Rat hair thin in patches

[UhHuhHer]

Lucille is my youngest and newest as some of you know. She has not yet moved in with the other girls because of a conflict between her and Gumdrop but Gumdrop seems to be calming down. I worry that the fact that she still lives alone is the problem, but she's always been alone and this is a recent problem.

This morning my sister was playing with her and she noticed a pink stripe on her side. She thought maybe it was something on her fur but when we brought her into the light it was obvious that it was a place where her fur was very very thin. The skin underneath does not look broken or irritated. She has not been acting strangely otherwise.

Is this a stress thing? Might she have been stress grooming that spot? Or is there anything else I should be concerned about?

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[UhHuhHer]

This is the best picture I can get.

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[Aida]

Hmm, that is weird. The only reason I see is stress, or age. How old is she?

 

[UhHuhHer]

She's only 4 months old.

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[TafDaiJelVio]

We had a rat in the lab doing this and one of my boys also did.

There are two main causes for this: depression/boredom and neuro disorders.

Don't let the neuro disorder part scare you because generally the neuro would create larger patches ands she would draw blood from herself because she is licking and grooming herself so very aggressively, and that section of skin doesn't look too agitated.

The depression and boredom portion of this is probably what you're facing. While you're waiting for the introductions to be over, are you handling her often? Does she seem to play often?

Watch her carefully, you need to look for scabs or open wound as well as watch for how compulsive she is about it. Is she doing this every few seconds? Every few minutes? Every hour? Does she stop with interaction? Continue to play with her as you normally would and watch her reaction.

If you're really REALLY concerned, call your vet and ask what you can apply to make it taste bad, but be aware that if you make that spot nasty, she may move onto another spot.

I apologize if this post doesn't make a lot of sense, I'm working on school work so I'm only half here. If you need more clarification on anything feel free to ask!

 

[UhHuhHer]

I haven't been able to play with her as much for the past three days because of school. I'll have her out today and I'll be watching her more closely.

 

[TafDaiJelVio]

I absolutely understand school problems. Finals week here.

Just keep an eye on her, I'm pretty sure that's just boredom and she'll get past it once she has some friends. Best of luck to you!

 

[UhHuhHer]

I hope so. Thank you. My goal is for her to move in with her new friends by the end of this week. I'll just have to make more time for her in the meantime. She's mostly not an escape artist. I guess she can run around the couch whenever I'm sitting here working. It's not ideal, but it makes it easier to interact with her while I'm busy.

 

My Benji (RIP) had something very similar about a week after I got him. Never did find out what caused it but it went away on it's own within a couple of weeks. I figure it must have just been the stress of moving into a new home.

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[SarahA]

Wishing Lucille all the best hope her patchy fur will get better once she's settled with her new friends.

 

[UhHuhHer]

Yesterday, Lulu and Gumdrop had some very productive playtime together. Things are looking very good. Fingers crossed, we can get her moved in this week. It's getting chilly. She needs someone to snuggle with other than her blankets, and she needs some all-day friends.