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The ratlets are breathing much better today and I have another question. Will feeding them crickets [dead ones from the pet store; my brother has a beardie] have any adverse effects on them?
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Jan 17, 2014 00:52
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dovetaile posted:The ratlets are breathing much better today and I have another question. Will feeding them crickets [dead ones from the pet store; my brother has a beardie] have any adverse effects on them? Nope! My guys love crickets and grasshoppers and such. Don't give a whole lot, they don't need that much protein, but a few as a treat is fine. Also don't give them the ones that have been gut loaded or dusted with calcium.
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Jan 17, 2014 02:52
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I think one of my rats had a stroke or something. He's active and seems to be able to move all his limbs well enough, and he seems happy enough to be handled and explore my desk, but no matter what he does his movement seem weirdly... groping, like he isn't feeling quite secure on his feet. He also leans heavily to the right, no matter what he does, and he doesn't seem able to open his right eye fully. Is this a known ratty illness, is there anything I can maybe do to help? I feel awful seeing him like that. 
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Jan 27, 2014 20:44
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Cardiovorax posted:I think one of my rats had a stroke or something. He's active and seems to be able to move all his limbs well enough, and he seems happy enough to be handled and explore my desk, but no matter what he does his movement seem weirdly... groping, like he isn't feeling quite secure on his feet. He also leans heavily to the right, no matter what he does, and he doesn't seem able to open his right eye fully. It's likely a pituitary tumor, the second most common in rats. Leads to issues with motor skills and leaning to one side is pretty common. There are some drugs that can slow the speed of the tumor's growth, but it's not guaranteed or anything. I'd read up on the symptoms a bit and see how it sounds. It's your call, of course, and you should do what you feel comfortable with...but I always euthanize at the first sign of them, since the changes can be so rapid and uncomfortable for the rat.
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Jan 27, 2014 21:01
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Man, that would suck. They're barely a year old, I wouldn't know what to do with the other guy if one of them died like that. High time to go to the vet, then.
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Jan 27, 2014 21:03
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One of my rat's fur has gotten softer and softer over time, is there any reason for this?
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Jan 29, 2014 05:28
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JGBeagle posted:One of my rat's fur has gotten softer and softer over time, is there any reason for this? Boy or girl? How long have you had them? Have they been neutered? How old is the rat?
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Jan 29, 2014 08:37
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Boy. I've had him now for 5 months now. Not neutered, he's about 6 months I believe.
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Jan 29, 2014 09:57
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That's strange, if he was neutered or elderly it would be expected. Is he from the same litter as his cagemate with rougher fur? Some rats are softer than others even with standard coats, but its funny he seems to be getting softer. Different diets can affect coats too I've heard, but I assume yours all eat the same. A bit of a mystery. I doubt anything to worry about or anything, but interesting.
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Jan 29, 2014 15:10
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Our derpy rescue-rat, Luna, came to us with a coarse, weird coat that got softer over time. We attribute that to better diet, but we could be wrong. Speaking of Luna, she freaked me out this morning and I'd appreciate it if folks could give some input. She always is fond of her home improvement projects and today she was doing a rather interesting one -- piling ALL OF THE BEDDING into one corner. Hannah, the rat who is basically her best buddy approached and started making these weird squealing noises and Luna lunged and Hannah bolted to the igloo. She kept peeking out afterwards and Luna kept lunging and Hannah kept retreating and squealing. I put my fingers to the bars to pet Luna -- thinking it was normal rat social hierarchy bullshit and that she was finally winning in her eternal battle with Hannah -- and she bit me twice, breaking the skin. (We don't feed through the bars to prevent nips. She was clearly lunging and trying to bite.) I opened up the cage to see what the gently caress was going on and she froze in a really aggressive/terrified stance for a good three minutes, ears twitching every which way. All of a sudden, she snapped out of it and waddled over to me as if nothing happened and licked my fingers and let me pet her. (TL;DR: Normally good-tempered rat spazzed the gently caress out and got all aggressive and bitey, then suddenly snapped out of it and acted like nothing had happened.) What the gently caress happened here? Luna is usually an awkward but sweet derpasaurus rex. She's been with us for a year and I've never seen anything like that. For fun/reference: Photos of the home improvement battle. (I just happened to be taking pictures to show my husband what weird poo poo Luna was doing now when poo poo went down.)     
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Jan 29, 2014 16:13
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Patchouli, probably an obvious question, but could she be pregnant?
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Jan 30, 2014 07:07
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Big Bug Hug posted:Patchouli, probably an obvious question, but could she be pregnant? Only if she's pregnant with rat Jesus.
