Itching rat

Question
QUESTION: My one month old pet rat is vigorously scratching himself frequently on a daily basis. There is no one specific area in which he scratches. He has not broken any skin and has no scabs from prior itching. Furthermore, I've looked at the skin underneath his fur and there is no apparent inflammation or rash. Do you have any thoughts as to the reasoning behind his scratching? In the very least, how can I alleviate his itching? Thank you for you time.

ANSWER: Hi Lauren

Before I can pinpoint what the problem is, I wanted to ask you first what type of bedding he is on and what his diet consists of.
Certain beddings/litter can cause itching as can diets high in protein.
Rats are also prone to dry skin which can cause itching.
Rats scratch naturally just like they are always grooming and licking themselves and each other.
Does he live alone?

Please let me know these few things and we can go from there...

Once we narrow it down, I can let you know what you can do to help him. There are a few safe over the counter products that can be used on him but we need to be sure first before we take that step since he is pretty young.

I will check back for your reply.

Sandy


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

QUESTION: My rat, Lucky, lives alone. His bedding is both pine and cedar oil free because I read rodents react negatively to those woods. More specifically, the brand is Carefresh.
He eats the Kaytee Forti-Diet for mice, rats, & hamsters. I know there are some amino acids in the pellets. I often feed him treats such as Cheerios, lettuce, carrots, and green peppers. In general, I feed him small amounts of these foods and he is not obese. He once tried yogurt and the tip of a hard boiled egg. I know egg whites are high in protein, but I only once fed it to him once.
I hope that information helps. Thank you for you prompt response and concern for Lucky.

Answer
Thanks so much for writing back and answering the questions I asked. Your right about not using pine and cedar. The phenol oils are very bad for rats, causing anything from severe allergies and respiratory problems to liver problems that have been linked to fatal reactions during surgery because the liver cannot metabolize the anesthesia. I am so amazed these products continue to sell at petstores despite all of the research that has shown such negative and deadly reactions...but at least the word is out there and many people are aware of the dangers.

Anyhow, carefresh can still be a bit dusty, but would cause more sneezing than it would itching.

Lets talk about the Kaytee diet. I see you are aware of the fact protein is not something rats need much of and in fact, it can cause kidney disease in elderly rats when they are fed a diet high in protein. I sound like the bearer of nothing but bad news don't I?  Yikes!!
Protein should be kept between 15 and 18 percent.
I am glad your not using the seed mix because basically thats just no good for rats, although I do want you to check the amount of protein on the food your using. The main thing is having corn as the first ingredient which we don't want. More allergies to corn is noted than any other ingredient. Check and see the back of the package.  The best rat block is low protein with NO corn at all. You can find that in harlan teklad rodent block and also oxbow regal rat chow which is really a great food and not much more expensive than Katee, although harder to obtain. Some exotic vets sell it or you can find it on the net.  
I have some good info on my website about rat diets and even making your own rat chow which is what I do and its really simple and inexpensive to make. The URL is on my profile. My mind escapes me where it is but I think the info is found on the health page. I am having another senior moment so forgive me! :-)

Lucky may very well suffer from dry skin which is pretty common in rats, believe it or not. Mites and lice are also a common cause but you would see them eventually and he would have scabs from endless scratching. The only real way to tell if you cant get a visual on them is to have the vet take a look and treat him accordingly. I do have my doubts though about it being ectoparasites at this point.
I would freeze any unused bedding in the freezer for 24 hours just in case. It is not unheard of for mites and lice eggs to be found in bedding and often is one way our critters end up with these parasites!! Freezing it for 24 hours will kill any live parasites and also the eggs will die as well.  If your itching just thinking about it don't feel bad...I have this sudden feeling of creepy crawlies on me as I type this!!  

I wont tell you to bathe him unless you already do. Many rat owners give their rats weekly baths, which is fine if they like it, and some love it, others are tormented by these weekly baths!!

Here is what I suggest to get started: Check the protein on the food you use. I am not overly concerned about this yet though because in order to get the high amount of protein this may contain he would have to eat it by the measured serving which I doubt he does at his age, but it is still something to think about in the future. Regal rat is only recommend for rats over 4 months old so I would suggest looking into other diets lower in protein, again, refer to my website for more information.

Now to help him feel better...and after this, you may decide to bathe him. You can use hydrocortisone ointment or benadryl ointment on the areas that may have signs of irritation although you did say you did not see any sores or redness. You can also use vitamin E on him, but again, if there are no sores to directly apply these ointments on and rub them in good, it will get all over his fur so be prepared to have a greasy rat!!
Oral benadryl can also be used but in order to safely dose him I need his exact weight.

0.2 mg/lb is the dose but with him so young I am sure he doesn't weigh more than 200 grams if not less. If you have a grams scale that would be perfect to weigh him on.
Another trick when treating itchy rats that suffer from dry skin is to run a humidifier or cool mist vaporizer in the room. The moist air will hydrate the rats skin and this is also a great help.

Since there are no signs of active parasites and no scabs or sores, this is a little tougher to treat so its more or less a process of elimination. Diet evalution first, considering dry skin or dandruff and eczema second and if all else fails, off to the vets for a skin scrape to see if there are indeed parasites causing this.
Also, if you do not have a vet that is educated on rat care, I can also help you locate a good one in your area.

I hope I helped. I feel like I gave you more to think about than I did help. :-(