A rat has fallen ill - Paw Talk

Turkeyman · #1 02-05-2007, 09:09 PM

Hey all...my favorite rat of them all seems to be incredibly ill. Half the time she just stands there with her eyelids half-open, staring into space. The skin around her ribcage and near her thighs seems to be going in and out a mile a minute....so I'm guessing she's also respiring very fast. I'll try to give her a treat -- all she does is take it and hold it in her mouth. For now, it seems all she wants to do is walk onto my hands and lay there to fall asleep. I'm pretty worried...not sure if this is some sort of infection or possibly pregnancy(she had a questionable run-in with one of my male rats about two weeks ago...but her stomach is still normal size and I don't feel anything inside). She is currently apart from the others, except for two of my female mice which happen to be her dear companions. Any tips on what I can do if the situation gets too crazy? Like if she stops eating or drinking water? She's currently sleeping in a pile with her two mouse friends.

pinkie1205 · #2 02-05-2007, 09:15 PM

If you're really worried then you should take her to a vet.

mebri123 · #3 02-05-2007, 10:16 PM

dunno what to do
maybe she need some antibiotics
sound to me like she is dying

mebri123 · #4 02-05-2007, 10:17 PM

i would give her water with a dropper if she stops drinking

Turkeyman · #5 02-05-2007, 11:06 PM

she's sitting in my hands just shaking and clicking her teeth...ill get her to the vet tomorrow if she makes it through the night

pinkie1205 · #6 02-05-2007, 11:16 PM

Put her on a heating pad to keep her warm. Try to give her some water or pedialyte with a syringe. If you have anything yummy you think that she'll eat that's soft try that also. You want to keep her warm, so put her in a cage with some fluffly blankets and the heating pad underneath the cage.

Turkeyman · #7 02-05-2007, 11:25 PM

I don't have a heating pad, but I wrapped her in a couple of warm shirts and put her back in her cage. I also saw her drinking a bit just now, so that's good.

mulder · #8 02-05-2007, 11:49 PM

best wishes! *hugs*

nikky · #9 02-05-2007, 11:51 PM

good luck and keep us updated

Kendalle · #10 02-06-2007, 12:08 AM

my rat had what seams to be simular, she had a loss of balance, give her pedialyte every hour or so (force feed it) until tomarrow then take her to the vet if shes still the same, mine was really dehydrated (she had water i dont know why she wasnt drinking it... silly rat) and was back to normal the next day

CaliforniaGirl · #11 02-06-2007, 11:03 AM

I've had a simmilar thing happen to some of my mice. If you dont have a heating pad, try warming up a wash cloth in the microwave. Thats what I did, dont put it on for more than a minute. I also would rub my mice to stimulate blood flow. Of course you might have somthing completly different going on, so you should take her to the vet.

Carissa · #12 02-06-2007, 03:29 PM

Good luck, hope she is ok

Skratikans · #13 02-06-2007, 05:53 PM

i pray your rat makes it through..the key right now is to make sure she is warm...oh and on the side, if a rat has surgery and isnt given pain killers the similar conditions occur as well...

has she eaten anything she wasnt suppose to?
i think that its unlikely this is due to a possible pregnancy

Turkeyman · #14 02-06-2007, 10:53 PM

She seems to be holding in there for now...this morning I opened up her cage and she came right out to explore the area. I left a lamp with a hot tungsten bulb on at one side of her cage, as well as the t-shirts from last night. She seems to be doing much better now, and hopefully making a recovery.

Skrat, that sucks if she was in incredible pain from somethng...it looks like its just about passed though. I am keeping a close eye on her.

Skratikans · #15 02-07-2007, 04:50 PM

i m glad to hear shes doing better