Rat Illnesses
October 12, 2009 by RatsRatsRats
Filed under Rat Health
Get clued up on illness that rats can suffer from, so you know when to take your rat to the vets.
Red Discharge from Eyes and Nose
This is usually caused by stress. See whether there are any lifestyle changes you could make to ensure your ratty is stress free. The stress could be caused by an illness, so give your rat a thorough health check.
Head Weaving
This can be caused by boredom. It is similar to when you see zoo animals repeating an action again and again, as there is nothing else to do. It is like a madness. You must provide your rat with more to stimulate him. Make sure you are spending time with him every day. Does he have a companion? Rats are very social animals and a human friend is not enough. Are you providing your rat with toys and new things to explore in his rat cage? Try reading up on rat training and toys for inspiration.
Head Weaving can also simply be your rat trying to see better. Pink eyed rats in particular cannot see very well, so they may weave their head, as they try to get a better view.
Head Tilting
If your rat is tilting his head this could be a sign of an inner ear infection. In this case you must take your rat to the vet immediately. Ear infections are painful, but can be treated easily with antibiotics. Check your rat for other signs of illness.
Sneezing
Rats have a mycoplasma organism that infects their respiratory system. Some simply have it worse than others. It is OK for your rat to sneeze occasionally. Wombat is my most sneezy rat, but he only does it occasionally.
If your rat continues sneezing for an extended period of time he may need antibiotics. So take him to the vets.
Make sure you don’t keep your rat on shavings as this will only make it worse, try vetbed or recycled paper instead.
Look to see whether your rat is having trouble breathing. Is his breathing labored, or rasping? If so take him to the vets immediately.
Check out our page on mycoplasma pulmonis for more info.
Skin Problems
All rats love to have a good old scratch, but if you notice that your rat is itching a lot, or there are red, scabby or bald patches on your rat, it is time to take action.
Diet plays a part in keeping a rat’s skin healthy. Make sure that your rats are eating a diet full of fresh fruit and veg, along with their cereal. You can also provide them with a very small amount of flax seed oil once a week to promote health.
The skin problem could also be caused by parasites. When Ginger had red, scaly patches the man in the pet shop gave us some lotion that cleared it up wonderfully. You can get anti-mite lotion in the pet shop, the vets or at our Rat Store.
Sarcoptic mites are very rare, but are still worth looking out for. They are found on rat’s ears, tails and feet and can infect humans as well. After 3 weeks treatment with Ivermectin your rat can completely recover, but as the mites are so contagious you must separate the ill rat. Look out for abscesses and red itchy patches.
If you are unsure take your rat to the vets.
Skin Abscess
This is a collection of pus, surrounded by inflamed tissue. This can occur from Sarcoptic mites (see above), but also if your rat has had an injury that has become infected.
You must consult your vet straight away. He will most likely lance the abscess with a scalpel and prescribe antibiotics to fight the infection.
Make sure that you remove the cause of the accident and keep your rats environment sterile.
Bleeding from the vulva.
Rats do not have periods, so if your rat is bleeding from the vulva there could be something wrong. It is important to take your rat to the vets straight away.
If your rat is in labour it is natural for there to be a little blood. There is also the possibility that if your rat is pregnant she could be having a miscarriage.
If there is a tumor in the area that could be causing the bleeding, or it could be an infection. Either way please take your rat to the vet as soon as possible.
Worms
Worms are endoparasites. You can diagnose that your rat has worms by looking at his pooh. Not all worms can be detected that easily though. Some are just organisms that you can’t see with the naked eye. Your vet will be able to diagnose whether your rat has worms, by looking at his pooh under the microscope.
Worms feed from the blood of the rat (or other animal). This can eventually lead to your rat’s death.
It is important to worm your rat regularly to prevent them getting worms. You may be able to get a small pet wormer. Otherwise you can use a horse worming paste every 21 days. You only need to use the size of a grain of rice.
SDA (Sialodacyoadenitis)
This disease is related to mouse hepatitis (MHV). It is highly infectious and can be passed in the air and through direct contact. It is important to keep any new rats in quarantine for about 2 weeks when you first bring them home, in case they have SDA, or another disease they can pass onto your original rats.
