Critter City
By Sandra Conti- Todd of Allexperts.com
Skin problems and your itchy rat!
Itchy skin/excessive scratching/sores/scabs
Pandora
Proudly owned by Miss Sara of California
" Help! My rat has scabs! "
"My rat keeps scratching herself till she bleeds!"
"My rat looks like she has chicken pox!"
These are just a few of the comments people have made to me when they write to me for advice.
Since it seems to be almost an epidemic in the world of pet rats, it is time for me to address this issue the best that I can.
So here we are, reading about the second most talked about rat problem among rat fanciers and although you would think it was easy enough to take care of, it isnt. It could take months to finally get your rat under control and feeling comfortable again, but what else do we have to do right? LOL!
For starters, you are reading this because your rat is itchy and has scabs and just is down right miserable. However, after being checked over by a vet, it was determined your rat does NOT have lice or mites. If they do, your reading the wrong article and should be back reading about ecto parasites and how to treat them etc.
As you know, skin problem in rats starts with the rat being itchy (no duh! :-) The rat scratches herself to the point she breaks the skin open and creates scabs, most often on the neck and shoulders, but sometimes also on the rats face: forehead and chin. Refer to photos below:
Scabs are typical of mites or protein allergies.
Alot of times, the rat owner thinks these are bite marks or scratches from another rat due to play fighting (that is, if your rat has cagemates) This is true in some cases but it really doesnt look the same. A bite from another rat during a fight looks totally obvious that it is a bite, complete with blood tinged fur and even some evidence of a "rattie brawl" within the cage. The real cause for these scabs from itching are, as we said earlier, mites/lice, ellergies, eczema and allergic dermatitis, infection, usually fungal in nature and last but not least not to mention the probable cause is: excessive protein in the diet!
I made that bold on purpose mainly because this truly is the number one cause of itching and scabs and fur loss in rats if it is not parasite related.
Ok great, so we have that figured out. Now what?
Since it may take a bit of time to get this under control, we want to at least stop the rat from causing more injuries to her tender little skin and by doing this you will want to trim down the rats back toenails. These toenails are what is causing alot of the problems with scabs and such, because the rats toenails are breaking open the skin and this is allowing the bacteria found normally on the skin to enter the body. Same as humans, basically. We, like rats, carry normal flora, and the most common is staph, or to be more scientific, "Staphylococcus epidermidis". When we get cut, we are taught to wash the area right away. This is due to the fact our skin carries normal bacteria on it and not so normal *depending on where our hands have been lately without being washed* Ok did you say EW out loud? LOL! Anyhow, the normal bacteria OR the not so normal bacteria can enter the skin through the little cuts we get and they can indeed become become infected.
Once the skin is broken open, the scabs form. Along with trimming the rats toenails, you can also treat the sores and scabs with an antibiotic ointment such as neosporin or polysporin (generic is fine as long as the ingriedients are identical) and another cream I find very helpful is hydrocortisone crream 1% and keep the rat busy for a few minutes while it absorbs. It wont hurt her if she licks it off but it wont work the way we want it to work, either, so a few minutes of extra snuggles may be in order. :-)
Now that we have that part done, that still doesnt resolve the problem and that means we need to narrow it down to what the causes are for this relentless itching our rat is doing.
Peanuts, sunflower seeds and other high fatty foods and nuts are also found to produce allergies in rats too. Foods high in protein are also unwanted as they can contribute to kidney disease later in life.
A change in diet is warranted. Please go HERE for a change in diet.
Also, what type of bedding is the rat on? It is well known that pine and cedar are very bad for rats. If your rat is on either of these beddings, you must change it at once.
Check the rats scalp. Do you notice dry skin? One reader wrote in and suggested feeding the rat a cracker with a bit of olive oil on it, while other readers swear by rubbing olive oil on the rats scalp. I have suggested this many times and have had a positive outcome from it. Although I have never used it myself, the positive feedback is enough to give me confidence to pass this information on to others. Its worth a shot when all else fails!
Lice and mites that will BUG our rats!!
Typical bite marks from lice
Photo provided by Gina of NJ
Another problem our rats face are from ectoparasites, or in easier terms, mites or lice! They cause itching and excessive scratching much like high protein allergies do, with the exception that you will eventually find a critter or two on your rat or even on yourself. Dont freak, they dont like you and wont stay around long. The parasites that plague our rats are species specific and prefer our rats rather than us, thankfully. Not that I want my little rat to itch but it still gives me the willies thinking about it!
