Grooming Sores

[Desert Arabian]

Ok, so about 15 minutes ago, I went in my bedroom to see what the rats where up to, when I noticed blood on Oscars side. I picked him up, took him in the bathroom, and washed the sore with hydrogen peroxide. I started to move his fur around to find his back completely covered in grooming sores. When I mean covered, I mean covered. So, I gave him a bath to clean ALL of the sores out real good.

I checked his brother Fred right away and his back is completely covered too. Right away I started to worry about Peanut, since the boys love to groom her, I checked her out- she is all clear. Phew.

Is there a way I can get the boys to not rip up eachother when they groom. I am afraid the sores will get infected, some of them are rather deep and large.

Here is a picture of Oscar's sores, this only shows 1/4 (not even) of the sores on his back:

http://members.aol.com/OrliBloom177/sores.JPG

It is hard to see a lot of the sores because of his fur and the angle of the camera.

[Aspen and Misty]

Hope gets these all teh time :( I feel so bad for her! I'm not sure if there is anythign you can do but if you do figure out somethign please share!

Ash

[luckies4me]

It looks like mites to me. The only way to get rid of mites is to disenfect everything with bleach, and treat them all with Ivermectin.


If it is true barbering, than well, there's really nothing you can do about it besides keep them both away from eachother or put some Bitter Apple on them to deter them from grooming eachother. But even BA doesn't always work. My first thought though, would be mites. Usually when a rat barbers they do it to every rat in the cage, but they could have a preference for eachother. Usually it means something is missing in the enviroment, like you................for the past few weeks. :p

[Desert Arabian]

Originally posted by luckies4me
It looks like mites to me. The only way to get rid of mites is to disenfect everything with bleach, and treat them all with Ivermectin.


If it is true barbering, than well, there's really nothing you can do about it besides keep them both away from eachother or put some Bitter Apple on them to deter them from grooming eachother. But even BA doesn't always work. My first thought though, would be mites. Usually when a rat barbers they do it to every rat in the cage, but they could have a preference for eachother. Usually it means something is missing in the enviroment, like you................for the past few weeks. :p

You have to get Ivermectin from the vet correct!?

They do groom eachother, that is why I was worried about Peanut, I thought they chewed her up too, but they didn't. They are gentle with her because she is old. That is all they do besides sleep is groom eachother. If it was mites, wouldn't all the rats in the cage have those sores, since they are housed together and sleep together?? Hmmm.....I'll start cleaning the cage just to be safe.

[luckies4me]

Originally posted by YellowLabLover
You have to get Ivermectin from the vet correct!?

They do groom eachother, that is why I was worried about Peanut, I thought they chewed her up too, but they didn't. They are gentle with her because she is old. That is all they do besides sleep is groom eachother. If it was mites, wouldn't all the rats in the cage have those sores, since they are housed together and sleep together?? Hmmm.....I'll start cleaning the cage just to be safe.


Not all the ratties will be bothered so much with mites, and others can chew chew chew! But I always play it safe, I always assume mites/lice just in case. But barbering is something spychological (sp?), and you may never find out why they do it. They may just really really love eachother. :p I have only had a few rats barber, and usually it was mothers who after they had babies still wanted to play mother, lol, and started cleaning all the other females.

The only thing I would suggest is Bitter Apple. I don't have too much advice to give on this because I have only been through it so many times, and they usually stopped once the other ratties let them know not to chew on them anymore.......usually with a good swat! Maybe do a search on Barbering? I am sure you can find so much more out there, with people who have a lot more experience than myself. ;)

As far as Ivermectin, if you don't know how to dose at home than yes you should get it from your vet, but I buy mine from feed stores, in a little paste. I squeeze out all the paste into a dish, mix it VERY good as the med tends to sink to the bottom, and you do not want to overdose, then after it is mixed I use a tiny bit, half of the size of a grain of rice and they usually just eat it. It works fast. But I am NOT a vet, just to clear that up, so.......
That's just how we ratty folk do it. I would talk to your vet. First try to see if you can get them to stop, as you don't know if it is mites. If your other ratties start itching a lot, then try to get the dosage from your vet, who can apply it topically. You can also use over the counter bird mite spray, as some people do not like to use Ivermectin because it can cause neurological disorders, and can be very risky if you get the dose wrong. I few people I have talked to have had rats have seizures etc. So it's something you have to consider.


Hope they feel better soon. :)