Ratties New rat may be sick.

Agrimony · Feb 17, 2013

So my roommate today, spur of the moment, got a rat from the pet store as a gift from her coworker. Right now it is in an old super pet cage I had before my C and C cages. Since he's been home he has been sneezing constantly. His nose seems wet and the discharge looks cloudy, so I highly suspect a URI. I went to the pet store to confront them about it, and hoping they would give me antibiotics since there is a warranty, but that just means they will buy it back from us, treat it themselves, then two weeks later let us buy them back. My response was, well, you sold us a sick rat how do I know you won't sell it back to us still sick? I told her the other rats in the cage were probably all sick as well and should be treated but i'm sure they won't be. Anyway, I think I talked my roommate into going to the actual vets tomorrow. I want him on antibiotics right away both to keep it from getting bad in him, and to hopefully prevent it from spreading to my pigs. I warned her about pet stores, and I'm sure she gets it now, but shes attached to the rat (and so am I, he's a little cutie) so we don't want to return him.

Anyway, a couple questions.

I'm wondering how likely is it that the infection will spread to my guinea pigs? Its a large room and he is on the other side of it, but we have a somewhat small apartment still. I told her to be sure to wash her hands each time she touches him or the goes to feed the pigs but I am still worried. I'll be keeping an eye out for my pigs if I hear wheezing or sneezing to the vet they will go but I hope it doesn't come to that.

What kinds of cages are best for rats? I'm trying to talk her into getting a second rat as well so he's not lonely. We read 2 sq ft per rat, is that correct?

After he is well will he be able to interact with the pigs at all? Obviously supervised, never in each others cages, but could they meet or share supervised floor time?

Neither of us has owned rats before so this is totally new to us both, I appreciate any advice! Thanks!!

Tara1 · Feb 17, 2013

Sorry,dont know about rats, but good luck, hope he gets better soon.

LWeaver · Feb 17, 2013

Rats NEED companions. They will love their humans but as social creatures they need their own kind also. The best type of cage depends on what you can afford. I know for my 5 rats we have a ferret cage that is about 5 ft high and 2 feet wide. I would say about half of that would be good for 2 rats, make sure you get the same sex!

Paula · Feb 17, 2013

I agree, there's no reason for them to interact or have floor time together. They are predator/prey and there's no reason to stress either of them unnecessarily like that. It's not "fun" for an animal like that to be exposed to another one and the only reason you should really expose them to that level of stress is when you hope they will end up sharing a cage/habitat and that obviously isn't the case with a rat and a guinea pig. Cages, Quality Cages makes some good rat cages, and of course a Ferret/Critter Nation would be excellent for a rat. I fostered a few for a while, found them completely disgusting and decided I'd never want them as pets for myself, but I had them in a CN and they were in love with it.

As for the URI spreading, it's possible, though probably unlikely. Even so, I'd keep them in separate rooms and follow all procedures you would for a pig quarantine (wash hands, change shirts, etc).

Good luck at the vet!

Agrimony · Feb 17, 2013

Thank you all for responding!

I kind of figured them meeting wouldn't be a great idea but thought I'd ask in case. The rat has been loving walking around and exploring and she was planning on having them out a lot was also why I was wondering. The guinea pigs are in the living room too so I was hoping maybe they were an example of animals that would ignore eachother, not harm each other. We'll just be careful to keep them apart- aka keep the rat away from the guinea pig cages during floor tiime. I forget sometimes that rats are natural predators, and he looks so small compared to the pigs!

I'll bring up again the idea of getting another rat as a companion for him. The guinea pigs are mine, but the rats are hers and I don't want to seem too pushy.

I just joined a rat forum and someone suggested it could be a "myco flare up" and that would not transfer to the pigs. I'll be picking up fresh parsley as suggested when I leave work to see if that perhaps helps. A lot of my googling suggests URI though.
To be honest I think I'm (perhaps wrongly) drawing some conclusions based upon my guinea pig experience, and if I saw a pet store pig like that I know it would be a URI.

@(broken link removed) was there any specific reason you found them disgusting? I honestly have never longed for a rat myself but I'll be living with one now so I'd like to bond with him. Besides his tail, I have noticed he seems a little smellier and of course doesn't quite have that round, fluffy, cuteness guinea pigs have. But all sources seem to indicate they are very intelligent and fun. But if I need to brace myself for something please let me know lol!

Paula · Feb 17, 2013

I remember hearing about myco ... could be, but I'd still probably think a vet visit would be in order just in case. I didn't have them long enough to need to learn about some of the medical issues, though, I do know they are very prone to respiratory infections and would assume URI before something like myco.

