Rat Losing Fur???

[snakesRkewl]

Mites + ringworm is what it looks like to me, been there done that.

[Balls Out Morphs]

It looks like excessive grooming to me as well. Another rat or the same rat just nibbled too much.

I've looked at hundreds of photos of Ringworm and this just doesn't look like that. There aren't any sores on the skin other than a couple little places that you can see in the pics, but they look nothing like Ringworm. After seeing the male grabbing her by the back of the neck and forcefully holding her down I'm really starting to think he's the culprit. For the time being I have left all three in the same tub together and will check on them tonight when I get home from work.

[snakesRkewl]

Maybe there is no ringworm, I can't see any for sure, but the hair loss looks like mites.(think mange...)
These same mites carry ringworm.

[Balls Out Morphs]

Mites + ringworm is what it looks like to me, been there done that.

Is there anything I give the entire colony to rid/prevent both the mites and Ringworm? Keeping their tubs clean is no problem; I keep them cleaner than most pets I've seen. I know these guys are really just feeders but I care for them as much as any other animal living in my house. Starting completely over wouldn't be that bad being that I've only had them for a couple weeks but here in VA everyone gets their rats from the same place so if I started over the stock would be from the same source.

A few of them seem to have the "sneezes" also, is there anything I can give the entire group to rid them of this also?

I've got to get this right in order to produce my own feeders or I will not be able to afford my growing collection of snakes.

[snakesRkewl]

Ivermectin paste, hope your rats don't bite

Here's a good read up...http://ratguide.com/health/integumen...oparasites.php

[jasbus]

You say she was fine the day before? No obvious skin irritation? Then, my call is either mites, or overgrooming. With the little blood spots around the perimeter, it looks more like a grooming issue... I see little spots around her head as well, looks like more blood spotting. If you can check her fur around the neck and underbelly for more of these spots, it may be parasites.
But, judging by what you say, nothing the day before, I call grooming.

Another issue I find in rats and fur loss is, an improper diet. If their food source is not correct, they can get hot spots, just like a dog or cat. In rodents, it's usually from too much protein. It generally takes several months to become a problem though. Do you know what the breeder was using for rodent diet? Generally, a protein of 17--19% is perfect for rats, lower range if you're not breeding them. But, like I said, it usually takes several months for diet related issues to become obvious.

Ringworm usually starts with a little hair loss in a patch, then after several days, you see the classic ringworm and the hair comes off on that spot. And, the spot has a ring of dark around it. If the rats aren't scratching alot, it's probably an overgrooming issue. It doesn't look like ringworm, but I've been fooled before!

The only real other common fur loss issue is gonna be molting, but 90% of the time molting happens with the fine new fur already in place. Molting can happen in round spots that can "resemble" ringworm, and some people(Rasputin) will argue that can never happen, but every rat and every molt is different.

Personally, I'd cull the rat. Ringworm is very contagious, but sometimes you only see it in one rat, and it never spreads. But, it's not worth the few bucks to wait and find out in my opinion.
If you want to isolate her and just wait and see, it only takes a few days for the ringworm to totally be obvious. Any over the counter jock itch or athletes foot spray will cure it, but you have to wait weeks for the anti-fungal med to clear out before you can safely use the female again.
Feed her off, and move on, the easiest, safest and smartest way to get on with life in my opinion....

[jasbus]

Is there anything I give the entire colony to rid/prevent both the mites and Ringworm? Keeping their tubs clean is no problem; I keep them cleaner than most pets I've seen. I know these guys are really just feeders but I care for them as much as any other animal living in my house. Starting completely over wouldn't be that bad being that I've only had them for a couple weeks but here in VA everyone gets their rats from the same place so if I started over the stock would be from the same source.

A few of them seem to have the "sneezes" also, is there anything I can give the entire group to rid them of this also?

I've got to get this right in order to produce my own feeders or I will not be able to afford my growing collection of snakes.

