i was one of those kids that mothers have nightmares about. i was allergic to literally EVERYTHING when i was little. soy of any kind (which is in EVERYTHING by the way), nuts, peas, beans, additives and preservatives, msg, polysorbate-80 ... and that's just food. i'm also deathly allergic to bee/wasp/hornet stings, and mosquito bites turn my skin into miniature mountain ranges, and any kind of mold or mildew just closes my lungs right up. i was one of those kids who had an epipen on them 24/7, even at horseback riding camp :thud: when i went for allergy testing when i was really young the allergist told my parents to get rid of the dogs - to which they laughed and said they'd sooner put me up for adoption :roll: i've been desensitized enough now that even with four dogs in the house i'm not all that bothered unless they're shedding or they've been in my room, but i also take an aerius antihistamine daily. every once in a while i go through a tough snap though where antihistamines don't help, all i can do then is try to stick it out and eat as healthy as possible so i can bounce back. it doesn't help that i've also recently developed moderate lactose intolerance :gaah: good thing i don't miss dairy too much, lactaid is expensive as hell!
.. which brings me to my (male) rats. i love them to death but sure enough i'm allergic to them, and i have no choice but to keep them in my room since other people in my house aren't really fans of them, not to mention two of my dogs don't really have rat compatible dispositions. every time i get scratched the area becomes red and swollen, and on the occasions that they do manage to pee directly onto my skin .. ohboy. it's like watching an emergency raft inflate :lol: when i'm at home i'm constantly playing with them or they're out roaming so washing all scratches with soap and water immediately is just impractical most of the time, but i manage to keep the reactions under control with hand sanitizer and/or unscented baby wipes. i try to keep their nails short too, it's not to difficult thanks to my CN single - all i have to do is keep them occupied with a bit of yogurt on my fingers and then i can sneak up on them with a set of nail clippers and snip off the hooks on both rats hind feet in under ten minutes.
ultimately though, i'm going to look at getting them neutered. if i don't change their bedding every day, the urine smell just gives me instant headachey-queasy-nauseousness, antihistamines or no. i just need to put some money away for it and find a vet for whom rodent surgeries are old hat.
oh and a quick question that just occurred to me, does a higher protein diet make their odor worse? they were severely underweight when i adopted them so i've had them on versele-laga rat and mouse pro (the protein content is somewhere around 20% i believe), with the intention of switching to something with less protein later. but if switching them to a lower protein diet will help control the smell a bit then a food change might come sooner than originally planned
.. which brings me to my (male) rats. i love them to death but sure enough i'm allergic to them, and i have no choice but to keep them in my room since other people in my house aren't really fans of them, not to mention two of my dogs don't really have rat compatible dispositions. every time i get scratched the area becomes red and swollen, and on the occasions that they do manage to pee directly onto my skin .. ohboy. it's like watching an emergency raft inflate :lol: when i'm at home i'm constantly playing with them or they're out roaming so washing all scratches with soap and water immediately is just impractical most of the time, but i manage to keep the reactions under control with hand sanitizer and/or unscented baby wipes. i try to keep their nails short too, it's not to difficult thanks to my CN single - all i have to do is keep them occupied with a bit of yogurt on my fingers and then i can sneak up on them with a set of nail clippers and snip off the hooks on both rats hind feet in under ten minutes.
ultimately though, i'm going to look at getting them neutered. if i don't change their bedding every day, the urine smell just gives me instant headachey-queasy-nauseousness, antihistamines or no. i just need to put some money away for it and find a vet for whom rodent surgeries are old hat.
oh and a quick question that just occurred to me, does a higher protein diet make their odor worse? they were severely underweight when i adopted them so i've had them on versele-laga rat and mouse pro (the protein content is somewhere around 20% i believe), with the intention of switching to something with less protein later. but if switching them to a lower protein diet will help control the smell a bit then a food change might come sooner than originally planned