Broken rat tooth and ringworm

Question
About a month ago I bought two male rats from Petsmart. Recently I have noticed 3 problems with them.

First, one now has ringworm, which he spread to me, that I have been treating with Lamisil. After some research I've learned the other rat may have it as well, even if he doesn't show any signs. What should I use to treat him when he has no sores or bald spots?

Second, they both scratch all the time. I feed them 18% protein Harlan teklad rodent diet supplemented with fresh fruit and veggies, so it shouldn't be a protein problem. When I took them to the vet he ran a lice comb through their fur and found nothing, even though that doesn't guarantee no mites or lice. I've read about using revolution and I'm thinking about trying it just in case. Any ideas on what the problem might be? Most of the scratching is on the head, ear and back area.

Lastly, I woke up one morning to find a broken tooth on the cage floor. After examining both rats I saw that one had a missing top tooth. I've read about malocclusion but I'm not sure if that's what caused the tooth to break or not. It's hard to keep him still long enough to really look in his mouth. What should I do about this?

I don't know of a vet in my area that has experience with rats, so I have no one else to talk to about this. The one vet I went to seemed like he didn't want to take the time to deal with my rats. I live in Anniston Alabama so if you know of any vets in my area please let me know. Any info you can give me on these cases would be greatly appreciated!

-Stacey

Answer

Dr. Alvin Atlas
Facility: Riverview Animal Clinic
4640 Highway 280 South
 Birmingham AL 35242
Phone:  205-991-9580
Website: www.RiverviewAnimalClinic.net
This vet is the closest vet to you that sees exotics. Sadly there are only 4 exotic vets in the entire state of Alabama.


It sounds like your doing all the right things as far as rat care goes, so I would bet it is indeed mites that did not show up on the skin scraping, which is why I do not rely on these tests. I would get revolution for sure. As for the broken tooth, it is more than likely due to either malocclusion or possibly an abscessed tooth that has pushed the tooth out of place causing it to break.