So how do we resolve this? I am not going to tell you to race to the petstore and buy a tube of horse worming paste. I will tell you to refrain from buying any over the counter mite or lice treatments from the petstore regardless what the advertisements say about the product. Using powders and sprays on the rat is dangerous for their respiratory tract since it can irriate their delicate lungs, and also can even cause liver or kidney problems like some of the over the counter flea products that shall remain nameless that have been responsible for claiming the lives of many dogs and cats too. I am not going to tell you to lather your rat in oil in hopes to suffocate the critters, even if it works, what about the eggs laying around the cage or the other critters that fed for the day and dont plan on getting back on the rat for a while, after the oil is gone, or all over your good silk comforter on your bed? What I will tell you is to high tail it to the vets, and buy a small vial of revolution. If your treating just a few rats, one vial is fine and your vet should happily sell you one tube of CAT strength revolution for no more than $15. NEVER USE REVOLUTION FOR DOGS! This is a different strength and it will over dose your rat!! You can treat at least three to four rats one time with one of these vials. You need to know their weight, however, or at least a really good guesstimate of their weight. You will also need a syringe with a removable needle (they all are usually removable anyhow) You will not inject the rat, but you will need the needle to be able to poke through the top of the vial and draw out the exact amoung of liquid needed to put on your rat. Remove needle before applying the liquid. It should go right behind their head, between their shoulders. Part the fur to expose the skin and push the plunger down, squirting out the small amount of revolution. DO NOT let him wipe it off. Keep him busy for at least 15 mins. till the stuff dries. Do not rub it in. Allow it to dry on its own. DO NOT let the other rats near him or they will lick it off and this defeats the purpose of using it.
Mauve pack is for use in kittens
Blue pack is for use in cats.
Either can be used. The vials are just bigger when you buy the blue pack, but again, you can buy individual vials if you only need to treat a few rats just once. You cannot save the liquid in the vial once it is open. You must dispose of any unused liquid within a 12 hours after opening.
Doses are as follows:
NO RECOMMENDED FOR RATS UNDER 5 WEEKS OLD OR NURSING OR PREGNANT DOES:
454 gms = 1lb
1/2 lb rat will dose at: 0.03 cc
1 lb. rat will dose at: 0.10 cc
2 lb rat will dose at: 0.15 cc
Another method is to use ivermectin injections. The vet will do this but it is more expensive and you will need to bring all of your rats in for treatment.
Keep in mind the bugs live off the rat, not on the rat. They jump on the rat to feed on them and jump off and burrow in litter/bedding, cardboard rolls, wooden houses etc....so forget trying to salvage those things and TOSS THEM! Its not worth it. The eggs are in them and all that nasty stuff. Now is the time to invest in plastic igloos or waffle houses you can put together. Eventually you will notice less and less scratching and within a few days the bugs should die off. Once the new eggs hatch, they will also die off right away. It wont hurt to dose them once more after thirty days if they had a pretty big outbreak, however.
All smiles now that there are no more nasty bugs any longer! YEAH!
Chloe is content, just chillin in her hammock!
Proudly owned by Gina of NJ!
Proudly owned by Gina of NJ!
Ew...what is that?
1 out of every 10......ok wait, make that 8 rat owners will face this one time or another. Its called the wonderful icky gross abscess. You think its nasty, think of how your fuzzlet feels!
I get letters every week from people worried about the mystery mass that came out of the blue, worried it was a possible cancerous tumor or the dreaded mammary tumor. They are not always easy to tell apart in some cases, even causing some vets that do not have uber experience under their lab coats dealing with them. For the most part, an abscess is not a serious big deal unless you have a weak stomach, a rat that bites and wont let you handle him or a vet that doesnt know how to tell the difference, puts the rat under anesthesia to remove the "tumor" only to find it is a pocket full of pus rather than a tumor. Thus in turn, the rat was subjected to anesthesia for no reason, has stitches for no reason and you have a big fat bill....for no reason when it could have easily be taken care of for less than $20.
Ok now that this is out of the way.....how can YOU tell the difference between an abscess or a tumor? Usually, an abscess develops quickly, with the rat owner claiming that the lump wasnt there just yesterday. This is very common with an abscess while a lump grows slower, starting off sometimes so small it may go unnoticed until its about the size of a pea or even a grape.
