hair "loss"

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ccrusted

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I didn't know what catagory to post this in so I will just post it here.

I have owned rats for around half of a year now and I have noticed that around the cage I would find little clusters of fur/hair (not big chunks) with skin or something on the end which makes me assume that my rat is either ripping his fur out or the other one is ripping it out for him. I can't see that there is any hair issing when I look at him but if I search for it I can find scabs on his body but they are more on his back and I have not found ny on his face or ears or tail or feet or belly, or anything like that. I have read about rats having mites but I don't think that is what it is because I have read that rats with mites show excessive hair loss in big chunks on their body but my rat doesn't have that.

I have two rats and I have noticed that my other rat looked like he had his whiskers cut off with scissors or something. I don't belive they were like that when I got them and I of course would NEVER do that to him. I am suspecting that it wasmy other rat because I think that he would get jelous when his brother would get yummy starwberry flavoured medication and he wouldn't and he smelled it on his brothers whiskers and decided to just chew them off. I have read that this is called barbering and that you shouldn't really worry too too much because the wiskers will grow back.

All feedback is appreciated. Don't be rude.
 
I was going to say barbering on the whiskers. As far as mites, some rats really hide it well. You can treat them with kitten revolution. That's the safest and easiest way. Most people will deal with mites at least once. It's super easy to get them and super easy to treat them. Plus, it doesn't hurt to at least try that. Other than that, you can go to www.ratguide.com and see the different skin issues and how to treat. It's a vet approved site, and has lots of good info.
 
I was going to say barbering on the whiskers. As far as mites, some rats really hide it well. You can treat them with kitten revolution. That's the safest and easiest way. Most people will deal with mites at least once. It's super easy to get them and super easy to treat them. Plus, it doesn't hurt to at least try that. Other than that, you can go to www.ratguide.com and see the different skin issues and how to treat. It's a vet approved site, and has lots of good info.

Where would I be able to get the kitten revolution treatment? How do I use it? Should I treat my other rat also? Should I worry about my one rat getting his whiskers chewed off? I’ll have to check out the rat guide to do more research on what could be going on with him.

All feedback is appreciated. Don’t be rude.
 
Can you post pics of the hair loss? Rats can Barber themselves ,(usually forelegs and shoulders) or others and this can vary in location. Cheeks, necks, tops of head, etc. So which whiskers being chewed off I wouldn't be surprised. Mites usually present as scabs and scratches on the shoulder, head and neck. Revolution can be obtained from a vet, or purchased line without a prescription, if you live in N. America. If you treat for ectoparasites, you treat all your rats.
I order my Revo from AUS at Pets Megastore.
 
Can you post pics of the hair loss? Rats can Barber themselves ,(usually forelegs and shoulders) or others and this can vary in location. Cheeks, necks, tops of head, etc. So which whiskers being chewed off I wouldn't be surprised. Mites usually present as scabs and scratches on the shoulder, head and neck. Revolution can be obtained from a vet, or purchased line without a prescription, if you live in N. America. If you treat for ectoparasites, you treat all your rats.
I order my Revo from AUS at Pets Megastore.

He doesn’t show any signs of hair loss. I’ve read that when a rat barbers themselves or others it looks like they are clean shaven but that is no the case for him. I just find little clusters of fur with a piece of skin on the end every now and again. Today while I had him out I was only able to feel 1-2 scabs but keep in mind he was trying to wiggle out of my grip the whole time. I thought at first that the other rat may be bullying him but I don’t think that is the case. I have only ever physically seen the scans on his back. I can try to take a photo if I find any more clusters of fur but that is all the proof I can get at the moment.

If it is possible, could someone give me more information on treating mites and maybe give me some links to look at if needed and maybe even other things that it may be other than mites.

Thank you.
All feedback is appreciated. Don’t be rude.
 
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boost
any feedback? This is what the clusters of fur look like if that helps. He doesn’t show hair loss on his body but last time I checked him I only found 1-2 scabs.
All feedback is appreciated.
 

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it could be mites, but it also could be small wounds/scratches from the other rat. These scabs often come off with a bit of hair attached.

So, what do you think I should do in this situation? Is there any way to figure out if it is just small wounds/scratches and not mites? Just so I know what i can do to help him.

All feedback appreciated. Don´t be rude.
 
Honestly? It's been nearly a week so I say take them to the vet. You can guess and worry or get it definitively sorted. Then it's done and they're comfortable, you're comfortable, dishes are done, dude.
 
This is odd but is there like a home remedy for mites?

I don’t know if it is actually mites because only one of my boys are showing sores and scabs and he is the only one that has the clusters of hair in the cage. Could it just be from the dry air? It is still quite cold here as it just turned to spring not too long ago so the air could be dry from the cold air and also there is a heater in the room they are in so that is also making the air dry. I am getting a humidifier soon so that should drive up the moisture.

If it is just dry skin could it be that it is irritating him and that he is scratching and pulling out fur? Would I be able to give him a bath to sooth it? I have oatmeal baby wash, the oatmeal is used to sooth the skin. Would that work?

I heard of people putting olive oil on their rats but I am not doing that because it is messy and hard to wash off.

