Balding Meme

Question
QUESTION: Recently when I got back from a trip for two days, I noticed that my rat Meme was losing fur and some of it was turning brown. I sprayed her with Flea and Tick spray, but it doesn't seem to be doing anything. I've heard that it could be mites [but she's had those before], allergies to something, or her diet. But I don't think it's any of those...........I'm changing her diet anyways just in case, but so far, nothing. And Meme doesn't scratch, either. My mom isn't willing to take her to the vet. And I'm leaving Meme at a friend's house [she also has rats] in a week while I'm in Taiwan for two weeks. What should I do?

ANSWER: Please dont use sprays on her. This is bad for their lungs and can lead to lung problems.
Same goes for powders.

What color is she?
Also, what died do you feed her?  Does she have sores on her?

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QUESTION: Meme is a blue rat[basically gray]. I give her every day: one forti diet, mix from Fiesta Max [Co. Kaytee], dried carrot, raisin, and a papaya bit. A yogurt drop for a snack, and sometimes cooked vegetables. Meme is quite fine and seems the same. She itches, but not a lot. You could say like five times a day. But one time when I was about to pick Meme up [because she kept digging at the carpet], she started squeaking nonstop, so I put her down. Might this have to do with anything?

ANSWER: I have a blue rat too.  He is a baby (8 weeks old) I have him on my Critter city site under WATCH MY BABIES GROW.  

As for the diet, he needs more than one rodent block per day mainly because the fact the fiesta mix is not a very nutritional diet. They pick out their favorite seeds and leave the rest for waste. Rats need more in their diet, esp vegetables.  Also, check on the back of the forti diet and see if corn is the first listed ingredient. If it is, its just like letting her eat the hard corns because it contains the same fungal components the hard dried corn has.  Mazuri is a better choice out of the store brands,although both are high in protein so it should not be the main source of their diet.  You can leave several blocks out. She wont eat more than she needs. Her fur loss could be lack of vitamins and also protein allergy combined.  The brown you see is possibly porphyrin discharge.  Rats have it even when they are not sick since the harderian gland works no matter what, by producing porphyrins to lubricate their nictating membrane (the third eyelid) if she has any on her nose or eyes when she wakes up, it gets on the paws and will smear onto the fur causing a brown tinge to the fur. If you wash her off using a warm wet cloth or even baby wipes that are non scented, I bet that color wipes off over time. It can stain some though. Try giving her white paper towels in her bed to use and see if you notice any brownish red spatters on it from sneezing etc.... let me know if you do.

ALso, the squeaking you heard her do when she was digging the rug sounded more like a protest than anything. She probably yelled at you for stopping her from doing what she was doing. Hard to say....but if she seems ok, she is probably not hurting anywhere.

Please check out my page on diet too, see if there are some changes you can make. Here are various links to my site that may help:

http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/ratsandahealthydiet.htm

http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/skinproblemsabscesses.htm

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QUESTION: Hi Sandra. I really am sorry to bother you again, but I have another question. Well, 2. I bought Meme a new mix and looked very carefully at it. It's called Reggie Rat Mix. Do you know that brand, and if it's okay? It contains thinks like seeds, dried banana, flaked peas, celery, wheat, and more. I'm also feeding Meme Ivermectin [it's used to prevent horses from Heartworm, works for parasites and mites for rats,  but just a tiny bit]. Just in case it's parasites or mites. That's okay, right? It won't kill her if she doesn't have any parasites/mites?

Answer
Its ok, your not bothering me a bit. Thats what I am here for:)

Also, the ivermectin horse worming paste is something the rat fancier community has come up with thinking the traces of ivermectin will help kill mites or other ectoparasites the rats may have. To be honest, its not really 100% safe.  Its a horse worming paste for horses, yet we are giving it to an itty bitty tiny rat. That makes me shudder.  Fact: some  mites are resistant to the ivermectin and it wont do a bit of good. As long as you only use a tiny bit, the size of a grain of rice, it wont hurt her, but truth is, I cannot support its use and cannot promise it is safe to use.

The safest way to kill parasites on rats is to use revolution from a vet (kitten strength) and dose the rat per its weight.  Even injections of ivermectin have caused unwanted side effects in rats, so I prefer to use revolution, which is called selemectin and it is a cousin to ivermectin.

The reggie rat mix, if there are lots of seeds in it, I am afraid the rat will just eat the seeds and not the other pieces in the mix that will benefit her.   Do you know the protein content and the sodium content?  Also, be sure it doesnt contain alfalfa, as rats cannot digest alfalfa and it can cause problems with the digestive tract.