Submissive rat has scabs all over his body

[boo2701]

So I've recently noticed scabs all over my younger rat's body. Mainly concentrated around his face, neck and upper back. My older rat Boo is obviously the dominant one, both rats are male. The younger one tends to squeak when the older one grooms him, so i don't know if he is grooming too hard or if he is actually bitting him. The older rat is 10months and the youngster is 7months. The older one has always been more rough with his playing but blood has never be drawn and i've only noticed the scabs the past 2 weeks. Up till now the 2 have always been good together.

When I took my younger one out today I moved my hand and had blood all over it. I don't want him to keep getting hurt. :sad-p: Has anyone dealt with a similar situation? Should i separate them for a bit? The older rat also doesn't have any scabs or scratches so i'm not sure if it could me mites?

 

[Vicki]

Could you get a picture of the scabs for us? It is possible for only one of the two to be affected by mites! Are the small scabs or bite wound scabs?

 

[crumbilina]

This definitely sounds like mites or lice. Mites and lice can cause a change in behaviour as well. If someone is itchy all over they can become irritable.

Do not separate them, but watch. Does the younger one seem scared of the older one? Do you know where the blood was coming from? Keep in mind that even a tiny injury to a toe or ear can make it look like a murder scene in the cage.

 

[boo2701]

I've come to the conclusion that it's probably mites. The one rat has scabs all over his back, face and neck and seems to be acting different than usual. I've cleaned their cage and bleached everything. I'm just waiting to receive the medication for them.

Is there anything i could do for him in the meantime? like a bath