Anyone well-versed with rats?
 

Almost a year ago now, my friend's rat gave birth and she decided to give me one. At first I admit I was kind of against it, but I took her anyway. Wound up being one of the better decisions I've made in a long time. I've developed quite a bond with the little girl.

Her name's Freya.

http://c1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/i...9de23dcce0.jpg
(her tail's much cleaner than that now)

Recently I've noticed that she's making kind of funny noises - she seems to go into these "hiccuping" fits and once in a while she makes these noises that I can only describe as "chuckling" (if you've dealt with ferrets you know that sound). It doesn't seem to be bothering her a lot - she still acts like she always does. She does have these lethargic spells, but she's always been kind of moody. But I find it disconcerting all the same. I'm worried she may have something. There's another rat in with her named Marlena that doesn't seem to have any problems at all so if Freya has something it isn't contagious.

So I guess my question is, if you've had a pet rat, have you come across this? If you have, what did you do to remedy it?

Thanks.

I believe DKSuddeth is down with the rats.

I had many rats, one of my very favorite died suddenly from a similar sounding problem.

I found it easier to google the information rather than figure out how to write this out, but this should be helpful.

If your rat is sneezing more than usual, listen closely to his breathing. If the nasal passages and chest sound clear, keep a very close watch on him, but it shouldn't be necessary to start treatment unless he starts acting more tired than usual, or stops eating or drinking. Allergies and dust are also possible causes of sneezing.

If there is a clicking sound from the sinuses, he is congested. This could progress further, so treatment would be a good precaution at this point.

If there is a gurgling, congested sound from the chest, you have a sick rat. Get him to a vet immediately! Rats succumb to these infections with amazing swiftness. A rat with no symptoms one day can have full blown pneumonia the next. This is partially because of their high metabolic rate, and because there is often a secondary infection caused by a different bacteria or virus.

Does your rat have red stuff on his nose, or around his eyes? This is called porphyrin. Porphyrin is a red mucous that is produced by a gland behind the eye (the Harderian Gland) which dries the color of blood. It's often mistaken for dried blood by people unfamiliar with rats. Porphyrin staining is often associated with mycoplasma infections because the infection puts stress on the rat, and stress will cause the discharge of porphyrin from the eyes and nose. This doesn't always occur when a rat is suffering from an infection. If you have a really laid-back rat, he may not get stressed out! There is also the possibility that your rat is being stressed by something else.

If your rat's fur is standing somewhat on end making him look puffy (a bit like a cat when it's been treed by a dog) and he's hunched up, he's feeling sick, uncomfortable, possibly in pain. Get him to a vet immediately!

From:Rat & Mouse Gazette: Respiratory Infections in Pet Rats

That is quite helpful. I checked her breathing a few days ago and she sounded fine. She does make clicking noises on and off - mostly when she just wakes up. And I've noticed that she has porphyrin around her eyes and nose when she wakes which is unlike her. And every once in a while she acts like she's sick, but she's back to her old self in about twenty minutes.

Anyway I'm checking to see if there are any any vets in the area that take rats. I'm going to take her to see one in the next few days.

Oh I loved my rat. She was one of the best pets I've ever had. She was solid black - named her Emma. Got her as a baby from a friend whose rat also had babies. A lot of his got cancer for some reason - like it was in their blood - tumors on their bodies would appear and such. I just woke up one morning and she was dead. No symptoms beforehand or anything. She lasted about a year. aw Emma :/.

I had a rat for a couple years when I was in high school. he made a pretty cool pet. I got him from my little brothers kindergarten class.... he was named porkchop. he knew his name and if I unlocked his cage and called him he would climb to the top, open the latch, and climb down the side and wait for me by the edge of the counter. I had him for 2 years before he died... pretty sure he hurt himself falling off the cabinet... was really lethargic the rest of that day and dead in the morning.

sounds like yours could be having trouble... make sure its cage has good ventillation and is dust free.

Tumours are quite common in rats - my ex-wife's rat had a huge lump behind the right front leg - the lump ended up bigger then her head. Sad day taking her to the vet to be put down :(

I'm afraid that's what's going to eventually happen to mine - her mom died this past summer. Last I saw her she was full of cancer. A day later she died. She was barely 2. She was a hairless rat, which are much more prone to sickness, especially cancer, than normal rats. She was a little sweetie. I felt horrible. From what I understand though, cancerous tumors don't hurt rats like they hurt us.

Oh her cage is extremely well ventilated. Dust free, however? Not so much. It's kinda hard to do though living in Colorado - dust for an entire day and you wake up to a fine layer of the shit. I could probably get her a new cuddle cup, tho. She and the other one have destroyed it and I'm sure it's quite dirty what with two rats sleeping in it. It's about a month old.

Rats are amazingly intelligent, huh? Freya knows her name and can hop on my hand and crawl up my arm to my shoulder on command.

And this is off topic, but I LOVE your avatar - Kurt Vonnegut is my favorite author.

---------- Post added at 11:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:30 PM ----------

You can actually put them down yourself by using nail polish remover on a paper towel. It sounds absolutely barbaric, but it puts them in a state of euphoria. It's much like what vets do for animals when they put them to sleep. I imagine it's quite difficult to do to a rattie you love, though. One of my best friends had to do that to a few of her's and it tore her apart (I made a reference to it in my poetry thread as her Lost Beloved).

But I'll probably do it if I have to with any of mine. I hope though Freya lives long and dies peacefully.