# I really could do with some advice..bald spots



## Aaron (Apr 29, 2007)

Hi there i really could do with some advice i have a female albino rat who is about a year old . Recently i noticed a small bald spot under her neck in the last two weeks it has grown to cover the whole of her chest area and also her front and back legs .After searching the Internet i came across something called barbering and thought it may be this.I have since completely cleaned out their cage bathed all four of them in special shampoo made for ratties applied anti parasite treatment on all four and spent an obscene amount on new toys and treats to alleviate the boredom to no avail :? . can anyone help me on this subject :?:


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## ladylady (Apr 5, 2007)

What did the vet say?


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

it looks more like she's losing the hair herself then other rats trimming it. the hair looks to be missing too close to the body and none seems to be growing back. if it were barbering the sections of hair loss would look more like a close shave then completely bald like that. 

if i were you i'd call the vet and ask what's going on. other then in double rexes (aka patchwork) rats this type of hair loss isn't normal. and she's most definately not a rex variety. call the vet and tell him what you told us. he might be able to tell you what the problem is over the phone but you're likely going to have to take her in. 

here's a thought though. people and some other animals have been known to lose hair due to stress, perhaps that's what's going on. when you first noticed the hair loss were there any significant changes in her environment.? new rat? major cage cleaning? new cage? did you move? that sort of thing? even if i'm right though take her to the vet just to be safe. like i said this isn't normal.


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## Aaron (Apr 29, 2007)

hi 
many thanks for such quick replies 
Tink hasnt been to the vet yet as i thought this was a problem i might be able to sort out myself but i will be booking her in for an appointment asap.
As far as im aware she is a happy healthy rat apart from this new problem.I forgot to mention in my earlier post that i have also seen her pull her hair out with her teeth and then eats it (yuck!!!).I also caught her scratching then picking all the bits of fur up and eating that .I also find little tufts of fur where she has been sat down pulling it out She is still in the same cage and has no extra stress in life than she had before .My other three rats are all fine with no problems.The only thing different is six months ago i lost my first rat too an abcess on the lung and after four long months of round the clock care from me and the vet she passed away in the night quite suddenly but not unexpected and tink was quite close to her but that was six months ago and this problem started about three weeks ago


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## Poppyseed (Feb 1, 2007)

She probably needs a mite scraping. Although I see no scabs hairloss comes from mites at times. I donno, that is really odd and not something you usually see. I would take her to the vet personally.


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

you see that sort of plucking in bored and anxious birds so it might be the same thing with her but i don't know. let us know what the vet thinks.


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## Lise (Feb 26, 2007)

Look at her front arm too.... I think it looks like barbering.


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## Stephanie (Mar 25, 2007)

I would bet on barbering *nod*


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Wow she is an Extreme Barberer...those forelegs up to the shoulders give it away. All those bare spots are where she can reach or at least pull her skin to her mouth.

Here is Ariel and her shoulder









Is she bored? Or has she gotten a compulsion?


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## JennieLove (Jan 2, 2007)

Jay and Bob have one or two bald spots, but Its from them grooming each other too hard.


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## OnlyOno (Apr 4, 2007)

yeah i'd say extreme self-barbering because of the location of baldness. how much playtime does she get each day? does she have a friend to keep her company since the loss of her roommate? maybe she finally got over the greiving and is just now getting bored to ****? it can also be caused by Demodex mites, protein deficiencies, or hormones, but it's probably boredom or Demodex, in which case a vet visit would be best for her so she can get tested and maybe some meds. good luck!


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## fallinstar (Nov 26, 2006)

have you taken your rattie 2 the vets yet?


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