Poor Norbert...a Skin Issue too?

[lilspaz68]

Poor bubber. When I took him in last Thursday for his initial exam there was a note on his file to check his skin, and had marks that concerned me on his back and right haunch. I never heard anything so assumed it was nothing.

Tonight it's much much worse, as you can see from the pics. I thought ringworm *gulp*, but Peggy thinks it might be eczema. Allergic reaction maybe? He was on fleece when I first noticed it and now he's on the sheets.

Can anyone else advise?

 

[hopefloats]

Dopey had the same thing on him. You can see the flakey skin on him. It also looks a lot like the Eczema that my Daughter gets on her legs every winter. I used Aveeno Natural colloidal Oatmeal lotion on him and it cleared up fast. I also began wiping him with a baby wipe but he was an old man and needed a little pampering!


It is itchy and he may be trying to relieve it.

 

[M0onkist]

Yeah, I was gonna say that it looked like eczema on my hands. Problem is, of course, that traditional remedies would probably be nicely toxic - hydrocortisone cream is what helps my hands the most, but I find it also kind of thins the skin where it's treated (which is why it's only indicated for the short-term).

Could some kind of natural cream help a little bit, at least to make sure he's not itchy and that the eczema doesn't dry out to the point of cracking the skin? Imagine you could theoretically slather him with coconut oil/fat or olive oil...

 

[hopefloats]

Mom used to mix baking soda and water to a paste and use it on our bug bite that itched... I wonder if that would work?

 

[Petunia]

yeh that sure looks like eczema, poor guy!

I"ve seen lots of eczema and sadly, lots of ringworm :roll: and ring worm rarely affects patches like that esp without at least one fairly well defined "ring"

can rats have oral antihistamines? would that help if he's itchy?

 

[Petunia]

Mom used to mix baking soda and water to a paste and use it on our bug bite that itched... I wonder if that would work?

that might help with the itch but with the high sodium content, if he was to lick it off.......
:sick2:


OT: we used to use ammonia on bug bites, or rubbing alcohol, it stings like crazy but it sure does take the itch away LOL

 

[lilspaz68]

I have the Aveeno cream at work (I think), and I just put a little petroleum jelly on him to help any dryness (it works well on Rhesus)

Poor lovey.

 

[hprats]

Awwww. I can totally empathize with the little guy. I've had terrible eczema at different times in my life (I had to be hospitalized for it once as a baby) and it looks like what he has. I also have allergic reactions to the cortisone cream that is generally provided for it, which totally sucks.

Moisturizers like cocoa butter and shea butter are probably better for it than petroleum jelly, when he has a flare-up like that. There are different preparations, but most should be non-toxic. Petroleum doesn't actually moisturize (add moisture) the skin, though it prevents it from losing moisture.

 

[lilspaz68]

I used the Aveeno on him last night, but soon discovered that it had menthol in it ...what the? :shock:

I am going to see what I can find up at my mom's...

 

[M0onkist]

Might be able to find some kind of homemade lotion... that would avoid the menthol.

For pete's sake though, what's Aveeno doing with menthol in it?!

Would aloe vera work instead? You could just buy a plant and kinda smear it on him, maybe...

 

[lilspaz68]

Might be able to find some kind of homemade lotion... that would avoid the menthol.

For pete's sake though, what's Aveeno doing with menthol in it?!

Would aloe vera work instead? You could just buy a plant and kinda smear it on him, maybe...

I will pick up a different Aveeno I think (it seemed to have helped a little).

 

[crumbilina]

For pete's sake though, what's Aveeno doing with menthol in it?!

After thinking the same thing it dawned on me that menthol can help with itch and can cool the skin when you put it on. SO if you have a heated angry skin condition the menthol will help sooth the burning and itch.

 

[Bundyrats]

Meesha (RIP) had scabs which we didn't know the cause of. I wash her every two days for six days (three washes) with malaseb and it cleared up immediatlely by the second wash. I then moisturised her with Aloveen, which contains oatmeal extract and aloe vera as the active constituants. It's made by Dermcare.