Hair Loss in Rats

[Danielle(THM)]

I've been searching like mad for the cause of my boyfriend's rat's hair loss. It's not external parasites, and the vet took a skin scraping for fungus, but nothing there either, no excema(sp?), not dry skin, I'm just so frustrated! She's missing a small patch of hair underneath her chin, impossible for her to barber herself there, and a little bit is missing at the base of her tail. No scabs or wounds in these areas either, I was thinking it could be a deficiency of some nutrient, but I'm just guessing here, any ideas?

[Bdadawg]

The 2 things id look at are cage mates and diet.

If she is being housed with a male they can get a bit aggressive while being "amorous".

Highest liklihood is that you are feeding too much protein. You really dont want it to be above 24% ... preferrably it would be around 18% for a nursing female, and around 14% for males and non-nursing females.

If you are feeding a cat food or a grocery store dogfood then you are most likely exceeding their protein needs.

Bryan

[Danielle(THM)]

She doesn't have a cage mate, not a breeder, just a pet. Too much protein would make sense, whenever we get pizza, she gets half a piece of pepperoni or whatever, what I'm saying is her treats are usually meat of some kind . I'll just have to tell my boyfriend to knock it off. Thanks much, I was really starting to get worried.

[frankykeno]

Yep I used to have hair loss issue and some dry patches/scabby areas with our previous pet rats that ate just a tad too well for their own well being LOL. Cut back on the proteins, offer more fresh veggies (they are great for finishing up that bag of salad in your crisper). A wonderful treat for your pet rat is to save up the ends of bread in a bag in the fridge. Once per week dip a bit of stale bread in just a tiny bit of olive oil and offer it as a treat. Your rat will love it, it's a perfect treat to work on handfeeding and socialization and the best benefit....excellent coat condition (great way to use up bread too!)

[gmmuscle91]

Also, is it a rex rat? rex rats are known for losing some of their hair for no reason at all.

[Jeanne]

Also, is it a rex rat? rex rats are known for losing some of their hair for no reason at all.

Rex is a hair type, that looks kinda kinky or curly, a rex will have curly whiskers... there are also double rex who look just like a rex, other than thier hair seems a bit shorter and sparse. Rex rats do not lose thier hair, however, double rex, which is often mistaken for a nekkid (hairless) rat do lose thier hair in patches through out most of the yr, and it grows back whenever, the patches appear at irregular intervals. Double rex has also been referred to as a Patch~Work by some relatively new breeders that think they have "something new and different genetically than a double rex" when indeed it is truelly a double rex. A true Nekkid (hairless) rat, is just that...has no hair, not even peach fuzz, it is truelly nekkid, void of hair.

[frankykeno]

Oh forgot to mention this in my other post Danielle. Even though this is a pet rat and likely is handled at lot by you and your boyfriend you really should consider a second female rat (this one is female right?). Rats really need cage buddies, they are extremely sociable creatures by nature and need another rat to groom, cuddle with, wrestle with, etc. Two female rats are really no more work than one and that way your lovely pet will have a buddy and be much happier for it. It's pretty rare for one rat to refuse a friend but if you get another female try for a similar size and just keep an eye on them for a few days. Don't be surprised to hear a lot of squeeks and bumps in the night....they love to wrestle and body slam each other LOL. Just watch for actual fighting or bites. I have one female rat that only likes certain other female rats...dang albino rats can be testy in nature so I'd avoid those if possible for pets.

[Danielle(THM)]

Funny you should mention that...wait, are you following me?! I bought a new rat yesterday, she's being quarantined in another room. When I bought my boyfriend's rat (birthday present), I picked her by sticking my hand in the cage, and she ran up and licked my finger, so she got taken home. But with my rat I looked in the cage and said "That one's so cute!" and picked Shroom (her name) I didn't realize my folly until I took her home and saw that she is deathly afraid of all people. I can't even take her out without an escape attempt. Looks like a long road of rat training ahead of me, anyone have any tips? (BTW: Neither of them are Albino's, don't like the look of 'em )

[Bdadawg]

I teach socialization by offering cheerios. The rats love tham and they are pretty good for them. I also make the same noise whenever I feed. Kinda like a whistle. This lets everything now im coming so they dont freak out when im suddenly opening their tub.

Get them used to the sound first. Then open the cage set your hand down flat (palm up), and let them take the cheerios from you. Eventually they just start climbing your hand looking for treats.

While it isnt often you can get a rat that cares nothing for cheerios. I find vanilla wafers work great for reluctant ones.

Also her being shy may be a sign of a different problem ... shy ones usually have security issues and will lash out. If this happens return it and get a different one immediately, the behavior wont go away, and will probably get worse.

Bryan

[Danielle(THM)]

I think she's just unsocialized, I do offer treats, but my sound is strumming my finger lightly across her cage (Wire cage). Thanks for the post!