Itchy skin in old rat

[frankykeno]

LeRoy is an old, ex-breeder male rat we sort of had to take as no one wanted him at the pet store and our male Rocky did need a new cagemate after Kracker passed on. LeRoy look okay, obviously old and so forth but in decent condition.

Now suddenly he's itching constantly and has some scratches/scabbing on his back along his spine. I can't see a sign of mites or buggies of any sort and his cagemate is fine. I haven't changed their bedding type or food other than I often add in treats for them of different sorts but all are on the okay list for rats. His coat condition was never much to talk about but now he is starting to look patchy.

I'm slathering on neosporin. I'm a bit worried about trying to clip his hind nails as he hates it and quite honestly I'm scared he'll croak being as old as I suspect he is. I have a big rough brick in their cage that they have to walk over to get to water to help keep the nails down a bit.

I'm wondering if there's anything I can do for the old fella, maybe a shampoo of some sort or a home remedy. I'm going to try an oatmeal water bath tomorrow as it's great for itchy human skin so why not on a rat, followed by clear water to rinse.

Any ideas? Becky....help please I hate to see old LeRoy looking so "ratty".


~~Jo~~

[SatanicIntention]

He might have protein sensitivity. I had one female that got scabbies everywhere(under her chin and on the sides of her chest). After I removed the majority of the dog food out of the mix, it cleared itself up.

It could be mites, and only he could be showing signs. Where are the scabbies/hair loss? You may not see the mites unless you really comb through the hair, but usually they are just too small to see. You can get some Ivermectin 1.87% horse dewormer at the feed store for around $6 a tube. Use ONLY ivermectin though, nothing else added in. Give him a grain of rice sized dose once a day for 2 weeks, and see if it clears it up.

While you are doing the ivomec, you can also make up another batch of food. Just dilute out the dog food(or whatever that has an excessive amount of protein in it) with more grains. Kashi GoLean, shedded wheat, puffed wheat and rice, Cheerios, some of the cereals in the organic cereal section at the store(no sugar). I get the cereals that have real dried fruit in them, plus all of the different kinds of grains. You can get real brown rice(the flat kind), dried split peas(half a bag or so), and just add in two bags of that tri-colored pasta. It will help even things out, and make sure that each bowlfull of mix doesn't have nearly the amount of dog food in it.

Hope this helps a bit, and if you have any other rat questions, you can come to www.the-real-rat-community.com . They are a wonderful ratty lovin' community

BTW, I'll have to take a picture of my new tat that I got on my foot. It is just TOO CUTE!

[frankykeno]

Oh I bet you hit that nail right on the head Becky. I just started adding in a new brand of dog food that my local pet store gives out tons of free samples of. It's a lot higher protein than the stuff I was using. Geesh I never thought to cut back the amount in the homemade rat mix I'm using.

I'll also go out and get that Ivomec and start on that as well.

We have made a hard decision to seperate the male rats as LeRoy is slowing down so much and Rocky the much younger male is playing just far too rough with the old fella. They will still get playtime together but just not share a cage every day.

I'll let you know how it goes....thanks Beck!


~~Joanna~~

[SatanicIntention]

Definately cut out that dog food. The protein % needs to be no higher than 16% TP(sometimes lower-14%) because they can start having adverse effects(ie: itchiness, scabbies, hairloss, etc). Higher protein is necessary for growing babies, pregnant and lactating moms, or hairless ratties. I give my hairless guy and girls cat treats a few days out of the week so they can get that extra protein.

I also give mine chicken/chicken bones, any kind of meat(fish, pork, beef, whatever) so they don't have to have the refined protein sources all of the time. The fish is good as it has the omega fatty acids. You can also try some live feeder fish in a shallow bowl of water, especially on a hot day. They have tons of fun catching and eating the fishies Plus it's hilarious. Sardines are good, but they stink to high heaven. You can also get soy nuts, which are good for protein and also very healthy. I buy the honey roasted ones and put them straight in the mix. Granola cereals are good as well. It's easy to just dilute the dog food out with all of the grainy cereals available. You can get big boxes of that Kashi GoLean at Sam's, plus big bags of the colored pasta.

If you have any other concerns, just ask. I'll be around

[Jeanne]

Great advice Becky, thats exactly what I would have reccommended.

But do watch your rat when giving ivermectin, I had one I gave it to, to treat mites that would not go away no matter what..and he ended up with neuro problems because of it. I had him on it for 14 days (per vet instructions), and I cannot remember the dose, but I do know it was low because he was a bit uncomfortable using it in rodents unless they had severe issues with mites re-occurring, and he did tell me it *could* cause neuro problems as an after effect depending on how he reacts to it. I have also used ivermectin in a rescue rat and a friends pet rats without any effects at al, so, for my guy, he obviously did not react well to it. All in all, ivermectin is a highly effective way to treat mites.

[SatanicIntention]

It may have been the injectable kind that is sometimes given orally. It is a much stronger dose. I know someone on another forum was only telling the person giving the horse wormer to their rat to only give the rat a grain of rice dose ONCE PER WEEK for 3 weeks... Now is that not ridiculous or what? That would do nothing, and since rats' metabolisms are so fast, it wouldn't affect the mites one bit.

You can also use Frontline/Kitten Revolution, but I don't remember what the dose is. The horse dewormer shouldn't be a problem, but if you do see adverse signs, just discontinue it. There is barely any medication in the horse version and "shouldn't" give you problems. The stuff that vets sell is a higher % of ivomec, which is why he might have been uncomfortable about using it.

[Jeanne]

It may have been the injectable kind that is sometimes given orally. It is a much stronger dose. I know someone on another forum was only telling the person giving the horse wormer to their rat to only give the rat a grain of rice dose ONCE PER WEEK for 3 weeks... Now is that not ridiculous or what? That would do nothing, and since rats' metabolisms are so fast, it wouldn't affect the mites one bit.

You can also use Frontline/Kitten Revolution, but I don't remember what the dose is. The horse dewormer shouldn't be a problem, but if you do see adverse signs, just discontinue it. There is barely any medication in the horse version and "shouldn't" give you problems. The stuff that vets sell is a higher % of ivomec, which is why he might have been uncomfortable about using it.

It was definately the injectable kind... wow, had no idea it was stronger than oral kind... but I bet you are right, he was uncomfortable using it for that reason alone. Yeah, I can see giving a dose equal to one grain of rice once per week for 3 weeks.. not gonna touch the problem... pretty rediculous directions there.

Did not know we could use the Frontline/Kitten Revolution... I had always wondered about that though. Maybe if you can find out the dose info on that, you can post it? Would truelly be great info for future reference.

You know, on another forum I heard of someone using it on thier snake to treat for mites... not sure I would choose to do that with a snake.... but ok.

[Ginevive]

Wow, thanks for the info guys. If I ever have any problems with my ratties, I am now fore-armed.
Not to completely hijack the thread, but what does it mean if one of my rats has some blood dried around her eyes? It is not alot, but it is there, and it concerns me. She is a nursing mother, and I use aspen shavings for bedding. I think that I read somewhere that their tears are red so they are mistaken for blood, but I don't remember where I read that.

[SatanicIntention]

It's called porphyrin, and it is a normal, rust-colored secretion. They can have an excess of it related to stress, allergies, genetic abnormalities, etc. If it is just a tad on her eyed when she wakes up, it's not a big deal. Think of it as our eye crusties when we wake up in the morning.

[frankykeno]

Geesh Becky we are never gonna get you married off if you talk about your crusty morning eyes!!!!


~~Jo~~