Sores All Over Body Within About 3 Days- Diagnosed

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Bundyrats

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2011
Messages
1,135
Location
Bundaberg Australia
Hi,

We went away for two weeks over Christmas and got back last Friday 4th Jan, during that time my four ratties were looked after by a trustworthy friend (All four are female and I have two in one cage and two in another). I noticed last Saturday 5th, that Whinny had a couple of sores on the top of the middle of her back and thought maybe she had been in a scuffle with Layla so I bathed it in a bit of salty water. On Sunday, there seemed to be a lot more of them and by the time we got to the vet to check it out on Monday at 4pm, I was horrified to discover that she was covered in them and they were all on her face and cheeks too.
The vet thinks it's self-inflicted and could be caused by stress. I started her on Baytril that night plus Malaseb antibacterial washes every two days. I also clipped her back nails and gave her some ibuprofen with the Baytril morning and night to ease things in case they are itchy and causing her to scratch more. The thing it, I don't really notice her scratching any more than usual. I just can't believe that it's self-inflicted..?? The vet took two skin samples and there were no signs of mites plus the other three girls are all fine. Whinny is acting normally and is her usual happy self, in fact she's even more friendly and happy since we came back.

Here are some pics from last night (Friday), it was her third wash with Malaseb and her fourth day on abs. Any ideas what's happened?

Oh uh....that's right, there's no image post link and I still haven't worked out how to use photobucket....will give that another try now...

Edit: I think I have it now...

http://i1058.photobucket.com/albums/t40 ... 67c3b8.jpg

http://i1058.photobucket.com/albums/t40 ... 5df230.jpg

http://i1058.photobucket.com/albums/t40 ... 0f2989.jpg

http://i1058.photobucket.com/albums/t40 ... e8aa44.jpg

http://i1058.photobucket.com/albums/t40 ... b1571b.jpg

http://i1058.photobucket.com/albums/t40 ... 6916fc.jpg

http://i1058.photobucket.com/albums/t40 ... 40cbbf.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Ohh what a pretty girl.

Yeah those sores are "self-inflicted" :roll: She has mites and its scratching herself up like that. Classic as well. You might want to remind your vet about ectoparasits as its worrying that they didn't suggest that first.

Look at the pics of poor Livvy when she arrived and read the article.

viewtopic.php?f=26&t=28715&bookmark=1&hash=a8a4ec45

So now while figuring out how to treat the mites you are going to have to figure out how you got them. Most times its paper or wood-based beddings that are infested with them, so you will need to freeze these beddings for 48 hours before using them to kill off any stowaways. Ohter times its direct contact with a rat that has mites.
 
Thank you! Those pics look exactly like Whinny's :shock: Thanks lilspaz. AND I just noticed that Layla has a spot too :roll: I'll be off the vet first thing in the morning to get some revolution and dose all four of them.

We don't have any paper or wood bedding, the base is plastic which gets wiped down daily and the bedding is fabric and is washed and changed three times a week. However, my friend who was looking after the rats also has rats of her own, so that is possibly where they have come from. I will have to ask her..... :redhot:
 
Bundyrats said:
Thank you! Those pics look exactly like Whinny's :shock: Thanks lilspaz. AND I just noticed that Layla has a spot too :roll: I'll be off the vet first thing in the morning to get some revolution and dose all four of them.

We don't have any paper or wood bedding, the base is plastic which gets wiped down daily and the bedding is fabric and is washed and changed three times a week. However, my friend who was looking after the rats also has rats of her own, so that is possibly where they have come from. I will have to ask her..... :redhot:
Click to expand...

If you have enough left over, see if you can dose your friends rats as well :)
 
If I apply Revolution today, how long until there is an improvement and how long until I can safely say I have eliminated all mites? (Provided I am washing bedding, freezing wood, removing all cardboard etc.)
 
Bundyrats said:
If I apply Revolution today, how long until there is an improvement and how long until I can safely say I have eliminated all mites? (Provided I am washing bedding, freezing wood, removing all cardboard etc.)
Click to expand...

For the first few days they continue to scratch but that's becuase its healing, and healing scabs can itch. By the end of the first week, the scabs should be old and dry, and you should be able to give a nice body scratch to your rat and have them come off. Possibly expect some licks from heloing with the itchies :) They will not recur. By Week 2 they should all be gone.
 
Hi, sorry I haven't written in a while. Not sure if you heard about the floods here in Bundaberg but things haven't been quite normal for a couple of weeks.
I posted about Whinny a few weeks back about some sores that she had. I was going to start a new topic but wasn't sure how to link them.

So I treated her and the other three with Revolution and she still has sores. I don't think they got a whole lot better throughout this process but now they are definately getting worse because she is scratching at them. She has the most heart-breaking sore on her back where she must scratch a lot. I've started her on Ibuprofen again yesterday and tonight I started her on baytril. I also just clipped her back nails but tonight was the first time that she just stayed in her hammie and didn't want to come out. My poor girl. What should I do? What is happening to her? How come I can't even take care of a few sores on her little body? I feel that I am letting her down. Should I put a sock on her to stop scratching? Should I take her to work so I can keep an eye on her during the day? I am not sure if this would stress her out even more plus I think she would scratch more at night than in the day when they all sleep the most? If it is mites which I really thought it was how come the revolution hasn't worked?

Any comments would greatly help. I have to solve this problem.
 
The vet did a skin scraping when I first brought her in and couldn't see any sign of mites or any 'bugs'. That is why he suggested it was possibly stress and I needed to put her on abs, give her Malaseb washes and put her in a 'sock'. Just looking at her today though, her sores have improved a wee tiny bit. Could it be that it really was mites but she just kept scratching and now the ibuprofen has stopped the pain so she has stopped scratching?
 
Bundyrats said:
The vet did a skin scraping when I first brought her in and couldn't see any sign of mites or any 'bugs'. That is why he suggested it was possibly stress and I needed to put her on abs, give her Malaseb washes and put her in a 'sock'. Just looking at her today though, her sores have improved a wee tiny bit. Could it be that it really was mites but she just kept scratching and now the ibuprofen has stopped the pain so she has stopped scratching?
Click to expand...
Maybe the Revo dose was too low? I would give Ivermectin a try.
 
It could also be that it was a serious mite infestation and it's taking her a while to heal. I would try the Ivermectin as well, you have nothing to loose and it does work on some of the less common parasites. Maybe try something like aloe vera gel to soothe her sores in the meantime.
 
Ok, thanks. I have noticed that the sores have dramatically improved since I started her on the ibuprofen though. As in, within just a few day.
Also, if it were a serious mite infection, wouldn't that mean that the others would also be affected? Because none of the other three seem to have any symptoms. They have all been treated with revo at the same time I treated Whinny.
 

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