Hello, our almost 3 year old rat has recently lost some hair and has some scabbing on her face. There is no scabbing anywhere else, but she has some thinning hair on her leg/belly creases. Her sister passed away in February, so she has had no contact with other rats. We use material bedding. She is sleeping more (as I expect due to age), but eating fine. Any thoughts? Thanks!
Can a single rat get mites?
- Thread starter jdurn
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Big Schpog
Well-Known Member
From what I understand any animal can get them. You can take her to the vet and they will confirm and treat with Revolution. Do you notice her scratching a lot? I have 3 rats and they were all itching and I saw scabbing on the oldest girl. I took them all to the vet and they treated them with Revolution but the vet told me that she didn't think they had mites.
Turns out they were being bitten by bed bugs! It took a while to find where they were coming from. They were in my chest of drawers where the oldest female loved to sleep and stash. I eventually traced them to some clothing that a friend of mine had given me. She eventually confirmed that she had bed bugs. In fact, her place is infested with them. So I'm getting rid of them slowly but surely with boiling water in the areas where they are and throwing out all the clothing she gave me.
The only way to get rid of bed bugs is to use boiling water where they live. I've put boiling water on all the chest of drawers and done all handwashing with boiling water. There are other ways, chemicals and diatomaceous earth but boiling water is non toxic and free.
Your rat may or may not have this issue but the only way to confirm is a vet.
Turns out they were being bitten by bed bugs! It took a while to find where they were coming from. They were in my chest of drawers where the oldest female loved to sleep and stash. I eventually traced them to some clothing that a friend of mine had given me. She eventually confirmed that she had bed bugs. In fact, her place is infested with them. So I'm getting rid of them slowly but surely with boiling water in the areas where they are and throwing out all the clothing she gave me.
The only way to get rid of bed bugs is to use boiling water where they live. I've put boiling water on all the chest of drawers and done all handwashing with boiling water. There are other ways, chemicals and diatomaceous earth but boiling water is non toxic and free.
Your rat may or may not have this issue but the only way to confirm is a vet.
lilspaz68
Well-Known Member
Can you post a pic of her scabby face?
Mites can be from infested bedding (wood or paperbased) and other fomites.
Mites can be from infested bedding (wood or paperbased) and other fomites.
