Okay all you rat enthusiasts...

[moosmom]

I need advice on Winkie. I had him on my shoulder the other day and was petting him. He had these little bumps, like pimples, on his shoulder near his right ear.

Is this something I should be concerned about??

[Hellow]

No, i believe that is just his bone.

[Whisk_Luva]

I dont know much about rats but is it like that on the other side?

[CathyBogart]

Hmm....Is he itchy at all? Are they red or just raised? Do you have any new pics of him?

[luckies4me]

If he is excessively itchy and keeps scratching he could have a mite infestation, or possibly lice. How is his protein intake? Male rats can get really itchy if they have too much protein in their diet so you may want to cut out meaty treats and avoid giving him too many sunflower seeds. If you part his fur and look at his skin you should see a little bit of yellow tint. If it is orange/oilish then he has too much protein.

Anywho, if you have any other questions let me know. Mites/lice are easy to take care of. Just two doses of Ivermectin should take care of it.

[Miss Z]

I agree with luckies4me, could be a mite infestation. Maybe he could also be reacting to some substance or a type of bedding that irritates his skin.

Tia had some bumps similar to what you described on her left flank a while back. They were tiny bumps in three almost perfect lines. They didn't last very long, a couple of the larger ones scabbed over and soon fell off, the others just went down. I put it down to the fact that she could either have been scratching or cleaning (she sometimes cleans herself by licking her toes and then scratching) and just forgot how sharp her claws can get!

[moosmom]

I clipped his nails and took a closer look. Poor little guy has a bunch of these little scabs and they look sore. Time for a vet visit perhaps?? Everytime I rubbed the area, he'd close his eyes as if it felt good.

[luckies4me]

I would definitely take him into the vet. Just make sure they do not inject the Ivermectin if they want to give him some. It should be applied topically.

[moosmom]

I just bathed him with baby shampoo. He was SOO good. Now he's scratching again. The scabs look sore. I'm going to call my vet and see if they can look at him.

Why is it not good to inject him with Ivermectin???

[moosmom]

I just called the vet. He's got an appointment at 4 pm today. I just want him to be happy and not itch!!

[moosmom]

$104 later...the vet isn't sure if it's a bacterial infection or something else. He's treating it as such and gave me Baytril to give him and an eye ointment for his missing eye. He was a good boy. He weighs 1.8 lbs. Since we got back he's been sleeping soundly. I asked the vet about his scabs and he said to let them be as it's the only to see if the meds are working and clearing up the boo-boos. If not, it's back to square one.

I hope it works. I feel so bad for him.

[luckies4me]

The vet didn't do a skin scraping? Very odd.

[moosmom]

Cass,

The vet tech suggested a skin scraping, but the vet said not to bother. He looked at Winkie's skin very closely (with a magnifier) and he said he didn't see any parasites. He's treating it as a bacterial infection. I have to bring him back in a week. He's not itching as much this morning. He's such a sweet little guy. Takes his medicine like a real trooper.

[moosmom]

Winkie is doing great! All his scabs are gone and the only time I see him scratching, it's to groom himself.

One of the vet techs from the clinic I took him to came into the store yesterday, recognized me and asked how he was doing.

[ramanth]

Glad to hear Winkie's doing better!