scaby rat! too much protien

[ratty_ratkins]

my boys are on suebees mix. i put 1 fourth nutro lite in it. and since i started puting nutro in it one of my boys has scabs on his back near his spine. i have seen this before due to too much protien in the diet, and thats what it looks like to me. i just dont understand why. dont some people make half grain mix, half nutro without problems??

[Dearpie]

Every rat's tolerance, or allergies, are different, as are human's.  Are you sure it's a protein issue?  That seems to be pretty rare... it could be mites.  What bedding are you using and do you freeze it first, if it's anything other than cloth?

[Siana]

Yep, protein issues aren't that common, but they do happen.  I have a boy that gets all scabby when he has just a little bit of Nutro - take him off Nutro, and the scabs disappear.  You might want to try that first.  You also might want to consider something like mites, if that doesn't make a difference.  Mite are a more common cause of skin problems in rats.

[ratty_ratkins]

they are just on cloth bedding. so i have no idea how he could have mites. exspecailly since none of his cage mates have any irritation. i didnt take out the nutro lite, but i lowerd the amount alot. before i new better i fed my rats hamster food, and thier skin stayed like that. (now that was a protien allergy) and this looks just like it. he doesnt seem more itchy of nothing. and its just him. him out of three rats.

[Marybelle]

I'd be more inclined to think an allergy rather than a protein issue, actually.  I'm not sure if an alternate protein food would help or not, but maybe just switching to a different kind of food would fix the problem.   I know there are several other types of high quality dog foods that other people use with their Suebee's mix. 

[ratty_ratkins]

well, nothing in there invoronment has changed other than having nutro lite. before the nutro they were getting meats like turkey, chicken, ham, roast beef, and other lean meats every 2 or 3 days. and he didnt get scaby with that. but yeah... time will tell if its the nutro or not.

[hyper_muse]

youll be surprised just how easy it is to get mites into your ratty home.
It wouldnt hurt to demite your little fury family even if they dont have mites. But its probably more likely they do.
When my rats had mites some of them had more scabs then others.

[AngelZOO]

If your not familiar with external parasites on rats, just bring them into a "ratty certified" (small animal) vet and they can tell you, and also recommend treatment.
It's possible your rats are allergic to something else in the nutro food, not necessarily just it as a protein source. There's a BIG difference, between our fresh human food, and the average dog kibble.

[ratty_ratkins]

i took out alot of the dog food. in a week if there isnt an improvment i am taking all the dog food out and start back on the "real" meats. if i could find innova i would just get that. any ideas? basically if its not at petco, i have no ascess to it. and i hate to support petco in the first place. wouldnt shipping on that cost an arm and a leg??

[Heather]

Why not Find a Dealer onwww.mazuri.com and see if they can't order Haran blocks for you? That way you wouldn't have to worry about buying dog food or supporting Petco.

[merlin7676]

you can get frontline or advantage from petco...it's expensive..like $45 dollars, but you get 3 in a pack and 1 packet will treat all your rats..but get the kitten formula. what I do is use a q-tip and apply it in between the boys shoulder blades. usually do it once every 2 months regardless as a preventative measure

merlin

[ratty_ratkins]

no offence guys but i would rather support petco than harlen. i am strongly against lab testing. and if i buy products from a place that MAINLY ship people out rats for reasurch etc then arnt i supporting the terrible things that happen to those poor rats??

[jessiree]

no offence guys but i would rather support petco than harlen. i am strongly against lab testing. and if i buy products from a place that MAINLY ship people out rats for reasurch etc then arnt i supporting the terrible things that happen to those poor rats??

well that's your right. 
Personally..I think supporting petco is just as bad if not worse.  I buy Harlan from the ark...the rats love it, they're getting balnanced nutrition...and I'm supporting a rescue.

[Tracy]

no offence guys but i would rather support petco than harlen. i am strongly against lab testing. and if i buy products from a place that MAINLY ship people out rats for reasurch etc then arnt i supporting the terrible things that happen to those poor rats??

and you would support research that saves your rats later on as well as human life. Mazuri is a part of Purina  which also does lab testing. I also feel safer I sell food that is given to rats in studies where everything controlled and environment is optimal to lessen errors than a commercial pet food that is basically crap.

Like jessiree says, it's your choice.
Other good brands out there are L&M, Sunseeds, Brown's. I don't know the protein levels in these blocks.  Other high quality dog foods to try are Wysong, Innova, etc. I know these two are made with human grade meats.

[ratty_ratkins]

oh yeah, i deffinally like the idea of LAB foods. i mean, there rats have to be in perfect health for the testing and what not. i wouldnt even mind if i could by a rat from those places. i actually contacted one about buying a rat from them as a pet, they dont allow that. i know that rats are little life savers (doing tests) but what good are people on death row why couldnt the goverment test on them!!

anyway.....
i am trying to get some innova. no where around here sells it and shipping is a pain in the arse.

[Tracy]

I find them in Pet Supply stores, often the ones with no pets.
You can also ask your local pet supply shop to order a bag for you.

[AngelZOO]

Search for Good Quality Dog Foods in your area, to name a few

Innova
http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=stores-tab

Natural Balance
http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/home/locator.tpl

Solid Gold
http://solidgoldhealth.com/stores/

Evolve
http://www.evolvepet.com/locator/index.php

Merrick
http://www.merrickpetcare.com/locator/

Wellness
http://www.omhpet.com/locator/locator_form.asp

Wysong
http://64.177.150.233/us.shtml

[kmw]

One of my local petstores carries all of the upper end petfoods.  I've found, if I go in there every month or so and say "I'm thinking of switching my dogs over to _____.  Do you have any samples I can try to see if they like it?"  The workers usually do have samples, and are more than happy to hand them over.  Voila!  The rats have dog food to add to their rat mix   For me, it works great, because they don't get mix every day, just two or three times a week to supplement their lab blocks.

Another way of trying out a food, without committing to buying 10 lbs of it!