[rowan]

Hi Everyone!

I joined mostly because I had a question about my rat's health. The first rat I ever owned, I had alone for awhile until she started developing some scabs on her neck. I did some research, couldn't find an answer and got a second rat because I learned that rats shouldn't be alone! Then I took her to multiple vets, none of whom could help me. She underwent a number of treatments with no real help. I applied some anti bacterial creams and that seemed to stop her from picking at herself, since that seemed to be causing the majority of the problems.

Now, I'm devastated, my second rat has developed the same problems. She never had this problem while living with my first rat (who's now passed on) and currently lives with a new rat. They just started appearing two days ago. I'm going to take her to the vet soon and see what I can do, but I'm just freaking out because I don't want the same thing to happen again.

Here's a photo of my first rat at her very worst. Right now, it's just a very small (maybe half centimeter cut) on my rat's neck. She's also got some hair loss.

They are both fed Oxbow Regal Rat Food, Live in a large three story cage. I have not noticed any behavior changes in them. I'm going to clean out the cage this weekend and take them to the vet for flea and tick treatments just to be on the safe side.

But any help would *greatly* be appreciated. It was so difficult seeing my first rat suffer and not knowing what was wrong. I had so many sleepless nights, cried so much, spent so much money, and I really don't want to see another rat suffer like she did

 

[gin]

Mites maybe?

 

[rowan]

I had her treated for mites multiple times, full cage clean, changed bedding suppliers ;-;

 

[moonkissed]

What treatment did u use for mites? Some just do not work.

I'd suggest using revolution if you havent used that.

With both of them having symptoms I would definitely suggest something like that.

 

[Rat Daddy]

When we first came across mites on some mice we had, strangely they would kill one mouse and then move to the next and then kill another, or at least that was the way it looked... and yes it turns out that mites tend to stay on one host until it dies and cools off and then jump off to the next. So while every mouse or rat you have may be infected... they tend to show symptoms in order of how they got infected... and yes, strangely some rats don't seem to show symptoms at all. Either they are mite resistant or don't scratch... But we had a rat that never showed a single scratch or scab bring them in once and infest our other rat.

Back then I didn't know anything about mites and I really thought that I could see them if our animals had them... but that isn't true... They are simply too small to see. You only see the scabs where your rat scratches. The scabs tend to appear around the head, neck ears and face.

The treatment is revolution. It takes about a week to visibly work. It's hard to overdose without really trying and it's relatively cheap. Simply put you just can't go wrong by giving it a go... Basically if we see scabs or our rats start scratching we apply a drop or two of revolution. It does no harm and it protects them from reinfection for a month... We do clean the cage but we make sure our treated rats free range the entire house so they mop up any mites that may be hanging around and poison them with their treated blood.

Use the search feature and look up Revolution and you will find scores of threads on the subject. Treat all of your rodents or furry animals that might get mites to prevent reinfection. One vile for about $19.00 should treat something like a dozen rats. Seal it up after use as it will evaporate.

Best luck

 

[rattie-love]

My male rat had the same thing! The prescription from the vet was to treat mites, but nothing changed! I took him back and it turned out he had LICE! Someone suggested revolution, which is what worked for him. Best of luck to you!