Itchy rat with sores.

Question
QUESTION: Hi. I noticed my rat has been itching for a couple weeks and had little scabs with a few pieces of hair attached that would show up on teh cage floor. I feed him the following:

Puffed wheat cereal, puffed rice cereal, Total cereal, plain rolled oats plus fresh carrots, broccoli and a few pieces of cooked pasta. I give him about a dozen Cheerios through-out the day as occasional treats. I was giving him Nutro Light dog food (it had the lowest protein amount) but thought he might be getting too much protein (I only gave him 6-10 pieces a day) so I stopped giving him that.

Yesterday I noticed he had sores (not just scabs) and took him to the vet today to have his nails clipped. She said it's hard to tell what causes the itching and she didn't see any bugs on him but she gave him a shot just to be sure to kill them if they're there. She also gave me a little liquid to give him orally twice a day for 10 days. At least he likes that!

He sleeps on/in fleece bedding, I spot clean his cage several times a day and clean out the entire cage every week.

He's in a room that has no central heat so I use a small heater and thought maybe it's drying out his skin or something. It's an old house so I can't plug in a humidifier. I have a large cup of water near the cage to help put a little moisture in the air.

Are the meds the vet gave me to help the sores heal or an anti-flammatory thing? I can't think of the name of it (it's downstairs) but it goes in the fridge and it's pink. Not sure if that helps. Starts with an "E" maybe? How long should it take to see an improvement if the meds work?

She also said I should cut back on the cereal because it might be too much fat and I should feed him Mazuri blocks. Went to get some today but they were out so hopefully by the end of the week I'll have some. I read around online a lot about the food and seemed like a lot of people were happy with Suebee's Diet so that's what I went with but now it doesn't seem like the best thing, I guess. I saw Reggie Rat in the store but it had corn so I didn't get that.

I do have another rat but he's extremely aggressive so putting them together didn't work out like I had planned and I can't get another rat at the moment but I plan on at least putting their cages near each other (but not close enough a tail can be grabbed) eventually. Every time I put them together in a neutral place, the other one stressed this one so I guess I just ended up with one that doesn't want a cage mate. I got lucky with my second one because he doesn't bite (got three scars from the other). Both from the pet store because I couldn't find anywhere to get them where I live.

Anyway, hope I remembered everything. Appreciate the help!

ANSWER: I thought I answered this!  :(   I am sorry if you never got the first response.  Hopefully I can remember what I wrote!!


For starters, go ahead and put the nutro lite back in. The combo your using for their food plus the nutro lite wont make too much protein.

As for Reggie rat, good move on skipping it. They will end up picking out all the seeds they love and thats too much fat and protein.  Suebees mix is not nutritionally complete and it is advised to use it more for a side mix rather than depend on it to be their main source of nutrition.

My favorite is to make up a mix and also feed them regal rat by oxbow or harlan teklad.

Here is the URL to my website and a page on diets that may give you more ideas about foods and proper diet etc...

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


Also, rats should have higher humidity which was going to be my next question about the temp they are kept in and also if its a dry environment.  Dry skin will cause itching and hairloss.
You can replace the moisture in their skin that may be lost from the dry air by feeding her a dab of olive oil on a cracker bit a few times a day and for itching, a dab of hydrocortisone or cortisone cream (over the counter type) and rub it in.  It wont hurt if he licks it so dont worry about that.

One thing that can result from low humidity is a painful condition called "ring tail". This condition is caused by lack of moisture in the air which in turn can promote loss of hydration in the rats skin and tail. The tail starts to constrict cutting off circulaton and leaving black rings around the tail which is really necrotic tissue in those areas.  Loss of tail is sometimes the end result.  

You can make a humidifier that doesnt require electric but I cant remember the details.  I will get back to you on that one.

You can buy tiny ones that dont take much power, would that work in the older home?

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi, Sandra! No problem. I just figured you were busy, but yay for the reply!

I managed to get some Mazuri blocks today. The vet said to use that. Now should I mix that WITH the Suebee's mix or try and give them the mix every other day or so? Or maybe have the blocks in the cage at all times and just throw in some mix at one time during the day?

I only have 4 plugs in my room and am using all but one that I need to plug various things in from time to time. I stopped using the heater, though. It's not icy cold or anything and he has plenty of blankets if he gets chilly, but he's usually sleeping in an open tissue box so I don't think he's cold.

I put him in the bathroom when I showered today because I read the steam might be good for his skin. He seemed to have fun in there. I also washed his cage out super well in the tub and cleaned all his cage stuff (I do it on Saturday but figured I'd do another round). The whole time he was in the bathroom (about an hour) he only scratched a few times and he stops when I put my hand there. I looked under his fur a bit and it wasn't bloody like it was at the vet so I assume the meds are working (Enrofloxacin is the word I was looking for). Not sure what to do when he runs out after ten days and he's still itchy, though. Hopefully the diet change will do it.

Hm. What else? I picked up some liquid vitamins at the store today (for rats). High potency and you give them 2 drops every 3 days or so in water or food. I mixed it in with some cereal pieces and some carrot and green bean baby food I got while at the store. Threw in some flaxseeds as well.

I spent hours looking for how much flaxseed to give rats each time/day and couldn't really find anything, so I just gave a pinch. I keep reading up on the diets but I see some people say "This is best!" and then others say it's not so I get confused, lol!

Thanks for your help! I'm determined to get this right!

Answer
Enrofloxacin is baytril.

I wonder why he has him on antibiotics?

Hmmmmm.....thats going to bug me now!  LOL

As for food, give him the suebees and the mazuri.  Dont let mazuri be the only source of food because its a tad too high in protein. If they eat a block or two a day plus the mix, that is just fine.

I would  try the olive oil too, but I have a feeling they have mites and the vet is using the baytril in case any little sores on the skin may decide to become infected.  Also, an outbreak of mites can indicate a low immune system, so maybe the Vet thought he would prevent a secondary infection by using the antibiotics.  

Either way.....I think your on the right track!