Symptoms to look out for include sneezing, nasal and eye discharge, swelling under the neck, squinting, blinking, eye rubbing, swelling around the eyes, ulcers of the cornea, bleeding eyes.
Self mutilation may also occur from eye itching.
SDA weakens your rats immune system, so they may catch a secondary infection. Most commonly this is Mycoplasma Pulmonis (MP). An SDA rat is more likely to die under anesthetic.
A rat suffering from SDA will remain active until near the end.
To diagnose SDA your vet will need to test a tissue sample. They can take a blood sample, but this can be painful for your rat.
The best cure is prevention. Make sure to isolate any new rats for two weeks.
Go to your vets as soon as symptoms occur.
Heat
It is very important to keep your rat at a comfortable temperature. If the weather is hot turn a fan in the direction of your rat cage. You can also provide them with a shallow wading pool to cool themselves down.
You can put some frozen veggies in for them to nibble at. Try fishing for peas, where you put frozen peas in a bowl of water and your rats can play and cool down at the same time.
You can provide your rat with ice in a dish. They will love to lick it and it will be a good way for them to rehydrate.
You can also put a bottle of ice in the cage for them to lie on.
Also, please make sure the rats cage is not in direct sunlight. This is just plain cruel.
By recognizing these illnesses and ill health symptoms you can take your rat to the vet as soon as illness strikes. This will give your rat the best chance of recovery.
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Can you help me! I recently brought my 3month old female rat on saturday, she is albino and when I brought her she didnt have any sniffley nose…what I mean is that when she breaths in and out of her nose fast is makes a fluttering sound if that makes sense? Im worried she might has something in her respiratory system? What can this be? I hope she isnt sick! She is energetic and seems quite happy. Sorry to be a bother
im just worried.
Thanks!!! xxxx
Hello Ebony,
Congratulations on your new ratty friend. Sometimes rats can make little squeaks and noises when they first arrive in their new home. It can be a mixture of nerves and excitement. It is also possible that she has picked up a respiratory illness from the pet shop. Symptoms don’t always show up straight away. Respiratory illnesses are treatable with antibiotics such as Baytril and doxycycline. These are given by syringe. I find it helpful if David (my husband) holds the rat and I give the antibiotics in the corner of their mouth.
It is a good idea to start treatment asap if it is a respiratory infection. It is good that she is energetic. Look for other signs of ill health by following the guidelines on this page: http://www.ratsratsrats.com/136/pet-rat-health-checks/
If you have worries about her health it is a good idea to get her to the vets.
Good Luck!
Thank you for your wonderful help!!! xxx
I have a friends rat that has a serious problem. At first, 4-5 days ago she thought the little girl injured her foot. Two days ago I went to feed her, as they are out of town, and she was leaning to the right whil walking, almost on her side. Her right eye appeared to be bloody not like porpheryn. When she walked she would usually spin her body completely, assume thats because she gets too far to the side. Yesterday, the right eye was brownish colored, dry, and completely cloudy. She wants her body to be twisted when being held. Like the top turned 180 degrees from the bottom. She seems uncomfortable if you try to straighten her out. She still crawls around on her side spinning very frequently. She did eat and drink yesterday, tthat I saw. If anyone can tell me what this could possibly be, I would appreciate it. Thank you.
Hi Jaclyn,
I would guess that this little rat has an inner ear infection, which can effect her eyes and the way she holds her body. Although this will be very painful for her the good news is it is treatable.
It is important you get her to the vets asap. They will examine her ear and give you some topical treatment like drops or ointment. You may also need to give antibiotics and/or steroids orally.
Monitor her recovery when she is on antibiotics and if it doesn’t work be aware that it could be fungal instead on bacterial, in which case she will need different treatment.
The most important thing is to get her to the vet. I know your friend is away, but you must do the best thing for this little rat. Call in as an emergency, because she needs treatment asap.
Good Luck!
I recently adopted a sweet little dumbo rat and at first everything was great. She’s been having a great time while here and I thought things were going well, however, since I brought her home she’s been sneezing.
I work at a pet store and my manager said that the sneezing would be fine as long as there was no discharge. Tonight when I came home from work, she was acting fine and as if nothing was wrong. I had bought her a new little harness to try out so I could see how she would do and ever since she’s gone down hill health wise. I’m not sure if the two are related, but thought it would be good to add it in.
