Scabs and cuts

[lilspaz68]

Since mites are very contagious all your rats will need to be treated. The one showing the most scabs is the one who may be slightly weaker than the others. I have 2 boys at home and one is heavily scabbed and the other I cannot find any scabs yet but they both got treated. The one with the scabs also has a URI that hadn't been treated.

As Jo says mites live on a rat's skin naturally (hence the false negative on the skin scrapings), but sometimes they will flare up if the rat is sick or compromised or has been exposed to even more mites (like infected bedding, etc).

Definitely treat your rats no matter if you get the false negative or not.

From ratguide.com
http://ratguide.com/health/integumentar ... asites.php

The Radfordia ensifera is a fur mite that can cause dermatitis. It may occasionally be seen as white specks of dust on hair follicles. This type of mite is most commonly seen in rats. It produces intense itching, and leads to scabs most frequently seen on the shoulders, neck, and face of the rat. The rat fur mite and mange mite do not infest humans or other animals.

Mites under normal conditions are commensal in small numbers and do not tend to be bothersome to their host. It is when the rat is stressed, has a decreased immunity due to other illnesses, and/or is unable to keep the numbers reduced by normal grooming that causes the mites to flourish in numbers. Inattention to proper husbandry, a rat that is ill, or giving ineffective treatment can lead to reinfestation, and dermatitis. It is therefore important to maintain care and follow through with treatment(s) prescribed.

Diagnostics
Skin scrapings for possible parasites can be done, however, parasites may still be present even though the scrapings are negative.

 

[LA]

Well we are back (sorry I actually had a doctors appt as well so I didn't post right away).

I took all of them in. The vet said the cuts seem to be elongated which she said was different from mite scabs. She did do a scraping but of course found nothing. She did check out the other two and couldn't find anything on them. She seems to think that it is just scratches but she did treat them with Revolution for me (no I didn't get any) just in case. She will call me in 8 days to see how they are doing.

All in all it only cost me $89.89 for having them all checked, weighed, skin scraping on Ruby and the treatment of revolution. I was happy. I will keep an eye on the scabs and hopefully it goes away.

Now I got their weights so I know finally how much they weigh.

My 'heavyweight' Lily (not really) is 326g
Hazel is 269g
Ruby my smallest is 255g

They were so good and they vet compliemented me about how healthy they looked, she was impressed. YAY

Anyways that's that. Thank you all for your help and listening to me go crazy hehe.

 

[Melissa]

Hey, we all go crazy once and awhile, we own rats, lol!

I hope you see an improvement soon.

BTW, the reason their would be scratch marks would be because she is scratching herself cuz she is itchy!

 

[jorats]

Sounds like a good vet visit. Like Melissa already pointed out, the long cuts is the rat scratching herself so indeed they are scratches.

It's great that she treated them anyways. Usually with Revolution, the once is enough. So go do all your scrubbing and cleaning!!

 

[mamarat]

That's good news, LA and not too expensive either. Now the scrubbing begins..... :shower:

 

[LA]

Yes the cage is clean, the cage is SO clean there is no way anything could be living after I cleaned it hehe. So I wait and see what's going on.

Thank you all of you for your help.

 

[jorats]

Keep us posted!

 

[LA]

WOOHOO I checked out Ruby tonight when I got home. I feel a lot less scabs. There are two which are larger then the others, one was where the scraping was done and the other was just bigger. SO I will keep checking her and the other two are still ok. I'm SO HAPPY right now.

 

[jorats]

Excellent news!!

 

[LA]

Well it seems that they must have had mites. Ruby only has one scab left that that was where the vet did a scraping I totally understand about the false negatives on the scrape. They don't scratch as much either. I am very happy that she treated them with Revolution even though she didn't think it was mites.

I am going to phone and tell them that for sure.

 

[jorats]

That's a good idea about phoning them, too many times we forget to let the vets know that it worked.

Speaking of mites, I just did a second treatment on my rats. And I've noticed a big difference in the dirty monkey's cage. Jorge is back to normal, not being the little brat he was. I think I'll cancel his neuter.