All feedback appreciated. Don’t be rude.
 
I don't know of any home remedies, but I would suggest kitten revolution. I've seen some people use the ivermectin tubes (like the stuff you get for horses), but I personally wouldn't because I don't want to mess up the dosage. Using the revolution can at least rule out mites, lice, fleas, etc.
 
I watched a couple of videos on treating rats with mites and I was planning on trying to order some kitten revolution to treat both my rats just to be safe but I also wanted to give them a quick bath tomorrow because they are starting to smell a little, their cage is getting cleaned tomorrow so it would be nice to just be all clean and fresh, and also to clean their fur and tails because they are getting kind of dirty. Thank you for the feedback.

EDIT:
I went onto the website that they mentioned in one of the videos that I watched on where you can buy cat revolution at www.canadavet.com but one box costs around $70, is that how expensive it should be? Also, you guys keep saying kitten revolution but when I looked it up on that site no results came up. Is there a difference between kitten revolution and cat revolution or are they the same thing? I also learned in the video that it is a medication that you drop on the back of their neck, is that the correct kind? Is is dangerous if they or their cage mate lick it off? Could it harm them?
 
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I don't know what you are really dealing with, but if it's mites, I would personally not use toxic pesticide poison (which is what revolution really is) in any dose, on my ratties - but that's just me. I've had a mite issue with five rescue ratties that came from a really bad situation, and I've been able to clear them all of any mites just through all natural methods. I had to bathe them very often (2-3 x week), keep their home extremely clean (washing/cleaning every nook & cranny), change their bedding everyday, AND clean and wash my floors around their cage very often as well (I have ceramic floors (no carpeting) so that is very helpful). I had to do this for quite a while - maybe 2-3 weeks - before there were absolutely no signs of mites at all anymore during inspections.
 
I don't know what you are really dealing with, but if it's mites, I would personally not use toxic pesticide poison (which is what revolution really is) in any dose, on my ratties - but that's just me. I've had a mite issue with five rescue ratties that came from a really bad situation, and I've been able to clear them all of any mites just through all natural methods. I had to bathe them very often (2-3 x week), keep their home extremely clean (washing/cleaning every nook & cranny), change their bedding everyday, AND clean and wash my floors around their cage very often as well (I have ceramic floors (no carpeting) so that is very helpful). I had to do this for quite a while - maybe 2-3 weeks - before there were absolutely no signs of mites at all anymore during inspections.

Thank you for sharing your experience and how you handled it. I am kind of skeptical about using the kitten revolution on my boys as well for the same reasons you have pointed out above and I am also not sure what the outcome would be if they licked it off of themselves or eachother.

I would try out the technique that you mentioned above but my one rat absolutely despises taking baths and with scream his lungs out whenever I attempt to give him a bath so I end up cutting bath time short so he doesn´t have to suffer. They both just end up jumping out of the bath and soaking me in the process. When I clean their cage (and water bottle and food bowl) I do make sure that I get every ¨nook and cranny¨ and go over the whole thing multiple times but unfortunatly I do not have 3+ hours to clean their cage EVERY SINGLE DAY.

I´ve read that mites that are on rats do not transfer to other animals or humans so lets hope that this is true because they are allowed to run around on my bed sometimes (with supervision). I have also read that ¨Fortunately, the mites cannot live on humans, do not survive indoors, and are not known to transmit disease.¨ but the living indoors part is less believeable. I´ll see what I can do about the situation. If anyone has any other suggestions, please feel free to tell me.

All feedback is appreciated. Don´t be rude.
 
I don’t know what to do. I feel so bad. Today I had my boys out and I was holding my rat who is suspected to have mites and he is COVERED in scabs. My other rat doesn’t have any scabs that I have seen which I weird that one has them and the other doesn’t. I really want to help him but why does kitten revolution have to be so expensive, what is the need for it to be $30+. Also, I am still not sure about how I feel about the chemicals and what they might do to my rats. I don’t want to hurt them. I am going to be cleaning the blankets and stuff that they were playing in/with while they were out today just in case. I would love to be able to get rid of them naturally with home remedies but I don’t have 3+ hours (like I said before) to be doing a surface clean/deep clean EVERY SINGLE DAY. I also can’t give them a bath multiple times a week as it is WAY too stressful for them and he screams when I try to bathe him.

If anyone has any other suggestions. Please tell me. I need to do my best to treat this ASAP.

All feedback is appreciated. Don’t be rude.
 
I say this in the nicest way I can--please take your rats to the vet. Stop waiting and boosting this thread thinking that the perfect solution will come along. It won't. Rats cost money and require medical care. If that means an expensive (and $30 is nothing as far as expense goes--it could be so, so much worse) medication or time-consuming then that's what you do--that's what we sign on for when we own pets. Your rat is suffering--imagine how you'd feel if you were horrendously itchy and covered in scabs. More than that--skin problems like these can lead to infection and more serious health problems, including septicemia and death. If you cannot afford the healthcare and labor they need, you need to take advantage of the resources available to you or rehome them with someone who can.

Enough dithering--your rats need help, so help them.
 
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