Mites don't carry ringworm... Ringworm is a fungus, it's found everywhere. You have to physically come into contact with it to contract it. That usually means, direct contact with another being that either has it, or is carrying it. I had a cat once that got it, and gave it to my daughter. What a nightmare... It took months to totally cure both of them, but no one else in my family got it... Just when I thought either my daughter or the cat was clean, another spot would show up... It sucked!!
I have had a couple of rats with ringworm over the years, but I usually just cull off anything that even remotely looks like a disease or fungus or sickly rat...
As for mites, I started using PAM for my reptile enclosures several years ago. When I moved my store to a new building about 3 years ago, we started getting mites in our rodents, bad, like overnight explosion... I climbed into the attic space, and found several squirrel nests that were just crawling with mites. Having a pet store, you can't obviously just spray chemicals around. I called several exterminators, but none would touch a pet store, for obvious liability reasons. So, I went on a crusade. Calling anyone I knew who raises rodents/snakes/etc... The only thing I kept consistantly hearing was PAM, PAM, PAM. Having been using it already for my reptile enclosures, of course, I started using it on my rodent racks and caging. But, after a couple of weeks of going through several cans of $18/can PAM, it hit me to look at the main ingredient(I'm not too slow)... Permitherin. Ok, find it in another product that is cheaper. HotShot Bedbug and Flea spray, $10/gallon at the hardware store. It's half the dosage of PAM, perfect. Been using it since, and I haven't seen a mite since.... I buy it by the case, and keep it on hand. I spray the perimeter of each tub every week when I clean. I have never had any issues using it, but my rat building are very well ventilated, which I think is very important when using any insecticide in proximity of animals...

[Balls Out Morphs]

Thank you for your input "Jasbus", you defiantly sound like you know what you’re talking about. And the answer is yes she had no sign of sickness or the bald spot the day before yesterday and she wasn't acting sick at all last night. Their diet main diet consist of "Native Earth" 18% and every other day I give each tub a small bowl full of a mix I make out of; reg cheerios, puffed wheat, raisin brain, dry split peas, dry lentils, unsalted peanuts in the shell, rolled oats, cracked corn, black oil sunflower seeds, dry tri colored vegi pasta, and dried cherries. The breeder they came from says he uses rat block.

Are there any meds/treatments that I can give my entire group to kill any colds, possible RI's, mites, etc? I would like to have all of them as healthy as possible before the babies start coming so things don't get passed on to them. I know it may take time and some work but I'm willing to do whatever to get this group healthy.

[jasbus]

Yeah, like I said, it sounds like a grooming issue. Just keep an eye on it, make sure it doesn't spread if you decide to keep her.

As for sniffles, it's not uncommon. Make sure they are in a clean environment, and use low dust bedding. I've been using kiln dried pine for a couple of decades without much incident. Of course, nothing is fool-proof, there will always be a rat or 12 that get sick, no matter what you use for bedding. I sell alot of aspen bedding in my store, but most people buy the pine for rodents. I go through 4-5 huge bales of pine a week, so aspen is not an option for me, it's just not worth the extra 40-45% price.
Best practice is to clean often, and cull out weak lines. An occasional sniffle does not mean sick rats. Even the cleanest low dust bedding has dust... Just keep an eye on them, and make sure you don't get a myco flareup...
Your babies are going to be the ones that suffer from RI's or other sickness. Adult rats may not even show signs of being sick, that will kill weak babies. I try to keep my rat barns at a relative constant temp, to stop temps goin g up and down too much. Anything above 65 up to about 85 is fine, but obviously a constant mid range is preferred. Mine stay around 68-70 year round, but I onl;y really worry about it this time of year. Summer, often I will leave the doors open for fresh air, so the temp will go up or down quite a bit.

[satomi325]

Are there any meds/treatments that I can give my entire group to kill any colds, possible RI's, mites, etc? I would like to have all of them as healthy as possible before the babies start coming so things don't get passed on to them. I know it may take time and some work but I'm willing to do whatever to get this group healthy.

For RI, you can mix Tetracycline powder into their water. Tetracycline is an antibiotic that clears up infections. You can find Tetracycline in the fish section of pet stores. Each box usually has a couple packets. The one I get comes w/ 10 packets.

I don't know if you have an automatic watering system or individual bottles, but 1 packet can be used in a 16oz water bottle. But be sure to check the box for dosage to water ratio.

A few vet techs and I have used this method to cure mild and severe RIs. I've treated rats who were sneezing till their noses bled with this stuff and it worked great. Rats may take 1-3 weeks to recover.

It definitely saves the trouble of going to the vet and buying meds from them.
Also it's totally safe for rats of all ages and pregnant/nursing rats. Most vets will prescribe baytrill for RI, and that is not safe for growing/pregnant/nursing rats.