I just picked up my first rescue and...

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Whitneyb93

Active Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2013
Messages
34
Location
Richmod, VA
I noticed the area around the back of her neck/head area is lacking a little fur. I don't plan on putting her with my girls for a while, considering she hasn't been socialized and could hurt my babies, but I am now concerned about whether I should take her to the vet or not. Does this look concerning to anyone?

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Is she a rex by any chance? Her fur doesn't look smooth, but not curly either. Was she with other rat's? Any scabs? If she has rex in her it could be normal. Could be over grooming if she was with other rats. Could me mites if she has scabs. Could be malnutrition too. Those pics are a bit blurry so sorry I could not be more help, but I'm sure someone with more experience can give you better advise. Congrats on your rescue :joy:
 
She actually allowed me closer to her (obviously the lady I got her from doesn't know the meaning of "aggressive") and I noticed two or three tiny scabs. I want to treat her for mites before going to the vet and see where that takes us because I read somewhere that the skin scraping the vet does can be painful.
Any suggestions on any over the counter treatments to use?


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Oh no, I appreciate the concern! She's actually got smooth fur. And she was all alone with almost no human interaction either so I'm thinking mites or malnutrition as well


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It does look like it could be mites / lice. You will really need to treat all of your ratties just to be on the safe side, and remember to wash your hands between groups etc.

Also just wondered what bedding is she on?
 
As previously mentioned, treat all of your rats with revolution
Clean the cages and freeze wood etc

It is important to freeze all bedding (ex litter, carefresh, shavings, etc) for 48 to 72 hours after purchase in order to kill any parasites that may be in it
 
Sorry for the late response everyone, I've been busy needless to say (x
I have a vet appointment for 6 ratties (all at the same time - yikes!) on Monday, one of which just got neutered yesterday, so hopefully we'll nip this one in the bud. Only Two out of four of the cages use bedding (the rescue and the one who just got neutered) and they use Carefresh. I just noticed a very minor spot on my boy who just got neutered so I'm thinking you guys might be right about the bedding. Will freeze the bag overnight and clean out cages right after that!


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Does anyone know what mites does to a rat when left untreated? I have a theory that maybe the mites have been causing such distress to my little rescue


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Mites can definitely cause a lot of stress when they are out of control. Imagine intense itching all over your entire body. Not fun! They can make rats more restless and uppity than usual. I have a very mellow, sweet boy who became very unsociable and restless and generally discontent all of a sudden, and then I found the mites. As soon as he was treated, he was back to his old self. Stress also makes them more susceptible to illness like respiratory infection.

Congrats on your new rattie. Such pretty markings.
 
Thank you!! Hopefully after getting rid of them she will calm down
She's having out time right now (just me and her) and she's not trying to chew on anything or anything but she keeps walking up and trying to bite me. Which is already an improvement because she could tear me up easily and she hasn't done that yet, hahaha. But I've never seen this before. Even out of her cage she (keep in mind; she's extremely calm every time) keeps trying to bite


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