Hurt rat ears.

[Cece]

A added a picture, a bit blurry because she hates sitting still.
But anyway, one of my rats keeps somehow hurting her ears and unless shes doing it herself I dont know how. My other rat did this, but it was just her chewing her plastic tunnel and going through it (catching her ears on the chewed edges)
Anyway for hedwig (rat in photo) ive gone through the cage top to bottom and have temporarily quarantined her. Theres nothing for her to be catching her ears on, and the other rat isnt doing it. (I also just took out all plastic toys, bowl, mini house thing, and other mini house thing) Her ears are still messed up and no better. I can only think shes doing it to herself. But why would she do that??
Sorry long post, but does anyone have a suggestion on what i should do?

 

[SQ]

Hedwig's ears like Sarcoptes mites to me.
This is different then the usual type of mites and treatment is different
Lilspaz68 can tell you for sure

I have never had a rat with this …. so suggest that you print out the links below and make a vet appointment with a good rat vet …. treatment needs to be started asap and the environment cleaned
Here is some info:http://ratguide.com/health/integumentary_skin/ectoparasites.php
and Sarcopetes Mange photos and case history are here - looks like your rattie
http://ratguide.com/health/figures/ectoparasites_figure_2.php

Quote:
For treatment specific to stubborn demodectic , notoedres, and sarcoptid mite infestation
Ivermectin, selamectin (Revolution), or topical treatment of Mitaban (amitraz) may be considered. It is recommended to discuss the proper use of Mitaban with your vet before attempting to use.
Ivermectin is considered to have a wider margin of safety.
In cases of mange, treatment may need to be carried out for as long as 6-12 weeks. Skin infection, by normal skin flora, often accompanies persistent, severe, cases of mange. It may become necessary to treat with an antibiotic such as cephalexin (Keflex).

http://ratguide.com/meds/anti-infectives/ivermectin.php

 

[Cece]

Hedwig's ears like Sarcoptes mites to me.
This is different then the usual type of mites and treatment is different
Lilspaz68 can tell you for sure

I have never had a rat with this …. so suggest that you print out the links below and make a vet appointment with a good rat vet …. treatment needs to be started asap and the environment cleaned
Here is some info: http://ratguide.com/health/figures/ectoparasites_figure_2.php
and Sarcopetes Mange photos and case history are here - looks like your rattie http://ratguide.com/health/integumentary_skin/ectoparasites.php

Quote:
For treatment specific to stubborn demodectic , notoedres, and sarcoptid mite infestation
Ivermectin, selamectin (Revolution), or topical treatment of Mitaban (amitraz) may be considered. It is recommended to discuss the proper use of Mitaban with your vet before attempting to use.
Ivermectin is considered to have a wider margin of safety.
In cases of mange, treatment may need to be carried out for as long as 6-12 weeks. Skin infection, by normal skin flora, often accompanies persistent, severe, cases of mange. It may become necessary to treat with an antibiotic such as cephalexin (Keflex).

http://ratguide.com/meds/anti-infectives/ivermectin.php

Thank you! But, wouldnt that effect both my rats? Only one has it.

 

[SQ]

ask lilspaz68 …. I think only one rat can be affected but I don't know

 

[Cece]

Thank you

 

[allie]

If SQ is right about it being sarcoptic mange unfortunately that would be very contagious to other rats and to you, and any other pet that might come in contact. So hopefully that's not it. Sarcoptic mites are the name given to them on animals, but on humans it is called scabies. At least on dogs, a vet needs to take a skin scraping and look at it under a microscope to tell for sure. I would assume the same would go for rats.

 

[Cece]

Ive set up a vet appt. Thank you all! Im worried so for now hedwig is going in the other cage. Its not very big but no other option really.
Thank you all!

 

[Luna&Ralph]

Sarcoptic mites are actually a different mite than those that are generally found in the ears, however they can both definitely be treated with Revolution for rats. Sometimes Revolution requires a prescription, but it is over the counter in Canada, so a vet appointment shouldn’t be necessary. I would treat both rats just in case because they are species specific and could spread, and it would be best to try to stop their life cycle at on both rats at the same time. Separating the rats shouldn’t be necessary and might actually cause more upset than good, but of course it’s entirely up to you.

