How to Care for Your Hairless Rat

Hairless rats are born with hair but lose it around 4 weeks of age. Hairy rats and hairless rats have only small differences between them. A hairless rat has a shorter life span and needs to be kept in a warmer atmosphere. They have a hard time keeping themselves warm unlike a rat with hair would have.

Hairless rats will sometimes have wrinkled skin, but not all hairless rats will. Some have smooth skin, similar to that of a newborn baby's. They will sometimes have sparse hair around their faces and genital area and their whiskers are shorter and curlier that rats that have hair.

Hairless rats may need to have their nails clipped more often to reduce the risk of them accidentally scratching their skin and giving themselves open sores. The risk of a hairless rat getting more scratches and sores is greater than its hairy counterparts. Therefore knowing what to do to after a scratch or sore is found is a must for the owner.

Neosporin or some other type of topical antibacterial ointment should be applied in a thin layer to any wounds found on the rat's body. Giving your hairless rat a warm bath using baby shampoo is a great way to keep their skin in top condition. But you should only bathe occasionally or when your rats own oils get him dirty or smelly. Over bathing your rat may dry his skin out. After giving a bath you should take a few drops of olive oil, rub it into your hands and then rub your hands gently all over your rat. This will help to keep the rats skin moist and keep dryness away.

Some hairless rats may be more sensitive to allergies than others. If they are sneezing a lot, have runny irritated eyes or seem to have red skin you should change the bedding, they may be allergic to it. Never use wood shavings with hairless rats, Carefresh is a better choice. If your rat is still having allergy problems with the bedding, using folded towels in the cage may be a better solution. You will have to wash the towels more often to make sure the ammonia smell doesn't irritate your rat.

All rats are social animals and the hairless rat is no exception. They will be happier in a large cage with a cage mate. The hairless rat doesn't need to be kept apart from its hairy cousins, they can be housed together and having a hairy cage mate will help keep the hairless warm while sleeping. Rats will curl up next to and sometimes on top of each other.

Hairless rats do have a higher metabolism than hairy rats and will need extra calories to help with that. You can give them extra treats such as eggs, cheese, and cooked chicken to help with the extra calories they need.