Lab rat with mysterious itch

[Sutozience]

I just joined up. Normally I could get the attention of 10s of thousands of views a day on Twitter, but the grand masters of information decided to silence me for my humble opinions regarding technical stuff on molecular biology...I digress..

I have been doing my own style of microbiological research for close to 2 decades. I call myself an amature, but have done real life practice in the field, dispite any board certifications including running a "hobby lab".

About the rat, named Marcel. He is a pet now.

He suffers from extreme itch, and scratches incessantly...and sometimes it drives him crazy.

Checked him for everthing. Even treated for several other incidental things like mycoplasma (pulmonary).

Stool shows mucus related monocyte-derived macrophages which are active from time to time, but mostly quiescent. 

No mites detected. No skin urticaria, no missing fur, skin pink and healthy. Response to antihistamines are nominal.

No identifiable parasites in stool, however, unusual lack of robust bacteria. Stool; normal appearance. 

Cultures reveal nothing unusual...until now.

I had a pellet of faeces in shallow water at lower than normal room temperature for over a week. Bacteria in supernatant are normal. But, the surface of the pellet revealed a very low powdery flora which is a type of fungus. Microscopically, the fungi is unusual. It produces very small but motile objects...maybe .5 um in size.

All surrounding bacteria are dead. The hyphea do not produce fruit(buds).I must assume this fungus is  toxic.

Could there be forms of this fungi in the bowel that produce a toxin which trigger mast cells? Could the accumulation of histamines be hurting microbiota?

What experiment should I do next?

I am thinking about purifying the fungal metabolites, and mixing in with fresh stool sample to see if quiescent macrophages activate.

Plus have a control with neutral solution mix.

 

 

[Bufofrog]

Here's a crazy thought, take him to a veterinarian.

[Sutozience]

Lol...that is a crazy thought.

I run circles around those guys...mind you, they do have better access to medications.

 

[Bufofrog]

If you know more than a Veterinarian, I doubt you would learn much from a science forum, but I hope you do and I hope your rat feels better.  I think rats make great pets.

[Sutozience]

Always looking to learn, and just as importantly, share knowledge. 

Unfortunately the practicing experts are disincetivised to speak publically about what they really know.

Same with published material. It has to be carefully interpreted to understand some of the unpopular nuances of modern allopathic medicine. Especially in areas of immunology. 

[Phi for All]

10 hours ago, Sutozience said:

Unfortunately the practicing experts are disincetivised to speak publically about what they really know.

!

Moderator Note

I'm going to steer you away from conspiracy arguments really early here. We don't like them, because science. And please don't make slurs against large groups of people, we don't care for that either. You have a couple more posts on your first day before the anti-spam measures kick in. 

 

[Sutozience]

I am so sorry for expressing an opinion that may offend some people. That was a huge mistake, and I promise to watch everything I say from now on. If there is a list provided by the site authority which can guide me on what can and cannot be said, this would be a tremendous help.

Science is about discovering and discussing things that do not offend, I should have known better. I will make a concerted effort to censor myself, especially on the important issues that need not be discussed. This make for a better functioning world.

 

 

[iNow]

1 minute ago, Sutozience said:

I am so sorry for expressing an opinion that may offend some people.

Your thinking is quite sloppy. You were told that conspiracy theories and slurs against large groups aren't welcome here, not that personal opinions not be offensive. The guide you seek is in the rules to which you agreed when creating your user profile. Those rules are enforced by humans who will make subjective judgements with which you may not always agree. If that's a problem for you, you're under no duress to continue participation here. 

4 minutes ago, Sutozience said:

Science is about discovering and discussing things that do not offend, I should have known better. I will make a concerted effort to censor myself

Oh, pull-eez... cry me a river. Hyperbole and drama much?

[Sutozience]

Understood. I guess telling someone they have sloppy thinking skills is ok...but suggesting that scientists are facing serious scrutiny and censorship is bad. Got it.

Thank you for your kind guidance on this matter!

[swansont]

31 minutes ago, Sutozience said:

I am so sorry for expressing an opinion that may offend some people. That was a huge mistake, and I promise to watch everything I say from now on. If there is a list provided by the site authority which can guide me on what can and cannot be said, this would be a tremendous help.

!

Moderator Note

Site guidelines

https://www.scienceforums.net/guidelines/

 

[Sensei]

You should start by taking a photo from the microscope and attaching in to your reply. Maybe someone will recognise the microorganism. Print it out and find veterinarians as well.

Bresser with LCD is quite nice:

https://www.google.com/search?q=bresser+lcd+microscope

Edited January 19, 2021 by Sensei

[John Cuthber]

20 hours ago, Sutozience said:

I had a pellet of faeces in shallow water at lower than normal room temperature for over a week.

Seems an odd experiment.
Was the system sterile apart from the rat dropping?