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Jan 30, 2014 20:05
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Patchouli Patrol posted:Only if she's pregnant with rat Jesus. Hey, you never know! That's really weird then and I have no other ideas sorry
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Jan 30, 2014 21:58
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Big Bug Hug posted:Hey, you never know! She hasn't been weird at all since that freak out, so we're going with she's an inbred feeder rat who got really mad when Hannah belly-flopped on her bedding pile and she temporarily lost her poo poo.
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Jan 31, 2014 00:52
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Jan 31, 2014 03:06
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$15 for garbage pail from Ikea + $30 at BulkBarn for 10 pounds food. I'd like to add in a 3lb bag of harlan teklad and I'll be good. Won't have to think about feeding the crew (of 6) for a couple of months, probably more since they get greens and their diet is frequently "enhanced" with my leftovers.
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Jan 31, 2014 04:38
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Kriek isn't well  came home this afternoon to find her balled up in the corner of the cage, instead of her usual bed in the house/tube/hammock. Breathing relatively normal, slight reaction when I blow on her, shuffling from side to side occasionally. Took her out and she sort of remained in position, legs splayed as if she was still sitting, like she has less feeling in them or something. Some reaction from her face and front paws, briefly tried washing her face then toppled over onto her side. I've put her in the carrier with some fresh bedding, food and water. She briefly stretched her neck into all of those, now she's just asleep - she seems to be reacting a bit more to stimuli, though. Just seems to have no strength or energy, and certainly isn't doing much with her back legs. She's a year and a half old and was totally fine just yesterday. I'm thinking she's maybe had a stroke - could she maybe just be ill for a couple of days and then come back to normal? She seems like she could either recover in a few days or pass away in the next few hours, I just can't tell. Probably going to take her to the vet this evening. Don't know what to prepare for.
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Jan 31, 2014 15:56
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Cardiovorax posted:Man, that would suck. They're barely a year old, I wouldn't know what to do with the other guy if one of them died like that. High time to go to the vet, then.
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Jan 31, 2014 17:25
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Got an emergency vet appointment. Brain tumour. Probably been there a while but only just really kicked in. Any treatment would've just led to her suffering more. Not loving fair, a year and a half is not old.       rip Kriek, I knew I was wrong picking you as my favourite. EDIT: Well, between this and the post above, it's one of those days for the rat thread. Wondering what I should do with Chimay as well, she seemed pretty unbothered at the moment, but I don't want her to be lonely without her sister
Lunchmeat Larry fucked around with this message at 17:44 on Jan 31, 2014 |
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Jan 31, 2014 17:34
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I'm so sorry guys I've lost 5 rats - three of them elderly, one during a neuter, one at only 8 weeks old, in the last 6 months. It's become too much for me. I have one old boy and two young ones the same age left. They will be my last rats. They are beautiful pets but it breaks my heart to lose them.
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Jan 31, 2014 17:49
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Great, my rats aren't even a year old. Guess I might as well start psyching myself up for an inevitable tumor. 
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Jan 31, 2014 20:57
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WEEDLORD CHEETO posted:EDIT: Well, between this and the post above, it's one of those days for the rat thread. Sorry for yours and Cardiovorax's losses. My friend owns the brother of my oldest girls (about a year and a half old) and he had to be put to sleep yesterday too.
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Jan 31, 2014 21:54
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JGBeagle posted:Great, my rats aren't even a year old. Guess I might as well start psyching myself up for an inevitable tumor. You may get lucky. I adopted three rats of unknown provenance that someone had dropped off at my local Petco, and two of them are going strong at 2 years old with no signs of tumors anywhere. The third passed away quietly in his sleep at 1 1/2 years old, never having had any obvious respiratory issues or growths. They could start showing symptoms any day I guess, but so far I've been fortunate with them.
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Feb 1, 2014 00:09
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One of my boys isn't feeling well but I can't figure out what might be wrong with him. A week ago he lost a lot of weight because he almost stopped eating. He also started avoiding me and his brother, and hiding in the corners. His back was almost always arched up, unless he was sleeping. Those are the only symptoms I managed to find. Since then I've been feeding him baby food at regular intervals and he gained some weight back and also he started eating on his own. He also spends more time with his brother but he is still not as social as he used to be and he also has his back arched often. It also seems like he's tired all the time. He sleeps a lot and doesn't seem very active at all. I tried to find any other symptoms that might give more insight but I didn't find any. He poops and pees normally, so it's not kidneys, urinary or digestive tract. He doesn't have his head tilted and he can walk normally, so it's not an inner ear infection or stroke. He doesn't sneeze or has poryphin stains around his eyes or nose, and I compared his breathing to his brothers breathing like a million times, so it's not the respiratory system. I didn't any weird lumps or growths on his body so it's not a tumor(probably, I guess there might be somewhere I can't feel it). He's only a year old, so it can't be age degeneration. He (and his brother) do have orangy color to their skin but as far as I know it's normal for boy rats. Testosterone making their skin more oily as usual. I don't know what else to look for. I'm trying to make sure he eats well and gets plenty of rest and he shows slight signs of improvement but it's still noticeable that he's sick. It's really difficult to get to a vet from where I live, is there anything more I can do for him before I can get him to a vet?
