Itchy rat

[rat.charmer]

Hello
My pet rat just had surgery to remove a small lump (also got her spayed). No problems with the surgery or the stitches; however I noticed about a week aftersurgery, she's scratching around the cut a lot (not the stitching itself), where her fur is shaved. There are small wounds, no bleeding though. There are some larger areas that have scabbed over, where there was fur (We suspect her cagemate bit her so we're going to try separating them). Additionally, the fur hasn't really grown back yet
and it's been 2 weeks. She is still eating, very active, runs around, plays etc. No piloerection, no porphyrin.

My questions

a) Is this normal? Is new fur itchy?
b) How long does it take for fur to grow back? Could she be barbering
herself?
c) Anything I can do to ease her discomfort?

I'm going to make another appt with the vet but it'll be a few days
before we'll be able to get in and I was wondering if there was
anything I could do in the meantime.

 

[Fidget]

She sounds like she's doing good. Hurrah for you and her! You might get better suggestions, but mine is to cut a hole in a Vitamin E capsule and put some on every day, it will help the healing and the feeling of dryness.

I'm so happy for you and your girl that she is doing so well!

 

[jorats]

How does the incision look? Can you still see the stitching after two weeks?

 

[user 78]

Is she only itching that one spot, or is she itching all over? You mention scabbing, but is it all in one area only? Does she have any scabbing anywhere else, like around her neck/face or by the base of her tail? Do you use paper/wood products in your cage, like Carefresh or Aspen chips for their litter? Is there any reason why you think her cagemate bit her?

Mites are a common cause of itching, which in turn causes scabbing. They're microscopic, so you can't see them, but the excessive itching and the scabs are a big calling card. They can be treated quite easily, with a single dose of puppy or kitten Revolution or by using Ivermectin. You'll need to get Revolution from your vet, but Ivermectin is available in feed stores and places that carry equine merchandise. It's very possible she picked them up at the vet somehow, or if you've recently purchased a new bag of litter they could have been in that.

It can take a little while for the fur to grow back completely, but after 2 weeks she should have a little fuzz now.

 

[rat.charmer]

You can't see the stitches anymore but it still looks 'scarred'. The skin hasn't perfectly knitted together, which I suppose is to be expected. The incisions never bled, and she never tried to tear into the stitches either.

She has a little bit of fuzz but not as much as I thought there should be after 2 weeks but if she's scratching and biting it off cause of the mites..ahh poor thing.

I'll try her on some Bimectin (ivermectin and apple flavor, yum!). The scabbing is mostly on her shoulders; we had suspected her cagemate because we saw the other rat pounce on Ruby. But they could have just been playing which they do a lot.

Should I also treat her cagemate, Cosmo, as well? Should I separate them while Ruby is on ivermectin?

 

[user 78]

I have no idea whether the concentration of meds would be the same for Bimectin vs Ivermectin, so make sure to check with your vet if you can. For ivermectin the dosage is a dose the size of an uncooked grain of rice, once a week for 3 weeks.

It's possible that with the surgery, Ruby's immune system was compromised. Mites are naturally occurring on rats, but their grooming keeps the populations down. With her surgery, the stress, and the healing, she may not have kept up on it as well. It's possible, if not likely, that Cosmo isn't having any issues, but check her over for any scabs and if you see some you can go ahead and treat her, too.

ETA: If you've recently changed their litter [ie new bag, new brand] or added something to their cage, that may have been the culprit, too. Remove the new stuff, freeze it, and treat everyone in the cage.

With ivermectin, you want to make sure you freeze any wood/paper products for atleast 24hrs, you'll need to scrub the cage out within 24hrs of dosing her/them, wash any fabrics they have in there, and I always suggest vacuuming a 5ft radius around the cage. Mites can travel or hitch rides on us.

I definitely would not separate them. The stress will just make everything worse for everyone. If Cosmo doesn't have them, then she's not going to 'catch' them if they stay together.

 

[jorats]

I'd definitely treat both rats with ivermectin, then you'll know they are good as new. I know the usual treatment with ivermectin is once a week for 3 weeks but my vet has suggested that one time treatment then again 10 days later should be enough. Don't forget to do a big scrub down of their cage and play area as well.

 

[rat.charmer]

Cosmo's totally fine; I think I would have suspected mites sooner if the both of them had been scratching. I've been using the same bedding bag for nearly 6 months so I don't think it's the a bag/brand or anything. I will give the cage and all their toys a thorough scrub down with hot water and soap.

Bimectin is Ivermectin but I think that's the name it's sold under in Canada. The concentration of the active drug is the same (1.87%).

I'm glad I won't have to separate them. They were miserable when they were apart just for those 2 days while Ruby was in surgery/recovering.

I will let everybody know her prognosis! Thank you!!!

 

[jorats]

Ya, I get the Bimectin as well. They seem to like the apple flavour.

 

[SQ]

If one rat has mites, you really do need to treat both of them even if one looks fine.

 

[rat.charmer]

Not sure how quickly I'm supposed to see results but it's been 3 days and already the scratch wounds are disappearing!

Thanks for everybody's help!

 

[jorats]

Yep... it's fast! You must be seeing a difference in their behaviour as well?

 

[rat.charmer]

Totally - she doesn't go on these long scratching bouts anymore. She just LOOKS better; it's a subtle change but it's there. And her fur is growing in more rapidly now too.