Older albino male rattie itching & sneezing

Question
Hello, i have a older male rat, about 3 years old named Sammy. I've noticed that he's been itching himself very badly for the passed couple of days and sneezing while grooming his nose excessively after every little sneeze. His itching is causing him to break open the skin in some spots, not horribly bad but especially on a lump that he has had for over a year now. The lump has been looked at by my exotic vet and we decided not to bother it too much since he hasn't seemed to be bothered by it yet. Sammy has had a problem with "lice" in the passed, with which I treated with a flea spray as recommended by the vet and changed his bedding from Carefresh to shredded newspaper which he seems to enjoy. He eats Harland Teklad 4012 blocks low protein vegetarian formula, and other assorted fresh veggies and fruits once a day. He was on antibiotics for 10 days for a urinary tract infection when I noticed some blood coming out of his genitals and the urinalysis came back positive, however that seems to of cleared up. He just ended the antibiotics yesterday, which is when I noticed the crazy itching and sneezing. I did not see any of the lice like he has had in the passed. Do you have any ideas? Thanks so much.

Answer
Dont you hate when the rats hate what is good for them?  Have you looked into trying regal rat by oxbow? Protein is low, rats seem to like it.  However, even if you feed him Mazuri lab blocks and the other foods are low protein, the higher protein wont hurt him, esp at his age.


I am leaning more toward dry skin and contact dermatitis. Lets try giving him some olive oil on a cracker a few times a day and rubbing his sores with 1% cortisone cream found over the counter at the pharmacy. This will help the itching.  Let me know if this helps.

Oh and PS- I have a rat that is over 3 and has a lump that he has also had for over a year now that never turned into anything either. Just thought that would make you feel better about it too.