Itching and possible Wart?

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allykatt

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 4, 2008
Messages
214
Location
London, ON, Canada
Right now, I am taking care of a wonderful 4 year old rat named Streak. She is (obviously) very old, but is still pretty active, and though she isn't getting around quite as well as she used to, she is actually in pretty good shape for such an old girl.

She has a strange bump though. It is the same colour as her skin, and isn't under the skin at all, like a tumor or abscess. It's quite small, and has been there for months without growing and doesn't really seem to hurt her or bother her. I just have no idea what it is! Could it be a wart or something? I know that sometimes older animal like dogs and cats will get warts. Has anyone else had this happen? Anything else you think it might be?

The other thing is that she is really itchy. Mostly on her sides. I don't know how long this may have been going on since I can't ask the owner at the moment, and lately, he hasn't been taking the best care of her (grr!) mostly because he spends a lot of his time not at home or at his dads house (He is 14). I have treated her skin with olive oil and given her something in case it is mites (My vet had given it to me when my rats had mites awhile ago but they are all fine now and Strek's other cage mates seem fine).

She is just so darn itchy! She luckily hasn't given herself any cuts yet, but I was wonderinf if I should give her some benedryl or something like it to help with the itching, or if there is anything else I can do to help her?

She is just SUCH a sweet little thing, one of the nicest rats I have ever met, and hate to see her uncomfortable.

Thanks!
 
Remy had a curious thing, which he developed very late in his life, and my guess would be that it is a tumour of some sort. It looked sort of like the below...
fibrosarcoma
Buca3a.jpg

fibrosarcoma
Buca2a.jpg

It was on Remy's back, and didn't bother him at all, so I opted not to put him through surgery because he was not in good shape.
It didn't grow very quickly and didn't seem to cause him any pain. The one above looks bloody, but Remy's was mostly just the colour of his skin with only a bit of it looking bloody.
A Sebaceous Cyst will often look like your description as well and is easily treated.
 
Radar had a little bump on his side as well, almost seemed like a dermal thing and not internal like a tumour. If it doesn't grow or seem painful, I'd leave it alone.
Any chance you can treat the sweetie for a case of mites/lice, that might be all her itching.
 
What did you use to treat her in case it was mites/lice? Honestly that's the #1 cause of a rat itching.
 
So its definetly mites/lice. Before it was only Streak itching, now ALL my rats are. So mites it is!

I HATE mites! Argh! All teh scrubbing and washing! And they have these awesome cardboard tubes that I will have to get rid of now. I don't have nearly enough mite meds to treat them all, since I only had a bit left over. I will have to get some revoloution or something to treat them.

I don't know trhe name of themite meds off the top of my head, but I will check later and reply with teh name. It is red? And given orally once every week for about 3 weeks? Think it was ivermectin but I will check.
 
Thanks! That's a great idea. Much better than just throwing away their beloved tubes. They really do LOVE those things. You know a rat loves somethign when they won't even pee in it and keep it sacred!
 
jorats said:
If you freeze them, do it for 48 hours.

btw, I hate mites too. :redhot:
Click to expand...

Me three especially after the last time and spending all day cleaning. :rant:
 
I really don't care for ivermectin, just for that reason. Entirely too much scrubbing and tossing out things. Make sure you freeze all of the wooden/cardboard in their cage for 48hrs.

How many rats total do you have at the house now? A single kitten tube may do you.
 
Right now there are 8 rats. 3 are mine. 5 are just sleeping over for a while. They will have to survive without the sacred tubes for 48 hours, but they will live! They will mostly likely hide in the doll house thing instead. Its very cute when they do.
 
It's been a little while since I've had to use Revolution, but I think a single kitten tube will treat 8, if you got some before the little guys left.
 
Where do you guys GET the revolution? I thought I would be able to get it at Petsmart or something but when my friend went to buy me some, she said they didn't have it and said you could only get it with a prescription from your vet. Have any of you guys gotten it from just a store? Or did you have to buy it online or go to teh vet?
 

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