Skin rash

Question
One of my male rats has some kind of rash on his back from the neck down to his tail.  I have him separated from the others right now.  The skin is reddish brown in color and flakes off in the area.  I was thinking of giving him a bath with some oatmeal shampoo formulated for cats with sensitive skin.  His hair in that area seems coarse when compared to the rest of his body.

Answer
Bryan

Put the little guy back in with his cagemates. He isnt contagious:) In fact, stress can make him worse and the stress of being away from his familair surroundings can cause even more problems.
He has what is called "buck grease".  This is an accumulation of what some researchers say to be keratin on the skin caused by an over production of hormones. It is orangish to reddish brown and it is like a waxy  substance that flakes off, right?  

Sometimes the rat cannot reach his back good enough to groom or perhaps he is too chubby to do it, and it starts to accumulate. You can bathe him and scrub gently with a soft tooth brush used for babies or infant children. Dont try to get it all off in one day though or you will break down the skin. You can also add some olive oil to his diet by giving a dab of it on a cracker and letting him eat it.