Skin issues - what does this look like?

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minnow

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 26, 2008
Messages
515
Location
Nebraska, USA
Neliel not only has breathing problems (she's on a hefty dose of Baytril now after a rescue shot when she was so lethargic from lack of oxygen I thought I'd find her dead in the morning) - she's scratching herself raw. Could this be mites, or does it look more like a possible skin infection?

The latest wound:
4485360327_4b1b96ebea.jpg


Her neck, which was scratched raw less than a week ago, and still has a scratch:
4486010622_b95bb79f22.jpg


Should I wait to see if this resolves now that the household's been treated for mites, or should I bring her in to the vet sooner rather than later?
 
No, I don't think mites could do that. I would think some type of infection, maybe even pyoderma? The Baytril should help though but keep a close eye on it, if it gets any worse, I'd bring her in.
 
Is there anything topical I can do for it? Children's Neosporin cream? She'd be difficult but not impossible to bathe, and I have cat shampoo designed for sensitive skin that I can use a tiny bit in a lot of water with...
 
A vet friend of mine suggested, when we were dealing with unending wounds that started with mites, that the mite treatment we used probably had been successful, and that the rat could have gotten a staph or other infection of the skin from scratching. He said 'This is usually EASILY treated with topical meds and nail trims. If I were you, I'd buy some over the counter betadine solution and add it to warm water to make it the color of iced tea. Then bath the rats in it daily and keep their toenails trimmed. " Couldn't hurt, and if it's just the one spot in the pic, you could probably swab it on instead of doing a whole bath...
 
I'm really hoping that the Neosporin helps with the itchiness she's having - it looks like she's scratching at her neck again, as there's a new bald patch where her hair was growing back before. Considering the multi-site nature, I think I'll go with a full-body dip and have a tea colored but hopefully less itchy Neliel.
 
There are no new lesions, but when I got her wet I saw that the ones that she had were more extensive than I thought.
Good vibes to make the itchy scratchies go away would be appreciated. I'll keep up the betadine baths and neosporin until she's healed, unless my vet directs otherwise.

Poor girl's getting a crash course in 'hands are okay, really'. Lots of poo is involved, but she doesn't struggle otherwise.
 
That reminds me - time to dye my PEWs for Easter and take pictures. :D

(Don't worry, just a bit of food coloring like I use to dye a spot on the back of their necks anyway)

Nel turned out a little bit dingy looking, but that's a small price to pay. Her lesions are looking a lot less irritated today, so it looks like it's just a minor skin infection that should be getting kicked in the butt with this. Good thing I caught it early - the remaining JE girls hide their problems until it's almost too late.
 
If it returns she will need antibiotics for the staph infection..Pyoderma can be very nasty.

kisses to the good girl. You can probably dab the sores rather than immerse her :)
 
I switched to dabbing it on last night. I think she really needed the soak to get any potential sites calmed down before. And to soften the scabs. She went through the looking worse but really better icky scabby stage, that's sloughed off, and now she's really looking better. The scratches on her neck are almost gone, and the lesion on her back is shrinking and a nice healthy pink instead of angry red. She's on Baytril for the rest of the month (or longer) to keep her case of pneumonia from coming back, so she should be covered as long as I keep freaking her out with the weird stinky stuff.
 


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