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Feb 1, 2014 19:13
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Arched back and no eating is a sign of acute pain. Whatever is wrong with him, it hurts. Take him to the vet ASAP.
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Feb 1, 2014 20:13
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Jack Trades posted:I don't know what else to look for. I'm trying to make sure he eats well and gets plenty of rest and he shows slight signs of improvement but it's still noticeable that he's sick. The only other thing I can think to ask, is have you checked his teeth? But yes, he sounds like he is in pain and needs to see the vet.
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Feb 1, 2014 21:01
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Now my other rat is getting smoother. I'm wondering if they're losing their winter coats (do rats do that?).
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Feb 1, 2014 21:05
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I think rats moult periodically, not sure if it's seasonal.
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Feb 2, 2014 01:58
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My husband wakes up for work before I do and feeds the rats. Today, he learned never to turn his back on an open cage and to always do a head-count before he leaves. I did a head-count as I was getting dressed and we were one rat short: Violet, the tiny, blind dumbo. She apparently escaped during the feeding time. I call him, he rushes home, and we finally find her napping in a blanket underneath the cage. She then decides she likes her freedom, squirms from my grip and leads us on a madcap chase around the kitchen. We finally catch her, thank god. Why must the blindest rats be the most adventurous? Edit: Now Luna is sitting on top of her in a hammock, as if to say, "You are grounded!" Patchouli Patrol fucked around with this message at 18:02 on Feb 4, 2014 |
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Feb 4, 2014 17:57
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Jack Trades posted:One of my boys isn't feeling well but I can't figure out what might be wrong with him. I took my boy to a vet in a neighboring city to let her have a look at him. She wasn't very familiar with rodents but she checked him as well as she could and besides a body temperature that was 2 degrees lower than normal, she didn't find anything. She gave me some kind of mixture given to malnourished rodents, to try to give him some needed nutrition because he was eating poorly. While I was feeding him from an oral syringe (huge pain in the rear end, he can't stand it) I noticed that his lower gum/lip (space between his lower teeth and lower lip) was quite dark. I swabbed it with a cotton swab several times but the swab was completely clean. No blood or pus or anything. Tried smelling his mouth but it didn't smell bad either. I didn't notice any teeth misalignment either. I tried to compare his gums and teeth to his brothers (he's completely healthy) and they look quite similar but I'm not really sure what to look for. How would I inspect his mouth to see if that's where the problem might lie? I have no idea what might be wrong with my boy. Neither I nor the vet could find any non-generic symptoms and closest vet specialized in rodents is on the other side of the country. I don't know what else I can do to help my sick boy. Jack Trades fucked around with this message at 19:44 on Feb 5, 2014 |
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Feb 5, 2014 19:39
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Jack Trades posted:I took my boy to a vet in a neighboring city to let her have a look at him. I'm sorry, I'm not sure. Every time I've had a rat lose appetite and weight with hunched posture etc it's been respiratory. Rats do get a lower temp with pneumonia. Did she listen to his lungs? Perhaps try antibiotics?
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Feb 6, 2014 22:30
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Big Bug Hug posted:I'm sorry, I'm not sure. Every time I've had a rat lose appetite and weight with hunched posture etc it's been respiratory. Rats do get a lower temp with pneumonia. Did she listen to his lungs? Perhaps try antibiotics? Yes, she did listen to the lungs. I knew that respiratory issues are very common in rats so I asked her to double check that even and she didn't hear any abnormalities. I also asked her if it could be an infection, since that is apparently a common cause for lethargy in rats, and she said that it's unlikely because he had low body temp and not high. I can't get antibiotics for him unless a vet decides it's required and prescribes them to me. I'm really at a loss here. His condition doesn't seem to get much worse but he is obviously still very sick. He's been sick longer than two weeks not and I still can't find out the cause for that.
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Feb 6, 2014 23:01
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Are there any other vets you can try for a second opinion? Call around and ask specifically if they have rat experience.
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Feb 7, 2014 01:31
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Patchouli Patrol posted:Are there any other vets you can try for a second opinion? Call around and ask specifically if they have rat experience. I looked for a vet that would have experience with rats but the closest one I managed to find is across the country. I kind of live in the middle of nowhere.
