My male pet rat has scabs?

Hi everyone.

My male pet rat seems to have some scabs under his fur near his neck. It can't be due to fighting with another rat because his brother died a few months ago of heart disease. Currently, he's my only boy. Once a month I bathe him with a gentle shampoo made for puppies and kittens...that was actually the first time I noticed the scabs. I keep his cage very clean and I feed him a healthy diet. I'm really worried...what's going on with his skin?

His nails on the hind legs are probably sharp. My male rat gets scabs around the neck from scratching himself.

Try to get him to walk around on some concrete (if it's not too cold outside). Other than that, buy some neosporin (sp?) and apply to the scabs to help them heal.

My rat gets a bath every 3 weeks or so (whenever the scabs appear), and I use Johnson's baby shampoo (very gentle!)

He's fed ''Regal Rat'', which is the best food you can get.

Edit: Unfortunately, it cannot be found at Petco/PetSmart. I get it from a local all-natural pet food store. (and you can order it from the Oxbow's website)

I would say that Mazuri pellets would be what I used, from those stores.

Some rodents are suceptible to high %'s of protiein in their diet. This can lead to all sorts of problems such as scratching, hot spots(usually around the head and neck area), hair loss and more. These symptoms look just like a bug problem. Try cutting back the % of protein in your animal's diet and see if that helps. Also stay away from any food mixes containing the ingredient 'Ethoxyquin', this is a vitamin perservative, but is known by breeders/owners to cause tumors in rodents. Below is a link for a homemade diet that works well for all rodents. Good luck.

dave<:3}~...OWNER/ SHAGGYMOUSE YAHOO GROUP

If it is focused around his neck it is probably mites. It doesn't make you a bad rat parent, mites can be tracked in on your shoes if you walk through grass. They just get them sometime. Try ivermectin or puppy/kitten flea shampoo. The flea shampoo is better, but if it doesn't work the ivermectin will work. Check with a vet for dosage, or at the very least use the ratguide (http://www.rmca.org/Articles/dchart.htm)