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Rat Picking Scabs

21 17:41:40

Question
I have 3 male rats.  One has hair, one of them is completely hairless, and the third is hairless but has fuzz all over him.  The 2 hairless rats have a few scratches on them, which I assume are from fighting with each other, or grooming.  One of them got a scratch on his head above his eye, and when it scabbed over, he picked it off.  This then led to a bigger scrape on his head, and then to a bigger scab, which he then picked off, again.  When it formed another scab, he left it on there for a couple of days and it started to get smaller and drier looking, like it was starting to heal. Well, he just picked the scab off, again, and it bled a little bit.  Now, I don't think it is infected because it is not a weird color and it is not oozing anything.  It just looks like a fresh would each time he picks it off.  My question is, is he going to keep doing this, and if he does will it ever heal?  Is there anything I can do to deter him from picking?  Also, is there anything I can do to keep it clean and make sure it doesn't get infected?

Answer
I wouldnt worry about it much if he isnt itching like mad.  A dab of neosporing on the angry looking sores and a bit of cortisone cream to help with itching should they itch. However, if they start to itch, its time to try to find out why they are itching. Parasites to diet too high in protein can be the cause.