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Feb 7, 2014 10:36
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Jack Trades posted:I looked for a vet that would have experience with rats but the closest one I managed to find is across the country. I kind of live in the middle of nowhere. Not all vets post that expertise on their website. My best luck was calling around nearby vets and asking if they saw small animals, then asked about rats specifically. What country are you in, if I may ask?
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Feb 7, 2014 16:51
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Patchouli Patrol posted:Not all vets post that expertise on their website. My best luck was calling around nearby vets and asking if they saw small animals, then asked about rats specifically. What country are you in, if I may ask? Sweden. Another problem is that I used 1/3 of my monthly budget on the last vet visit. I hate to admit it but I'm in a really lovely situation here...
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Feb 7, 2014 19:44
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Seems like a bad time of year for rat owners! I just had my rat Blue PTS because the multiple tumours she's had for a while finally got too big to be manageable (I was on the fence about operating but my vet wasn't keen because of placement and the likelyhood she'd just grow more, so we left her to live out the rest of her lumpy life - she wasn't in any pain or discomfort). I'm now left in the position of having one older lady rat - about two years old now. Here is a picture - might've posted it before - of my little Mouse in slightly younger days:  I've decided I don't want more female rats after having exactly half of mine contract mammary tumours. I don't want to get a couple of baby girls to keep Mouse company and I can't really afford right now to get baby boys and neuter them to go in with her - I don't have a big enough separate cage either, and I now have a flatmate who isn't so keen on rats and would be massively opposed to more than one cage of them. She does seem quite lethargic and depressed with no company, and whilst I've been keeping her out with me as much as possible, it's obviously no comparison to a 24/7 companion. I've spoken to a local breeder online who's offered to "lend" me a couple of spare girls she has to keep Mouse company until she passes. I'm just concerned that if intros don't go well I've only got a tiny hamster cage to seperate them into. Mouse is a really bossy, determined madam and I don't know how she'd cope with two younger girls to contend with (breeder would prefer to lend me a pair). If anyone can offer advice I'd love to hear it.
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Feb 19, 2014 14:08
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I found a vet with rat experience who was willing to drive to my city every now and then and help my little boy almost for free. Turns out he has Mycoplasma Pulmonis and it's gotten really bad, his breathing is irregular and he sneezes porphyrin every now and then. She put him on Baytril first but it didn't have any visible effect on him so now we switched antibiotics to something else. He mostly sleeps in my bed all day long and I only wake him up to feed him baby food through a syringe and give him his medicine. He looks very weak and sick, we thought he might die at one point but he's a little better right now (by better I mean that he's not on the brink of death). I don't have any experience with Mycoplasma Pulmonis, since this is my first pair of ratties but I tried to research as much as possible. Do any of you people who had rats for a longer time have any advice on what else I can do for my little boy to aid his recovery? Also he somehow broke 2 of his 4 long teeth while being sick (on opposite sides, they seemed to snap in half), is that something I have to worry about? It looks like they're growing back quite fast but like I said, I have no experience.
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Feb 19, 2014 16:01
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Jack Trades posted:I don't have any experience with Mycoplasma Pulmonis, since this is my first pair of ratties but I tried to research as much as possible. Give him really good quality, high protein food if he's weak and sickly (scrambled eggs are a favourite), and if he's really sneezy/wheezy I find a tiny bit of really good quality dark chocolate can have surprisingly instant effects. Seconding everything people have been saying about steam - take him in the room with you every time you're having a hot bath/shower. Also in my personal experience, keeping the cage extra clean can be good for wheezy rats because their respiratory systems are so sensitive, I think even a slight whiffy build up of urine/ammonia seems to make things worse. I think most things you'd do to look after a sick/flu-y person but... rat sized.  Can't help you with the teeth issue, sorry! Hopefully someone more experienced will pop along.
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Feb 19, 2014 17:05
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Chakattack! posted:Give him really good quality, high protein food if he's weak and sickly (scrambled eggs are a favourite), and if he's really sneezy/wheezy I find a tiny bit of really good quality dark chocolate can have surprisingly instant effects. Seconding everything people have been saying about steam - take him in the room with you every time you're having a hot bath/shower. Also in my personal experience, keeping the cage extra clean can be good for wheezy rats because their respiratory systems are so sensitive, I think even a slight whiffy build up of urine/ammonia seems to make things worse. Do you have any suggestions for a high protein food I can feed him through a syringe? He doesn't eat anything on his own. All that I managed to feed him is liquid baby food, mashed fruit and yoghurt.
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Feb 19, 2014 19:58
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