# My first rat and he's hairless



## Mr.Bigelsworth (Jan 10, 2011)

Hi everyone,

My name is Ed and I just got a hairless rat named Mr. Biglesworth he is very sweet, however he is scratching his head until it bleeds and it looks awful. I would appreciate any suggestion as to why he is doing this. I also just got him a friend as well so he isn't lonely.




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## Mr.Bigelsworth (Jan 10, 2011)

Also I forgot to add, his testicles have not descended yet and he's 12 weeks old is that normal?


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## smesyna (Nov 22, 2010)

Can I see a frontal pic? It's probably a girl....people often confuse the urethra for a penis.

Also, it could be mites but that's a kinda odd place for him to scratch.

ETA is the tank permanent housing?


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

if his testicles aren't descended yet he's actually a girl and if you just put another male in with her, separate them and cross your fingers that she isn't pregnant now until you know for sure 

s/he could either be overenthusiastic about grooming, or have a parasite like mites. try clipping the very tips of his/her nails off, or giving him/her a sterilised rock or brick somewhere frequently visited in his cage (like under the water bottle) to help file them down.

i second the question about the tank D:


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## Mr.Bigelsworth (Jan 10, 2011)

No the tank is not permanent home I'm getting a cage on Friday, totally temporary I really hadn't planned on him. He was left at the animal hospital I work at. He is defiantly a boy, there is too much space between everything back there for a girl and he doesn’t have nipples


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## Mr.Bigelsworth (Jan 10, 2011)

Sorry for the horrible grammar and punctuation I just realized that you can’t edit


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## smesyna (Nov 22, 2010)

Can you post a pic anyway?

The only other possibility is chyptochordism, but it's usually just one testicle stick in the abdomen...in those cases a neuter is necessary due to the cancer risk.


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## Mr.Bigelsworth (Jan 10, 2011)

I think he may be crytorchid, I was just hopeing some dropped later than others. I just haven't ever heard of a rat with this issue. A neuter is free for me and I was going to neuter them anyway, I guess I will have to do it sooner than I thought. I can't post another pic now because he dosen't want to sit still


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Well the easiest way to tell, especially with a nakie is look for nipples. Male rats do not have them, ever.


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## Mr.Bigelsworth (Jan 10, 2011)

There are no nipples


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Mr.Bigelsworth said:


> There are no nipples


Oh ouch. Male then, undescended testes and an abdominal neuter to prevent cancer which is caused by the heat of the body cavity. I also have a young boy who has one teste undescended and the other partially...I'll have to have him neutered sooner than later.


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## Mr.Bigelsworth (Jan 10, 2011)

Luckily I get a huge discount because I work at an animal hospital, however I may go somewhere else because the vet I work for has never neutered a crytorchid. My other boy I can do myself. I had to neuter several in school for a lab animal rotation and it's pretty easy. My main concern with Mr. Biglesworth is the anesthesia, he is pretty fragile and right now just looks a mess with all the scabs and scratches. I hope this clears up. When he first came in he had a pretty bad URI and has gotten over it, it's been about three weeks now with no symtoms.


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## HuncaMunca (Dec 29, 2010)

Aww, poor little guy! I hope everything works out and that he gets better. Those undescended testicle sure do seem to be a problem sometimes... Like I say to husband 'I don't know how you guys can live with those things!' 
Hope he does well, and love his name! ;D


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

HuncaMunca said:


> Aww, poor little guy! I hope everything works out and that he gets better. Those undescended testicle sure do seem to be a problem sometimes... Like I say to husband 'I don't know how you guys can live with those things!'
> Hope he does well, and love his name! ;D


Can you take a pic of his head and his wounds/scratches? I just want to rule out pyoderma for you.


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## karinulph (Jul 19, 2010)

Maybe get a bottle of kitten revolution? You say you get discount. That may help the itching
I thought my boy had mites once but it turned out his nails weren't bein trimmed well enough by himself and he was just scratching away


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## Mr.Bigelsworth (Jan 10, 2011)

Here's his head










Here's the new boy


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Oh dear god your boy needs a competent vet now! If its pyoderma, then he needs antibiotics and pain killers like metacam. I have been through it twice with rats, deep pyo and surface, both were difficult. Its usually a staph infection of the skin and its horribly painful.


