Itchy skin

Question
Dear Sandra,

I recently noticed how my pet rat's skin seems pretty itchy. His diet should be fine as far as protein intake goes and I don't bathe him very often, so excess washing should not be the cause either. I figured it might be partly stress-triggered (his brother was recently put down) and the air in my apartment could be too dry.

I gave him a small treat with a drop of olive oil on it as "first aid", since I don't have many other products at home at the moment. Do you have any tips on how to efficiently soothe his itchy skin, which products to get and so forth?  

Answer
Try rubbing him with the olive oil if you are able to bathe him a few days later. OR...you can rub cortisone cream 1% sold over the counter...rub on any areas he seems to focus on.  It wont hurt him if he licks it.   If this continues or he starts to lose fur or get sores, he may have mites.  In fact, take a magnifying glass and check him over for any lice or mites. This can also be the culprit esp if the other things do nothing to help him.