Barbering

[GrayLightNewDay]

Calista has been missing some fur on the side of her face for a while, and all of my rats had little scabs, so I treated them for mites with revolution. The itching stopped and all of their scabs went away, but Calista's fur on her face never grew back, so I assumed the other rats must be barbering her.
Anyway, today I noticed that both of her front legs are barbered and her face where she is bald has scabs on it. None of my other rats have any marks on them at all, and are not itching excessively. Is she doing this to her own face by barbering, or should I treat them for mites again?

 

[jorats]

I bet she's getting barbered and she's barbering herself as well. I believe there's some stuff you can buy to put on her face, something like Bitter Apple for dogs to stop them from chewing stuff. Watch for infection, if there are scabs then they are going deep.

 

[GrayLightNewDay]

Do you know why barbering happens? I read online that it is because of stress, but my rats have a real stress free and quiet life. :sad3: It makes me feel like I'm doing something wrong. Out of all my rats, Calista is definitely the most skittish and easily scared.

 

[victoria]

Some rats are just a bit nervous/anxious than others, just like humans. Think of people that chew their finger nails.