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## Mr.Bigelsworth (Jan 10, 2011)

alright he will go to work with me tomorrow, it really only got like this the last 2 days. I looks awful though. Thanks for answering my questions.


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## smesyna (Nov 22, 2010)

Oh my that does look bad. Good luck at the vet.


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## reflexrg (Nov 1, 2010)

I noticed you're using wood pellet bedding. What kind is it? I used to LOVE pellet bedding until my two boys both got mites from it. Three treatments with ivermectin and a change in bedding later, they were fine and haven't gotten it since.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Mr.Bigelsworth said:


> alright he will go to work with me tomorrow, it really only got like this the last 2 days. I looks awful though. Thanks for answering my questions.


There is several things it could be, if you can do a skin culture it might be best. I have seen Pyo look like this, a skin cancer etc.

But pain meds are first. Do the scabs/skin around it feel hot?


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## smesyna (Nov 22, 2010)

reflexrg said:


> I noticed you're using wood pellet bedding. What kind is it? I used to LOVE pellet bedding until my two boys both got mites from it. Three treatments with ivermectin and a change in bedding later, they were fine and haven't gotten it since.


You can get mites from any bedding. That is why you should freeze it first.


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## Alethea (Jul 14, 2010)

I am wishing you luck with everything. He is a real handsome male


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## Mr.Bigelsworth (Jan 10, 2011)

We went to the vet today, there are no mites and it seems to be a mild skin infection. We cleaned it up and most of it was dried blood. A steroid injection and some antibiotic cream and it looks a ton better. The bad news is that Mr. Biglesworth is a girl so needless to say she will be getting spayed and my new boy will be getting neutered on Monday. One would think that after bachelors in pre veterinary medicine and a masters in small animal physiology, I should be able to tell the difference but in my defense they really don’t teach you much about rodents in school. The most I got was a lab animal rotation that I hated and didn’t really pay much attention. Once again thank you all for your feedback and advice. Oh by the way I have them on yesterday’s news pellets which I am changing because I thinks he may be allergic I am thinking of using care fresh is that good?


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## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

Mr.Bigelsworth said:


> We went to the vet today, there are no mites and it seems to be a mild skin infection. We cleaned it up and most of it was dried blood. A steroid injection and some antibiotic cream and it looks a ton better. The bad news is that Mr. Biglesworth is a girl so needless to say she will be getting spayed and my new boy will be getting neutered on Monday. One would think that after bachelors in pre veterinary medicine and a masters in small animal physiology, I should be able to tell the difference but in my defense they really don’t teach you much about rodents in school. The most I got was a lab animal rotation that I hated and didn’t really pay much attention. Once again thank you all for your feedback and advice. Oh by the way I have them on yesterday’s news pellets which I am changing because I thinks he may be allergic I am thinking of using care fresh is that good?


Carefresh is more likely to cause an allergic reaction , I would stick with yesterdays news it's pretty safe. They are made of the same thing anyway just in different form.


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## reflexrg (Nov 1, 2010)

smesyna said:


> reflexrg said:
> 
> 
> > I noticed you're using wood pellet bedding. What kind is it? I used to LOVE pellet bedding until my two boys both got mites from it. Three treatments with ivermectin and a change in bedding later, they were fine and haven't gotten it since.
> ...


Yes, but this is the first time my rats have ever gotten mites, and I've been keeping rats for 9 years. My friend's rats (nearly 20 of them) got mites from pellets as well, the first time for her, too.


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## Mr.Bigelsworth (Jan 10, 2011)

Well, she passed away during the procedure :'(. I am really gonna miss her.


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## karinulph (Jul 19, 2010)

Awe so sorry


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## smesyna (Nov 22, 2010)

Mr.Bigelsworth said:


> Well, she passed away during the procedure :'(. I am really gonna miss her.


I'm sorry 

So it was a girl?


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## Mr.Bigelsworth (Jan 10, 2011)

yes I found out he was a she when I took her to the vet.


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## smesyna (Nov 22, 2010)

Ok.

RIP little girl.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Next time wait until all the health issues are out of the way before considering surgery. she may have had an auto-immune condition and the surgery was too much for her.

I am sorry. She was adorable


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