[Miss Mozzarella]

My female rex rat, Gouda, who is around a year old, has always had patchy hair and has had some bald-ish areas on her, but recently there have been much more. I have noticed her itching more and grooming more, and I'm wondering if that could be linked to dry skin, it has been quite humid here so I'm not sure. I have tried to look at her little hairless patches and they don't look super irritated or like they're some type of mites or anything, they look just like they're bald, or fairly red if I've caught her right after itching a bit.

I've been trying to read online about ways to help her with this, and I've heard mixed opinions on giving fish oil, coconut oil, elimination protein, and more. I'm leaning towards the fish oil option, it seems to have the better opinions and the most people with good experience with it. However, I can't seem to find a good dosage chart or such to go off of.

Her cagemates, one of which being her sister, are all totally normal and have had no hair loss, so I'm pretty certain it is due to her being a rex. I have had Guinea Pigs in the past with crazy cowlicks who have needed coconut oil or ivermectin as a topical for dry skin, but I'm having a hard time finding if either of those would also work for her?

I am very open to any options and ideas, I just really want to get this under control quickly so she isn't uncomfortable and itching!

 

[Rattzie]

I'm not an expert in Rex rats, but I do know that when they get older they do lose fur, but I don't really know about the itching. Give me a second to do some research 🤓

"Many Rex rats go bald in patches, especially the upper back, when moulting or in old age; a more desirable Rex keeps their full coat their entire life," That could explain the hair loss, but I'm not so sure about the itching...

"They can have mites without any symptoms for a long period of time and then suddenly start itching. Maybe they don’t itch until their immune system is suppressed by stress. It’s also possible that some rats with mites eventually develop an allergy to them. Much less commonly, itching can be caused by an allergy, eczema, a fungus infection, and possibly excessive dietary protein (such as fish or cat food). Skin problems in rats is almost never caused by a bacterial infection."


Im not sure if this was very helpful but I don't know a lot about this kind of stuff

 

[Enne]

A poor Rex or Double Rex will lose chunks (or all) of their hair like that. Not sure about the itching though. Have you noticed any scabs on her or her cage mates? Check around her chin specifically. If you see scabs it might be mites.

 

[Miss Mozzarella]

I know that they can lose hair in patches, and she has as long as I've had her, it just seems to really have picked up recently with the onset of the itching. She is a poorly bred rex rat, she was bred from a feeder and a fancy rat from a pet store, and her entire litter was going to be sold as feeders before I brought them in. So I am sure her genes are less than desirable, but I haven't had any health issues with any of them, until I noticed this weird new situation.
There aren't any scabs on her or her cagemates, its seems to just be her losing that hair in patches and itching. Is it possible that its dry skin, like a cowlicked guinea pig, I can't really find too much on whether thats something they're prone to... but in what I have found it seems to make the most sense...
The things I've seen that can help that, are coconut oil as a topical, or fish oil as a supplement... I am open to either if anyone knows a really good way to do that. My biggest worry is that if I use coconut oil then the others will want to groom it all off of her, and even nibble at her if hey really want to really get it off because it smells appetizing.
Fish oil is what I've bene reading can be the best, to moisturize the skin and coat from the inside, which wouldn't make the other girls want to groom her any extra, but would make her stop with the itching at least. But then I would need dosage and I don't know how to find a good dosage for that.