fenshae
Well-Known Member
So I was letting the boys free range earlier and noticed that Sweeney especially was grooming excessively, so I pulled him over to get a look and it appears he has dandruff -- definitely some white flakes. Ripper didn't seem as affected and it's much harder to tell if a white rat has dandruff, but I pulled him over and after some wrestling to let me get a good luck, it appears that there's a sort of orange-ish reddish speckling on his skin. I'll see if I can get him to hold still for a close-up photo. Neither of them have any scabs that I can feel -- I did as thorough an investigation as I could on both of them and didn't notice any bumps/abrasions/scabs, just the dandruff and in Ripper's case the orange flecks.
Does this sound like mites?
I've also changed their diet recently; they were eating a seed mix and recently changed them to Mazuri pellets. I know Mazuri is high-protein, is it possible they are reacting to the protein? I know when Velvet was nursing we added some kitten kibble to her regular food for extra protein (was recommended -- why kitten chow of all things is beyond me) and it made her very itchy; we cut it out immediately and she had no problems. Could that be the case here?
Debating if I should try and change their food first, or go ahead and take them to the vet straight-away?
Does this sound like mites?
I've also changed their diet recently; they were eating a seed mix and recently changed them to Mazuri pellets. I know Mazuri is high-protein, is it possible they are reacting to the protein? I know when Velvet was nursing we added some kitten kibble to her regular food for extra protein (was recommended -- why kitten chow of all things is beyond me) and it made her very itchy; we cut it out immediately and she had no problems. Could that be the case here?
Debating if I should try and change their food first, or go ahead and take them to the vet straight-away?