Homeopathy is a system of medicine that consists of treating the individual with highly diluted substances with the aim of activating the body’s own natural healing system.
As someone who strives to live as much of a toxic-free natural lifestyle as possible, I find homeopathy and other holistic therapies extremely valuable in first aid and recovery care for my rats.
Homeopathy is based on the energetic principle that “like” treats “like”. So, for example, if an animal has ingested a poison, it’s actually a small amount of that poison that acts as an antidote.
In homeopathy, individual personality traits and constitution are very important considerations when the homeopath/caregiver is diagnosing or choosing a suitable remedy.
Having a detailed Materia Medica, which is like a homeopathic dictionary, helps to match the key characteristics of the patient with the right remedy for them.
It is helpful to have one of the Homeopathic First Aid Kits now available on the market. They contain around 36-42 remedies for common ailments, usually with a detailed booklet to help you choose the right remedy.
Homeopathy comes in various “strengths” that are based on the strength of the remedy needed. They can be in 6c, 12c, 30c, 200c and so on.
For my rats I usually start with 6c or 30c depending on the severity of the symptoms.
In general I usually administer 30c once a day for 3 days observing the effects before any repetition. If it is an ongoing chronic case, 6c may be required several times a day. The pills can be crushed into a small piece of pear or cherry and fed to the rat, but it is best if they eat the pill straight from the food.
It is worth mentioning that homeopathy can also be used as a preventative aid to maintain the individual’s health by matching the remedy to your pet’s characteristic ‘profile’. Homeopathy used in this way can help keep certain imbalances in check and can help boost overall immunity.
Some common useful remedies for rats are:-
Aconitum: fears, fright, shock, as a calming agent for a distressed animal or before vet visits/nail trims
Antimonium tartaricum – rattling breath sounds, difficulty breathing
Arnica – as first aid in case of injuries, pain and post-operative healing
Carbo Vegetalis – collapse, weakness, blue and lifeless, trapped wind
Hepar Sulph – boils and abscesses with pain and discharge.
Hypericum – nerve injury, postoperative pain