I put her back in her cage and about an hour later noticed the “bloody” nose and labored breathing. She was barely moving around and just wanted to lay in one spot, I picked her up and comforted her until her breathing was normal and she fell back asleep.
About 3 hours later I checked on her once again and her left eye was now “bloody” and her breathing was heavy once again.
I’m so scared that something serious may be wrong and i’m not sure when i’ll have time to take her to the vet…any advice on what may be wrong would be great.
Hi Meghan,
It sounds like your little rat has a serious respiratory infection. This needs treatment asap, as without it, it will continue to get worse with the most likely outcome being death. You need to make time and get her to the vets as your number one priority, as she sounds like she is really suffering.
The vet will need to prescribe her a combination of Baytril and Doxycycline. This will need to be administered by syringe twice a day. The vet will tell you the correct dosage. If you get her there today you should begin to see an improvement in her health quite quickly and it will provide huge relief for your rat. Some rats need to continue on these antibiotics there whole life, others are OK after a couple of weeks on the antibiotics.
The ‘bloody’ eye and nose is caused by porphyrin, which means your rat is stressed.
Good Luck and please take action immediately. I know it is stressful when a pet is ill, especially when you are unfamiliar with the symptoms, but part of responsible pet ownership is taking your animal to the vet as soon as any signs of ill health occur.
Please let me know how it goes x
Please help! I noticed that on Lulu’s left side, her whiskers were shorter, and on the very ends, the whiskers were a white-ish color. This wasn’t mentioned above, and I don’t know what to do!
Thanks,
Ivy
Hi Ivy,
That doesn’t sound like anything to worry about. To be honest I haven’t heard of it before. Does Lulu have any signs of ill health?
Well, I did notice that they probably have mites, but I noticed that AFTER the whisker problem.
Good news!
Lulu’s whiskers are better, and when I went to the vet that I take my dog to, they said that they do take rats. So I’m probably going to take them in to get a mite lotion or other treatment.
Hi there,
My rattie, Munchie, has been itching alot. I cut back on the dog biscuts I give him to once a week and now I am starting to cut back on the very small pieces of cheese I give him also (was once a day, now every other day). I looked in the fur on and off for many days and I do not see any parasites. The skin looks good too. Just today, though, I notice one tiny reddish skin irritation, or scab. Your article on skin problems states: “You can get anti-mite lotion in the pet shop, the vets or at our Rat Store.” I wanted to try this just in case there are mites. I went in your rat store and could not find the lotion you mentioned. (In fact, you had some items there for dogs – ?) Other than the itching, he seems healthy enough (I hope). I hope you can help.
Sincerely,
Kathy
Hi Kathy,
Here is a mite treatment for small animals: Click here
A vet will be able to provide a more effective treatment, so you may want to make an appointment for Munchie,
Good Luck
Please help i had four pet rats so adorable and loving one died today from the red discharge became so weak she couldnt lift her head up sneezing no in terest in food or water the past 498 hrs we have stayed up all day and night with her nursing her she eventally went back to the vets to be put to sleep by gas. She was put on an antibiotic to try and help her but it never now the remaining 3 have sneezing one has an injured back leg to and isnt herself she has always been very scatty and has always seemed to have some problems shes still eating and drinking but i dont know what to do for the best ive started giving her some of the antibiotic bubbles was on thankyou
Hello Charlotte,
I am sorry to hear about your rat passing away. Without seeing the rats it is very hard to diagnose them (and I am not a vet), but it sounds like they could have mycoplasma pulmonis, a common respiratory problem. It can be controlled with antibiotics baytril and doxycycline. Are they the antibiotics Bubbles was on? You should also make sure they are kept warm and if they are a bit wobbly be sure they are in a one level enclosure to avoid injury.,
Try supplementing their food with Nutrical, which is a vitamin filled gel (tastes of caramel) to give them a boost. It is made for cats and dogs, so your little ones will only need a small amount. You should take them to the vets asap, especially your little girl who has injured her leg. The vet may pick up on other symptoms that could indicate a different illness and course of treatment.
Good luck x