Homeopathy is a system of medicine that involves treating the individual with highly diluted substances in order to activate the body’s own natural healing system.
As someone who strives to live a natural, toxic-free lifestyle as much 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 is 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 an appropriate remedy.
Having a detailed Materia Medica, which is like a homeopathic dictionary, helps to match 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 in the market. They contain around 36 to 42 remedies for common ailments, usually with a detailed booklet to help you choose the right remedy.
Homeopathy comes in various “potencies” which 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 at 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 several times a day may be required. The pills can be crushed into a small piece of pear or cherry and given to the rat, but it is best if they eat the pill directly from the food.
It is worth mentioning that homeopathy can also be used as a preventative aid in maintaining individual 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 immunity in general.
Some common useful remedies for rats are:-
Aconitum: fears, fright, shock, as a tranquilizer for a distressed animal or before visits to the vet/nail trims
Antimonium Tartaricum – rales, shortness of breath
Arnica – as first aid in case of injuries, pain and postoperative healing
Carbo Vegetalis – collapse, weakness, blue and lifeless, trapped wind
Hepar Sulph – boils and abscesses with pain and discharge.
Hypericum – nerve injury, postoperative pain