Hi all. Our little Oscar has been scratching himself pretty deeply, and causing abrasions/sores. I've included a pic below. He's not doing it super frequently, but it is too often and he really goes after himself. He started about 6 weeks ago, and we took him to our usual dog vet. They didn't find any evidence of mites, but we tried the 2 rounds of Revolution. No help. We have an appointment at an exotics vet on Sunday, but I'm hoping to get some advice and at least be able to ask the right questions.
Some possibly relevant information:
-Oscar turned 2 a couple of weeks ago. His brother Felix developed a big tumour and was PTS about a month before that. Oscar's been living alone since.
-His behaviour seemed pretty good after Felix died, but lately he's been acting a bit different. Nothing too radical, but just not quite himself.
-Today we think we felt a couple of tumours in his abdomen. First time we noticed, and we handle him quite often.
-He gets lots of stimulation and love, and gets the run of the house for a few hours a day.
-I think his diet is good, and not too rich in protein. He wasn't eating his Oxbow for a little while after Felix died, but does eat some now. He also gets quite a bit of fresh veg. He used to love carrots, but stopped eating them completely (outright refusing to take it) a month or so ago. Still loves his lettuce and banana, though.
-We've tried some oatmeal baths, but ended up doing a half-baked job as he really didn't like it and we felt we were stressing him out.
-In recent days, he's sometimes squealed while he's scratching himself aggressively.
-His cage is lined with fleece. We keep it pretty clean. For the last few weeks, I've double washed the fleece, the second time without soap.
These were my first rats, so I don't have a lot of experience, but to me it kind of feels like a mental issue or discomfort from burgeoning tumours that are causing him to do this, and not simply skin irritation. Does anyone have any tips, or things I should check into, or questions or concerns I should raise with the vet?
Thanks for your time!
Here's a pic of sweet, sweet little Oscar. There's a couple of sores like this.
Some possibly relevant information:
-Oscar turned 2 a couple of weeks ago. His brother Felix developed a big tumour and was PTS about a month before that. Oscar's been living alone since.
-His behaviour seemed pretty good after Felix died, but lately he's been acting a bit different. Nothing too radical, but just not quite himself.
-Today we think we felt a couple of tumours in his abdomen. First time we noticed, and we handle him quite often.
-He gets lots of stimulation and love, and gets the run of the house for a few hours a day.
-I think his diet is good, and not too rich in protein. He wasn't eating his Oxbow for a little while after Felix died, but does eat some now. He also gets quite a bit of fresh veg. He used to love carrots, but stopped eating them completely (outright refusing to take it) a month or so ago. Still loves his lettuce and banana, though.
-We've tried some oatmeal baths, but ended up doing a half-baked job as he really didn't like it and we felt we were stressing him out.
-In recent days, he's sometimes squealed while he's scratching himself aggressively.
-His cage is lined with fleece. We keep it pretty clean. For the last few weeks, I've double washed the fleece, the second time without soap.
These were my first rats, so I don't have a lot of experience, but to me it kind of feels like a mental issue or discomfort from burgeoning tumours that are causing him to do this, and not simply skin irritation. Does anyone have any tips, or things I should check into, or questions or concerns I should raise with the vet?
Thanks for your time!
Here's a pic of sweet, sweet little Oscar. There's a couple of sores like this.