I have many pets but I have recently aquired a rather sweet but aged former lab rat. He is really friendly and even my dog likes him, they hang togeather like old friends, but this rat has a terrable rash and he often looks like he is in pain. I have taken him out of his cedar bedding and put him into some recycled newspaper instead. I think He was allergic but is there anything I can do for him to help him heal faster?
Answers:
Did he get a rash from something they did to him in the lab? If you don't think so, here are two ideas.
1. Rats can get irritate skin from too much protien in their diet, usually too many sunflower seeds in the mixed food. That makes them itch like crazy. If he is on a rodent mix food, I would switch him to pelleted rodent chow and use the mixed food as a treat.
2. If the rat is a male, he may have a secretion on the skin of his back that is sort of orange and has a musky odor. That is normal and due to male hormones.
You could give him a bath using some very mild shampoo, then dry him good and don't let him get too cold after the bath. They catch cold very easily. I would not try putting anything on the rash, since he will probably lick it off.
Here are two helpful links on rat care.
http://www.afrma.org
http://www.ratfanclub.org/helpinfo.htm.
Good luck with your little friend:)
Robatussin, when you run out put some water in the bottle and shake it up and bam more tussin.
put a hammer in his head
sorry
dont like r a t s
Feed him 2 my snake then he wont be feelin any more pain
well its good you took out of the cedar bedding cause that's not good for any animals..we have hamsters and a guinea pig and we use Care Fresh bedding.i would call your vet and see what they have to say.Good Luck
take it to a vet.
try a little bit of polysporin or something that is non toxic, so if it licks it off it won't kill em.
Eez hamster!
Benadryl will help if it is an allergy. A tiny portion of a drop of the children's liquid benadryl should be sufficient. Mix it into something tasty like soft cheese. Don't worry about giving too much, he won't eat it if its too much and you can't hardly hurt them with benadryl.
Give him an oatmeal bath. You can buy these or make you own grinding oatmeal in a blender until its powder. Then dissolve it in warm water and bathe him in this like you would give a normal bath. The oatmeal residue left on his skin stops itching and won't harm him if he licks himself. Its also good for the skin.
Possibly bath him in a non allergenic substance, such as baby shampoo, gently immerge him once or twice, He will get frightened, swadle him and then maybe a drop or two of olive oil to moisten the clean skin.. be careful as it could be something more serious, and contagious.. and your health and the health of your dog should be thought about. best of luck.. :)
We had a pet rat, too and we loved him to bits - but sadly he is dead now.
BUT, I am really getting a bit upset about all the pet owners that ask questions on here when they should be taking the animal to the vet - especially if he looks as though he is in pain!
What makes you think that he has an allergy?
Take him to the vet and let the vet work it out. He will probably be able to give a cream that will sort out all the problems. Stop letting that animal suffer.
You should take him to the vet. We can't diagnose it accurately without seeing it, and he probably needs a professional since you said he looks like he's in pain.
Just a suggestion since you think he might have allergies: I've heard that you shouldn't use old newspaper for bedding unless it's just the newsprint paper without the ink. Some rats are allergic to the ink. I've never used it, though.
Please first start off by buying or checking out a book called Rats: Practical, Accurate Advice from the Expert by Debbie Ducommun. If you had done any research about rats before you got one then you would've realized that Pine and Cedar bedding is very toxic to rats. Please, please read that book or at least do some research and make sure the site you're reading is a reputable site.
Secondly, take him to the vet if something like this is happening.
I highly suggest going to your local pet store and buying some real bedding such as Cell-Sorb or Carefresh. The problem with newspaper is that it has the inks on it which can also be harmful to the rat as they enjoy chewing on things.
take him to the vet now .//////////////////
Well this is mainly for dogs but it might help.
http://www.allpetsradio.com/articlepc.ph.
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