has anyone else out there got a pet rat because i need some advice, my pet rat is 13 months old, female, and having a few skin problems can anyone help.
ive tried everything, even a vet.

I used to keep pet rats. what kind of skin prob is it? a lump or flaking of the skin? Rats can get both of these when they start to get old.

its not flaky but she is scraching and drawing blood, her claws are ok ive changed her diet, ive been bathing her with warm salty water, but nothing seems to work.
thankyou for your reply

Sounds like a flea allergy, Are there other pets in the house? I remember one of my rats getting something very similar to this and it got so bad that he winced when water went into the cuts. The only way I managed to make it better was by cleaning the cage out every day and making sure the other pets were clear of fleas. It takes a while and it doesnt get rid of it completely because of the rats age, but at least it improves it and makes the rat more comfortable.

Jabberwocky, thankyou for your advice.
there are no other pets in the house, i clean her cage out everyday, we took her to the vets, and the vet said she thought it was a skin infection, she didnt think it was caused by mites or fleas.
does anyone know about skin infections on rats because i just want to see her look nice again.

I found this : http://www.ratfanclub.org/skin.html I hope it helps. :)

thankyou very much for your help i will try this cream, its better than paying £20 to the vet and getting nowhere, will let you know if it helps.

do you think its safe to use human antiseptic cream on a rat, thankyou

I used to keep rats and they can be suseptable to skin complaints, if you have more than one, isolate the "infected" one as it can spread.

thankyou very much for your help i will try this cream, its better than paying £20 to the vet and getting nowhere, will let you know if it helps.

do you think its safe to use human antiseptic cream on a rat, thankyou

TBH I always say that what's good for the goose is good for the gander when it comes to things like creams (obviously not with prescription meds though!!!). I reguarly use antiseptic creams intended for animals on myself, and my horse is a regular user of Vaseline and E45 intended for humans!

One the topic of possible creams for skin irritations, there is a cream called Camersa Ointment that I have used on my horse's skin and rabbit's skin with success. If you google it you should find suppliers.

my rat is always washing herself and i thought if she licked herself she might swallow the antiseptic cream and i dont know if it will her hurt her.

We've had several rats over the years as they make excellent pets for kids. Anyway they have all developed skin problems as they got older. We applied over the counter antiseptic creams with no problems, use v. sparingly. You could also look at vitamin drops in their food, you can get them for hamsters/rabbits so they should be fine for rats. Make sure they have plenty of 'fresh' hard veg, must be fresh, no lettuce as this gives them the 'poos'. I have also rubBed a little olive oil on my hand and then hand groomed the rat. Tiny drops of fish oil, can also help. (i've used i for my cats with good effect, but must give only a little)

amandakm, thankyou very much, will try olive oil before using antiseptics.
i will get some tommrow and do as you say.

Rats are prone to little mites that burrow into the skin, these cause the sypmtoms that you describe and it is very painful for the rat, in general they start with the mites and chest problems after they are about 1 year so the timing is right i'm afraid.
If you take the rat to the vet he will give him a little injection that clears the mites very quickly, please don't leave him to suffer this is very painful and the rats bite and scratch peices out of themselves without treatment :(

Take the poor thing to the vet! We have several pets, including Rats and Rats, anytime something goes wrong they are straight to Westfield, who I have to say are one of the best vetinary surgeries in Sheffield.

If you can't afford treatment the will organise a payment plan with you, you have a responsibility to provde the best care for your pet and not allow it to suffer.

i took her to the vets at firth park about 3 weeks ago, she hadf an injection and some drops behind her ears, but the vet said it wasnt gauranted to work, it cost me £20 but i didnt want to see her suffer.

Definitely sounds like mites to me.

Best treatment is Ivermectin which I suspect is what your vet gave her. I don't know why they injected her and gave her drops though, that's not really necessary.

She needs a drop on the back of her neck once a week for three weeks to clear them up. Did the vet give you some to take away with you?

Oh, and in answer to your question, I have five rats :) I generally also have a few rescues staying at any one time while I find them new homes, must be mad.

Re the antiseptic cream... I'd be inclined to bathe with a product such as dettol or TCP, but check the label to make sure it's the product you can also gargle with ;)

Brude has had small amounts of Savlon cream on his paws with success, but rubbed in thoroughly, as he tries to lick it off (he is a dog BTW)