Tuesday, March 6, 2012

My pets rat was diagnosed with staph, and now I think I have ringworm and he seems sicker...?

I bought 2 pet rats from Petsmart about 3 weeks ago. The younger one developed scabs and scaly patches of skin on his back, so I took him to the vet about a week ago. They took skin scrapings from the effected areas and diagnosed him with staph. He has an oral and a topical cream twice daily, and it seemed that he was improving. Although he was losing hair, the scabs were healing and he seemed to be gaining strength.



Around the time I took him to the vet I developed a circular rash on my right hand where he had scratched me when picked up. It has since grown, and is pinkish in color. There are tiny raised bumps that can be popped, and it looks like ringworm. I have a few other rashes on the back of my neck where they scratched me, and on my stomach where I scratched myself after holding them.



He is now looking incredibly sick. His stomach looks very bloated, as if all of his body mass has shifted down. His spine and ribs are easily felt despite this bloating, and he seems in pain. He limps and appears confused and lethargic. He will not eat, but has drank quite a bit of water.



I'm not sure what to make of it. For one, could the vet have misdiagnosed him, saying he had staph when he really had ringworm which he passed to me? And should I continue to give him his meds tonight considering the current state he is in? Also, his cage-mate appears completely healthy, and shows no symptoms, should I be treating him as well?My pets rat was diagnosed with staph, and now I think I have ringworm and he seems sicker...?
Sorry, I wish I could help but I really don't know. I had a similar problem with my two rats and I didn't know what to do so sorry but I guess I would just say ask your vet?

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