my rattie giving me a rash?!?!?!?!!?

[sarunia]

okay everyone, your advice is really appreciated--- i've noticed in the last few days that after i hold slava, i've been breaking out in a rash !!! it's pimplish and seems to be where his claws have been... do any of you know what this could be?? i thought a while ago that he might have mites, as he had some spots, but i think that they were actually bite marks from when he and sasha were introduced. i just gave him a bath and am going to clean out his cage really well, but would really appreciate your advice as it makes me sad that i can't hold my baby :cry3: but i'mr eally hoping that there's nothing wrong with him :cry3: :cry3: :cry3: :cry3:

 

[Jennw]

It's probably nothing wrong with him, but rather you have an allergy to the boy. I am allergic to male rats, but not females. I get big red welts wherever their little nails have been. It's the sebum (or 'buck grease'). From what I understand, neutering your males should help.

 

[Godmother]

I react that way to ratty claws, too. I wash the mark with warm soapy water, which helps remove the antigen. Better yet is to apply a bit of Benadryl cream afterwards. The next morning it will be cleared up.

 

[twitch]

that's what it sounds like to me too, allergies. i'm also allergic to males but not females because of the buck grease. i don't have a skin reaction to it but am bothered by the pheromones (smell) it produces. i get headaches and nausea. once i neutered them and they stopped making buck grease i'm completely fine though. when sasha walks on you (if i remember right he's male too), do you get the rash as well or just when slava walks on you? do you know which one is more dominant if that is the case? i think the more dominant will create more buck grease, but i'm not sure. if slava is more dominant though and they do create more buck grease this could be why you have a reaction to him but not sasha. it would also mean that you're allergy is a minor one. in which case feeding them olive oil coated bread to cut down on the buck grease may be all that is needed instead of a neuter. though a neuter would likely help too if you are allergic to the buck grease. do you react the same way when you hold females too or just when you hold males?

 

[sarunia]

:bow: i had never even considered that!! what is buck grease exactly??? (please excuse my not knowing, i'm new at owning ratties :nod: )
i don't have female ratties, but when i was younger i had a lot of contact with one, and i don't remember her giving me these rashes. slava is def. the dominant 'round here, and i'm 85% sure that he's the one that's giving it to me, sasha's WAY more docile, so it would make sense (if it's a matter of rattie-machismo) that he's the one producing more buck grease.
thanks again guys!!! :hugs:

 

[twitch]

buck grease is a oil that males produce. it kinda smells like corn chips. if you look under their fur on their butts you will notice an orangey coloration to their skin. they use this to mark territory by rubbing up against stuff. if they are making a lot of it you can sometimes see little flakes of it on their fur and orangey gunk rubbed on stuff.

but to test this theory, handle sasha and see if there is a reaction. even a slighter one to slava's marks. also try to find and handle a female (go to a pet store if you have to) to see if she leaves any marks on you. there are people that are allergic to only the males because of the buck grease and there are people that are just allergic to rats period. if you are allergic to rats, instead of just males, i don't think there is much that can help other then what godmother said. you kinda need to learn how to cope. if its just males, depending on how severe the reaction is you can reduce the production of buck grease by feeding them olive oil which may be enough for a mild allergy, or you can neuter them and within about 3 weeks after surgery they will have stopped producing buck grease. without the buck grease your allergy should not flare. at least this is how it works for me as i'm only allergic to males.

 

[LA]

I would say allergies. I get bumps especially when the cage is in need of cleaning. You can also you rubbing alcohol on it.

 

[jujubeespmud]

Everytime I hold my girls and they crawl on me, I get scrape marks from their little nails on my chest/neck area. I try to eliminate that in the winter by wearing a turtle neck. In the summer, you can't really avoid it. But I do use a fleece collar thing that I made that they can crawl into ...like a pouch. When I do get scratched, I always wash the area off and sometimes put a little peroxide on the area. It usually is gone by the next morning. Actually, I am getting allergy tested this Tuesday and I asked my allergist if he had a test for rats. He knows I have pet rats. I do know for a fact that they have one for mice. I would think it would be same ...just one for rodents. I'll let you know what happens!

 

[user 78]

Most people have some kind of reaction to rat scratches because of the urine carried under their nails. It's not so much the scratch itself, but the urine under their nails, that makes little red welts pop up. Even people without any other allergy problems [with or without rats] can have this problem.

I'm special and have an allergic reaction to their pee in general. I get red, itchy, rash-like spots on my arms when I clean their cage out, and I get itchy welts when their nails scratch me. Most days it doesn't bother me that much, but I've got tons of other allergies and I'm usually taking Claritin or something. That helps some. I used to be very hard core and would shower immediately after playing with my girls, but this became impractical since I play with them whenever I can. Usually, if it's a bad scratch, I'll wash it off with soap and water, and sometimes I'll put a bit of a hydrocortisone cream on it to keep it from itching. That usually does the trick, no problem.