I think my Rat is sick please help!

Question
I need help, im very worried for my rat, he is 2yrs old and ive had him since he was a baby, in the past few months he started to loose hair and i just thought that he was just shedding but now he is bald in the bottom portion of his body, he started loosing hair on the top now and his skin on top looks scalpy and red.. my mom told me that a few days ago she saw some little red thing on him so she bought a flea and tick liquid and out it on him.. today i just came home from college for the weekend and i washed him and observed his skin, its red and scalpy like alot of red dots all over his upper body where he has a little bit of hair..i called a few vets but theyre closed i dont know if somethings is wrong with him or if hes just old..please help me

Answer
Hi Maria


Please however, refrain from using ANY product on him for fleas and ticks. They are already dangerous enough for dogs (over the counter products such as Hartz etc...) but they could be toxic to your rat.
Over the counter products are very bad for small mammals. Your vet will either use ivermectin or revolution and it will be used according to your rats weight. I am glad you washed him off after your mom applied that stuff on him. It could have made him very sick


Check out this link:

http://www.geocities.com/againsthartz/