An abscess is also moveable and squishy, rather than firm and attatched. You may notice a scab on it, but this is usually necrotic tissue rather than a scab. It may also appear to be sunken in which means it has either erupted in the past or is about to drain. You must help get rid of the pus inside this abscess. They may burst on their own but letting it go to long could be a problem since the bacteria can possibly develop deeper into the body. If this occurs and it ruptures. this may allow the infection to get into the rats blood stream and can produce a very nasty and dangerous case of bacteremia, which is when infectiouis agents are able to enter into the blood stream.
Got that so far, but what is an abscess, exactly?
Despite how clean we keep ourselves, there is always naturally occurring
Skin abscess also referred to boil. It is infected in the skin and filled by pus. It is caused by collection of pus in the skin. Skin Abscess usually start as red, tender lumps. The lumps quickly fill with pus, growing larger and more painful until they rupture and drain. Most people with boils are otherwise healthy and have good personal hygiene. Although some boils disappear a few days after they occur, most take about two weeks to heal. In severe cases, boils may develop to form abscesses. These germs already exist on the skin and in the nose of some people without causing any problems. The symptoms of boils are red, pqus -filled lumps that are tender, warm, and/or painful. A yellow or white point at the center of the lump can be seen when the boil is ready to drain or discharge pus.
So, how do I treat an abscess?
First and foremost, you must have a strong stomach, or at least fairly strong. If you cant stand the sight of blood, pus or wounds etc....this job is NOT for you and I suggest you telephone your vet for an appointment right away. Waiting may result in the abscess bursting on its own leaving you no choice but to have to face the task of cleaning up the rat and whatever there may be in the cage, such as fluids from the abscess getting on the bedding etc....
Some experts say to leave the abscess alone and allow the vet to take care of it. I wont tell you thats a bad idea. In fact, thats a brillant idea, but I am also realistic. I have been taking question and answers from rat owners for several years now and I can honeslty say that at least 60% of the people that write are planning on taking the rat to the vet. If I deny helping them, the rat may become seriously ill and possibly die. Whats worse, taking advice from someone with experience or letting it go untreated? So if you prefer to treat this yourself, it is pretty basic stuff. You will need to start off by having the following things available, substitues ok as long as they are as close to the item as possible.
1. Warm compress or rice in a sock, warmed in them microwave.
2. Cotton balls or gauze
3. Saline solution Contact solution (even without preservatives, is not good enough. The strength is not correct which means antiseptic properties are not there)
4. Chlorhexidine which is also known as "hibicleanse" and is found over the counter and better pharmacies.
5. Neosporin antibacterial ointment. You can also use the one with the pain reliever in it, thats fine.
6. NO PEROXIDE! This can damage delicate tissues on the rat. If this is all you have, you can use it but it must be diluted 1 part peroxide, 2 parts water, preferably bottled or distilled water.
7. Paper towels and a trash bag to toss the soiled tissues, cotton balls or q tips used.
8. OPTIONAL- disposable gloves and a clothes pin for your nose because yes, it may stink beyond your wildest dreams.
What to do next:
Start by making sure the rat is in a good mood. Its best to hold a warm compress or the heated rice bag or hot water bottle (make sure its not hot, of course, but warm enough to about 100 to 105 degrees. In other words, put the compress on the inside of your wrist. If it burns, its too hot for the rat so wait a minute and try again. It should feel warm and soothing but not hot.
Hold the compress on the mass for as long as the rat tolerates it which probably will be no better than 10 minutes. The purpose of the warm compress is to pull the pus to the surface and to make the skin softer so it can burst easier. Try as hard as you can to hold the compress on her but if not thats ok, it will eventually come to a head.
After that, start by grasping the mass with finger and thumb and push firmly but gently in, then up. If she protests, stop for a bit and wait. It may pool to the surface with that little bit of pressure. If not, try to push it up and out again.
You can even get a pin, clean it by puttig the tip in fire for a few seoncds, let it cool and wipe it with alcohol. Gently poke it and see if that opens it up enough for the pus to start to drain. Some people may frown on this but your vet is doing the same thing, basically, and charging you a small fortune for it (gotta make sure he has enough to pay for his vacation home in the mountains AND the beach! ok just kidding, please dont start with the hate mail and telling me how much Vets REALLY make blah blahbity blah. I know I know already, its my humor, its raw. :P
Sooooooo anyhow, back to the abscess. Once it has finally opened up and drains, clean it out by flushing it with either plain saline solution (heat it up a bit so its not shocking cold on the poor baby. Remember there are no nerve endings in this nasty thing so it wont or should not hurt him. I like hibicleanse the best. You can buy it at Walmart or any better drug store. Use warm water, equal parts of water and hibicleanse. You can simply saturate a cotton ball and wring it out over the hole.