 

[Cece]

Thank you!
I actually have been treating what i thought was just a rash on my dog...however now that this was brought up im going to do Every thing i can to be sure if it is or isn't.
Thank you all so much though. I hadn't heard of it, and if it is this could have gotten a whole lot worse.

 

[Cece]

Heres what i hope is a better photo

 

[Fidget]

Nothing I can add to what's been said, except to echo that you're best to treat them both so no point in separating.. I guess you'll have to get your dog checked out too. Hope it's all better soon.

 

[Luna&Ralph]

Can you post a photo of your dog’s rash? I know a bit about general animal skin conditions and I’m wondering if I might be able to help. Like I said, mites are specific to a certain species so they could be affecting both your dog and your rat, but they wouldn’t have gotten them from each other. Mites usually show up when an animal’s immune system has weakened, so it’s possible that they both got them at the same time from separate factors.

 

[SQ]

according to the rat guide (see my previously posted link) http://ratguide.com/health/integumentary_skin/ectoparasites.php

Sarcoptes scabiei varieties, while not host-specific per se, do possess some host specific preference and physiologic differences do exist between varieties. Rats can be infested with a variety of sarcoptes mite; however, they do not give their owners their type of mange. Human infestation is with a different variety of scabies mite than what is found on animals’.
Should your pet rat be infested with a sarcoptic mite, and have close contact with you, it can get under your skin and cause itching and skin irritation. However, the mite dies in a couple of days and does not reproduce. They may cause you to itch for several days, but you do not need to be treated with special medication to kill them. Until your rat is treated effectively and its environment cleaned continued infestation will be a source of discomfort for your rat and an annoyance to you. For more information on scabies in humans see The CDC Fact
Sheet.

and the link from the rat guide (vet approved) http://ratguide.com/health/integumentary_skin/ectoparasites.php gives info re treatment and care

 

[Luna&Ralph]

As I said before, sarcoptic mites are not those that are causing the symptoms seen in the rat's ear. SQ, this quote is also taken from the link you posted: "Notoedres muris (also termed the ear mange mite) burrows into skin, and can present as yellowish crusty appearing warts on edges of ears and nose, or can appear on other extremities as reddened bumps. Both of these are not often seen in the domestic pet rat."
This is a different type of mite than the sarcoptic mite, but it may not in fact be species specific, I don't remember about the ear mite specifically. That being said, your dog would only have gotten the mites from your rat or the other way around if the rash is also on the dog's ear.

 

[SQ]

As I said before, sarcoptic mites are not those that are causing the symptoms seen in the rat's ear.

I have never had rats with either of these, I said it is sarcoptic mites because the rat's ear look like the picture of the ear of a rat with sarcoptic mites on ratguide.com, which is what I initially stated in my first post along with a link to the picture, and info giving the treatment the rat underwent
The rat guide is a vet approved site so a good reliable reference

 

[lilspaz68]

That is definitely sarcoptes mange. Very classic symptoms. It used to be a lot more rare, but I am helping people with this all the time now. :/

http://ratguide.com/health/figures/ectoparasites_figure_2.php

 

[Luna&Ralph]

The rat guide also said what I quoted in my last post, so I’m not sure that we can put all of our faith into what is posted on their website. They are definitely two separate mites, I have studied a variety of parasites in animals and have learned that ear mites are a different type of mite than sarcoptic mites that are generally found on the body and common in rats. From what I’ve seen, ear mites are quite uncommon in rats. Luckily Revolution treats both though so it’s not a big deal that they’re a different type in this case.

 

[lilspaz68]

Ohhh I see what you are saying. The overall descriptiion is for ...

Notoedres muris (also termed the ear mange mite) burrows into skin, and can present as yellowish crusty appearing warts on edges of ears and nose, or can appear on other extremities as reddened bumps

But the case history with Sunny says sarcoptes.

I'll talk to Karen Grant (of ratguide) about this and figure out which is which and if the page needs editing.

 

[lilspaz68]

It seems that the notoedres muris mite is a type of sarcoptes, so technically correct, but this is the mite that we see most often, especially with these classic ear fringes.

The case history for Sunny was a reprint of an article from 1997 in RCMA. It was easier to link the Sunny case history as people would see the pics, take a sigh of relief and say "that's it", but due to the confusion, I will just refrain from using it anymore.

 

[SQ]

It seems that the notoedres muris mite is a type of sarcoptes,

Will they add this info to the rat guide to prevent confusion in the future?