Ringtail: Better. Now eczema?

[Nekopan]

Does anyone have any experience with ringtail? I think one of my 3 month old boys has it. His tail is bumpy and constricted in places. He also has a bit of dry skin on his back. From what I've read, it's mostly a hydration issue. I've been coating him in olive oil, but how often should I do this? Unfortunately, a humidifier is not an option right now. Is there anything I could feed him to increase his moisture intake?

 

[lizmo1221]

Depending on what kind of heater you have, you could put a jar of water on the heat source (if it were an electric heat or forced air heat) in the rat living area. Not as good as a humidifier but is a lot better than nothing. Just make sure to keep water in the jar. If it all evaporates away and the dry jar sits there it could shatter.

 

[lilspaz68]

Does anyone have any experience with ringtail? I think one of my 3 month old boys has it. His tail is bumpy and constricted in places. He also has a bit of dry skin on his back. From what I've read, it's mostly a hydration issue. I've been coating him in olive oil, but how often should I do this? Unfortunately, a humidifier is not an option right now. Is there anything I could feed him to increase his moisture intake?

Every day coat that tail...

Take him into the shower with you, bowl pots of water for steam in the air, etc.

 

[MomRat]

We're dealing with this right now too, although we bought a cheapie $18 humidifier that's good for 12-24 hours at a go. Boil water on your stove every chance you get(but don't let it boil dry) Slather on that olive oil, and if he gets open wounds, a thin layer of neosporin won't go amiss either.

Hugs to your little one.

 

[Nekopan]

Thanks for the suggestions! I was going to take a picture of it today, but my camera seems to be MIA. I don't think it would come through on my cell phone; if it is ringtail it's just in a beginning stage.

Every evening I have been coating him in olive oil. This morning I put some Vaseline on hoping it would help as well. I like the shower idea. I'm looking in local classifieds for cheap humidifiers.

 

[Nekopan]

So, his tail looks much better. I can't see any constrictions or feel bumps. But now a patch of skin on his back looks red and flaky - makes me think of eczema. The pictures aren't great, but this spot is noticeably pinker than the rest of his body. I'm hoping it's still a hydration issue, since when he piddled on the bathroom counter it was a pretty dark yellow. I'm going to continue the olive oil treatment and hopefully incorporate more high moisture foods into his diet. Any thoughts are appreciated.

 

[Fidget]

I just keep a few jars of water around my apartment in the winter when i have the heat going, it helps the air moisture.
Do you put olive oil in your kid's food periodically? More helpful inside than outside. I mix it into my kid's rice and/or veggies, they seem to love their food more with it than without it even. If his pee is that dark I'd try to get more fluid into him to at least rule out a medical problem, most ratties love Ensure and it's good for them so try that and if weight is an issue for them just mix it with as much water as needed to counteract that. It's expensive and only keeps for 3 days after opening but you can pour a can in an icecube tray and freeze it so there's no waste.

 

[jorats]

Mamarat had a rat with something similar and the vet did say something eczema but in Kanji's case we had to keep his cage clean and dry as well as put cortisone cream on his tail. He healed right up.
Kanji was always licking his tail when it was soar, before we started the cream. Is yours like that too?