Pack with neosporin and do this at least three times a day
More serious abscesses that require Vet treatment without any hesitation!
One of the people that visit my site
sent me this. The little one had an abscess
behind the eye. Enucleation of the eye (removal)
was performed and all was well!
Meet sweet Sparkles. This tumor was a bit more complicated and required systemic antibiotics because she
kept picking at it. It eventually healed without a trace. As nasty as it looks, its actually a "healthy" looking
abscess. You only see traces of pus and there is no necrotic tissue involved. Keeping it clean and keeping
the rat OFF of litter and using only paper towels in the cage to avoid contamination of dirty litter is a must!
Mystery skin condition
Meet Sweet Jasper!
Mr. Jasper
Proudly owned by Dawn Of PA.
Back in December of 2008, I recieved a letter from a very desperate and distraught rat owner who wanted answers to what was causing her beloved male hooded rat to suffer from hair loss and also he was covered in scabs and bumps from head to the base of his tail. When she sent me the photos I was pretty shocked and also puzzled. The Vets she was currently seeing had tried everything from A to Z, from creams and lotions to oral medications too, and nothing was working. The only thing I could do was go over the rats diet with her to see if the diet was ok and other than that, I was helpless myself. I decided the next step should be to take sweet Jasper, whos age is unknown since he was rescued from an neglectful owner, and get him well again.
Despite various antibiotic treatments, medicated shampoos, astringents, cortisone creams, even vitamin E tabs were not helpful. The Vets tested some of the pustules from his skin only to find white blood cells in them. He has been tested for bacterial infections as well as fungal infections. All of them were ruled out. He was treated for mites. He was even given him a vitamin supplement just to see if there was some type of defiency. Again, no change in his condition. His carefresh bedding was removed, and finally, all bedding/litter was removed, and he was given cloth, which was changed to just paper towels, again, making no difference. All wooden toys were removed from his cage too. His cage was cleaned daily.
The vets even posted a photo of Jasper on the forum they belong to that is exclusive to Vets to see if anyone else could possibly come up with any ideas. Much to Jaspers distraught owners dismay, nada, zilch, zero opinions had been voiced.
I decided that maybe since her vets were not exclusive to exotic medicine that perhaps maybe a second opinion would be the answer. Luckily for both Jasper and Miss Dawn, they were close enough to make an appointment with a very good Vet that is extremely knowledgable in rat care and had every type of implement imaginable for small mammals at the clinic so that Jasper would have the proper care he needed and to top it off, everything was the right size for him instead of having substitutes used that were meant for dogs or cats. Much to my surprise, after a few weeks passed since Jasper saw his new vet, I wrote and asked Dawn how things were going. He had been put on various medications and she said that there was a slight improvement, and although friends tell her that they see a big change in his condition, Miss Dawn said she only saw a small change. Despite the poor condition of Jaspers skin, he remains (as of this writing, 2-12-09) happy and healthy, still sitting at the door waiting for Miss Dawn to come home, still loving to cuddle on her lap, gives lots of kisses and loves to ride on the top of her foot wherever she goes!! As far as my opinion goes, at first I thought he had a serious case of pyoderma, but after a while, I changed my opinion and I think he may have over active sebaceous glands that are causing waxy build up on his skin. In turn, the skin cannot breathe right and the pores become clogged with the waxy build up causing flaking of the skin, scaling and loss of fur. Due to my lack of education, I have no idea how this would or should be resolved and for that matter, I dont even know if I am even remotely correct. If a top notch vet cannot unfold this mystery skin ailment, why in the heck would I even dare suggest that I could have the first clue?
