the 3" with water daily till the 7th before adding new food and water. After the 7th I plan on spraying diluted Ivermectin to the middle 3". They wont be able to lick the middle 3" and should have the head down or forward as they pass through the 5" section.

Not perfect. But it should apply Ivermectin to the shoulder and back fairly effectively while keeping it away from eyes and being licked.

by cerial Sat 31 Jul 2021, 11:11 pm

Setup.

Spraying Ivermectin over bedding 20210810

by Dee67 Tue 03 Aug 2021, 6:45 am

Did you just get the mites/lice recently? Deer mice are wild and probably came with parasites. Also, bedding needs to be frozen for 48 hours, as it often contains mites etc. Also sticks and branches off the ground need to be cleaned and baked in the oven to remove possible vermin and mites and such. Unfortunately I have no idea how to treat 20 skittish mice for mites and lice, sorry.

by cerial Wed 11 Aug 2021, 1:51 am

Update time.

Cleaned the cage on the 7th adding new sticks. I started spraying the thing on the 5th with the medication right before feeding.

By the 8th they realized ot was not a bad thing and instead of going around it they were going under it willingly.

This is the 11th and I have noticed increased fur on not only the deer mice but also my fancy mice. Lots less scratching and better sleeping.

Nope I have had these deers since they were pups. I want to say they are almost a year old. On the 3rd generation is around 3 weeks.

As far as the sticks go. I kind of need to keep them. After 2 weeks these things are shreaded. They love tearing the bark off and nawing or marking every centimeter even if that means hanging upside down while chewing. I am certain if I was to stop adding the sticks it would not take them long to chew on the wooden cage floor or plastic things.

The big cage is made out of single payne wooden windows. I am not sure why they dont simply chew through it. Not even a curious nawing.

Three of them could get through in a hour if they wanted. If I noticed it in time I could cover it in this black gorilla tape that they hate chewing. But I think it has to do with adding sticks that they can chew and the fact they have never been outside the cage.

What I have works. This mite thing was a headache to overcome. But they have figured out that going under the washcloth coats there back and they seem to like it. They know I spray it before I give them food so there is a treat incentive.

I did have one fancy named Mocha who was being very territorial and chasing them off the ramp. So when I cleaned the cage I let the deer mice sleep in the 55 gallon for 8 hours keeping the large tank closed off before allowing the fancy mice in.
With the deer mice scent on the 55 gallon and them comftable sleeping in it I have not seen much chasing from that dominant fancy and they are able to get under the washcloth more.

I also moved the food out of the 55 gallon and up by the water in the 10gallon which may have been another reason.
Mocha still shows she is the boss to the other fancys and will squint at the deers if they rush past. But she is no longer stalking them like she use to.

by Dee67 Wed 11 Aug 2021, 11:43 pm

No need to remove the sticks, Figgus has them too and loves them, just give them a good clean and dry before adding them. Here's an in depth article or check out this site searching under "safe wood".
https://www.animallama.com/rats/safe-woods-rats-mice/

by Lanico Sat 02 Oct 2021, 7:54 am

This is a bit late but in case it helps - I have both deer mice and fancy mice too. I use critternation cages with mesh on the outside so they can't get out. I also have deep pans with lots of paper bedding. Your pain is similar to mine - currently battling fleas that likely came from the last set of fancy mice I adopted. A tip - scoot your deer mice, one at a time, into a baggy with a generous amount of holes in it (I use a tube to lure them in and have the baggy attached to that) - you can then use a syringe to place one drop of revolution onto them and release them. A member of a FB group gave me that tip and it worked like a charm (well as charming as getting wild mice to do anything can be).

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