Aloe Vera

Question
Hello, I have had my rat, Chester for almost 2 years now. I used to have another rat, Oliver, and they were littermate brothers, both hairless too. Oliver past away this March and a couple months later Chester had these really bad scratches on the side of neck.behind the ears. His right side cleared up, and now the left side still hasn't cleared. the vet I take him to gave us this stuff and it had Aloe Vera and Berthollet's solution in it and we got it refilled once and the vet said if it hasn't cleared up then, we will have to take him for another check up and for someone who is only 16 and doesn't have a job yet can't really afford it. So I was wondering if I could just try putting Aloe Vera on it or is it toxic to rats? Thank you. Shelley

Answer
I have a better idea: Olive oil!!

Sounds crazy, I know, but I have had so many readers write in and suggest this to me because they have had success with it on their hairless rats.

What you can do is rub the rat down with olive oil and dab him off again.  He will lick lick lick it off which is fine, too.  In fact, feed him a bit of olive oil on a cracker bit. This is great for their skin and keeps it very soft.  If he has any sores you can rube them with neosporin if they seem infected.