But hey, you never know. I have been right before when the vet said no no and no. I recall many a head butting with my own vet when I suggested my male had a pituitary tumor although he had no text book signs of it. Instead, he displayed odd symptoms such as being over active and having panic attacks. He became worse, wanting to be held by me every time he saw me and when I would not be able to keep holding him he would have a panic attack. I had to keep a towel over his cage and whisper when I was in the room so he couldnt hear me or see me. We placed him on valium to calm him down. I insisted it was a PT and the vet strongly disagreed. After he passed away, the necropsy revealed, much to my vets surprise, that he had a very large pituitary tumor almost as big as his brain was. I did not want to be an ass about it but I did shout out one big "Told ya so!" once or twice. Long story short, not everything has to be classic text book. In Jaspers case, all that matters is he is happy and healthy and has no idea he has anything wrong. Maybe he doesnt. Maybe it is just us! :-)
Mr. Jasper
Proudly owned by Dawn Of PA.
Back in December of 2008, I recieved a letter from a very desperate and distraught rat owner who wanted answers to what was causing her beloved male hooded rat to suffer from hair loss and also he was covered in scabs and bumps from head to the base of his tail. When she sent me the photos I was pretty shocked and also puzzled. The Vets she was currently seeing had tried everything from A to Z, from creams and lotions to oral medications too, and nothing was working. The only thing I could do was go over the rats diet with her to see if the diet was ok and other than that, I was helpless myself. I decided the next step should be to take sweet Jasper, whos age is unknown since he was rescued from an neglectful owner, and get him well again.
Despite various antibiotic treatments, medicated shampoos, astringents, cortisone creams, even vitamin E tabs were not helpful. The Vets tested some of the pustules from his skin only to find white blood cells in them. He has been tested for bacterial infections as well as fungal infections. All of them were ruled out. He was treated for mites. He was even given him a vitamin supplement just to see if there was some type of defiency. Again, no change in his condition. His carefresh bedding was removed, and finally, all bedding/litter was removed, and he was given cloth, which was changed to just paper towels, again, making no difference. All wooden toys were removed from his cage too. His cage was cleaned daily.
The vets even posted a photo of Jasper on the forum they belong to that is exclusive to Vets to see if anyone else could possibly come up with any ideas. Much to Jaspers distraught owners dismay, nada, zilch, zero opinions had been voiced.
I decided that maybe since her vets were not exclusive to exotic medicine that perhaps maybe a second opinion would be the answer. Luckily for both Jasper and Miss Dawn, they were close enough to make an appointment with a very good Vet that is extremely knowledgable in rat care and had every type of implement imaginable for small mammals at the clinic so that Jasper would have the proper care he needed and to top it off, everything was the right size for him instead of having substitutes used that were meant for dogs or cats. Much to my surprise, after a few weeks passed since Jasper saw his new vet, I wrote and asked Dawn how things were going. He had been put on various medications and she said that there was a slight improvement, and although friends tell her that they see a big change in his condition, Miss Dawn said she only saw a small change. Despite the poor condition of Jaspers skin, he remains (as of this writing, 2-12-09) happy and healthy, still sitting at the door waiting for Miss Dawn to come home, still loving to cuddle on her lap, gives lots of kisses and loves to ride on the top of her foot wherever she goes!! As far as my opinion goes, at first I thought he had a serious case of pyoderma, but after a while, I changed my opinion and I think he may have over active sebaceous glands that are causing waxy build up on his skin. In turn, the skin cannot breathe right and the pores become clogged with the waxy build up causing flaking of the skin, scaling and loss of fur. Due to my lack of education, I have no idea how this would or should be resolved and for that matter, I dont even know if I am even remotely correct. If a top notch vet cannot unfold this mystery skin ailment, why in the heck would I even dare suggest that I could have the first clue?
But hey, you never know. I have been right before when the vet said no no and no. I recall many a head butting with my own vet when I suggested my male had a pituitary tumor although he had no text book signs of it. Instead, he displayed odd symptoms such as being over active and having panic attacks. He became worse, wanting to be held by me every time he saw me and when I would not be able to keep holding him he would have a panic attack. I had to keep a towel over his cage and whisper when I was in the room so he couldnt hear me or see me. We placed him on valium to calm him down. I insisted it was a PT and the vet strongly disagreed. After he passed away, the necropsy revealed, much to my vets surprise, that he had a very large pituitary tumor almost as big as his brain was. I did not want to be an ass about it but I did shout out one big "Told ya so!" once or twice. Long story short, not everything has to be classic text book. In Jaspers case, all that matters is he is happy and healthy and has no idea he has anything wrong. Maybe he doesnt. Maybe it is just us! :-)
Happy Jasper!!
