Help please

[CaptainLeeches]

My rat Maggie has scabs on her back and neck. Shes in a large cage with another younger rat, Cora. Ive seen them play fight but never has either of them drew blood, they are very fond of one another. They have no bugs, fleas or lice, both up to date at vet, and are very healthy. Im worried, the cuts arent bad, I only noticed then from a patch of missing fur. I really need advice. They don't look infected. I gave her a bath with a light shampoo to ease her. Please anything will help.

 

[Sheldon]

What sort of help are you looking for? Treating the cuts? Or identifying them? Would you please post some pictures? Even if they are a little blurry it could help.

 

[guz]

I'm not an expert, but this sounds very similar to my experience with two of our boys. We began noticing missing patches of hair and small scabbies on their shoulders/necks.

Our vet suggested the scabbies might be seasonal allergies causing them to scratch themselves. In other words, the scabbies/missing hair was self inflicted. Our boys develop very sharp claws that don't seem to wear down from the lava ledges we keep in their cage. In our case the scabs show up during seasonal transitions in the Spring/Fall. The vet suggested that we start trimming their nails regularly.

In addition, if it is allergies the vet can prescribe diphen to help with their itching. Our vet suggested that we avoid bathing the boys as this can dry out their skin causing further itchies.

Lastly, we use a humidifier in the winter because our home tends to become really dry, which might be causing our boys' skin to dry out causing further itching.

I hope this helps, and good luck!

 

[SQ]

Usually when there are scabs around a rat's neck and shoulders it is because they have mites. Mites are so tiny you can not see them. While the ideas above are true, mites are usually the culprit when scabs are in the area described.

The treatment is a small amount of revolution on the back of their neck and cleaning the cage thoroughly and freezing everything wooden in the cage for 72 hours. Please see http://ratguide.com/meds/anti-infectives/selamectin_revolution.php

In case you are not aware, it is a good idea to freeze all bedding etc for 48 to 72 hours before using them, in order to kill any parasites that may be in the bedding.

I hope this information helps and that your rats are soon feeling much better

 

[fallblossom]

Even if a rat's vet visits are up to date and there is a concern it's time to go back. I am not suggesting there is in this case, however.

My rats get scabs and little patches of fur missing too and I am sure it's due to my rats fighting at night or when I am not at home to hear the squeals and bouncing around in the cage. The patches that are missing on my rats are usually the size of the bite and they heal fine. However, in the past when one of my male rats got slice open from his aggressive cagemate I treated that wound with saline twice per day which didn't last too long because the wound opening closed within a day.

How big are these patches?

 

[jorats]

99% of the time, scabs are due to mites. I would do a mite treatment just in case...and if it fact it's because of excess squabbling, that can also be due to mites.