They were gross, to me, because they smelled soooo bad! Everything I was told and read lead me to believe they would be super clean, easy, etc. They weren't. They were soooo sweet, though, if I could have gotten past how bad they smelled and how they would hoard food (cute for about 10 minutes, until you have to clean up some moldy eggs they saved for later and forgot, ha!) and hide it, I would have so loved to keep them myself. They do require way more interaction than most small pets, though and on that I had no complaints because they are different than other small animals in how very much they look forward to your company and love to spend time with you. If you have a female, I would very highly recommend having her spayed - rats that aren't spayed are virtually destined to develop tumors that will shorten their lives. Neutering in males is a good idea but not what I'd consider a necessity like spaying a female.

Agrimony · Feb 17, 2013

Oh yes, vet visit is still on. We are going to push to get him in tomorrow. I'm not risking the health of my piggies on the off chance that it isn't a URI.

I was hoping he was just a little smelly because of the overcrowded aquarium he was housed in at the pet store. I read a few things online (from rat owners) comparing rats and guinea pigs saying guinea pigs smelled way worse, but my pigs hardly smell at all so I don't know that those sources we reliable and possibly just had guinea pigs in small or dirty cages. Really you can't smell my guinea pigs at all unless they are curled up on your chest or by your face, and even then its faint in all but my one boy who has an overactive grease gland.

The rat is a male. She is leaning towards the name Syd for him. Here is a picture, he is a little cutie.

xTayzx · Feb 18, 2013

Very cute, defiently get to the vet. I know rats and mice arent the same but I had mice and we had a girl with a wheezing cough. It was horrible but she bounced back after we put her in a different cleaner cage. (my ex had no respect for my pets and while i was awy became lazy in his chores...reasoning for the word EX)

Skfrpb · Feb 18, 2013

I've had a lot of rats, they need friends. Guinea pigs being their friends, I don't think that would be a good idea though. Also unlike Guineas, rats can have big wheels and balls to run in. If you do get him a ball be careful with it though.. it heats up in there and can be deadly but for 10 minutes or so specially if you have him out around the guinea pigs that would be better for floor time. I'd look in places for another rat friend. And make sure no glass cages! They should be in barred cages also, they'll get infections from the dust just like Guineas. Rats do make great pets, they're very affectionate and smart.

(Rats and Guineas are my two favorite rodents.) As she grows also watch for tumors... it's kind of bred into them they seem to always gets tumors. I don't believe there's anything you can do if he does get one, as sad as that is.
Also just because I know a lot of people give their rats this because they like it, Rats love peanut butter... but don't give him any! It's a choking hazard. Regular peanuts will be good though my rats always loved those just as much.

I hope to hear the vet visit goes well.

clb89 · Feb 18, 2013

Skfrpb said:
I've had a lot of rats, they need friends. Guinea pigs being their friends, I don't think that would be a good idea though. I'd look in places for another rat friend. And make sure no glass cages! They should be in barred cages also, they'll get infections from the dust just like Guineas. Rats do make great pets, they're very affectionate and smart. (Rats and Guineas are my two favorite rodents.) As she grows also watch for tumors... it's kind of bred into them they seem to always gets tumors. I don't believe there's anything you can do if he does get one, as sad as that is.
Also just because I know a lot of people give their rats this because they like it, Rats love peanut butter... but don't give him any! It's a choking hazard. Regular peanuts will be good though my rats always loved those just as much.I

hope to hear the vet visit goes well.

I agree with everything except the tumor part. Most rats tumors are not cancerous and if you have a good rat vet can be removed, especially when caught early. One will need antibiotics and pain reliever after surgery.

Skfrpb · Feb 18, 2013

clb89 said:
I agree with everything except the tumor part. Most rats tumors are not cancerous and if you have a good rat vet can be removed, especially when caught early. One will need antibiotics and pain reliever after surgery.

I didn't know about this. I had my rats all when I was younger. Maybe it was just the vets I talked to who didn't know how to do the surgeries. I'm also having a hard time here finding myself a guinea pig savvy vet and not one who just picks them up looks at them for a second and goes THEY'RE GOOD! That's great that it can be treated though!

clb89 · Feb 18, 2013

Skfrpb said:
I didn't know about this. I had my rats all when I was younger. Maybe it was just the vets I talked to who didn't know how to do the surgeries. I'm also having a hard time here finding myself a guinea pig savvy vet and not one who just picks them up looks at them for a second and goes THEY'RE GOOD! That's great that it can be treated though!

Yeah finding exotic vets who actually know what they are doing can be difficult. I was lucky to find one when I had a rat with a tumor when I was still a high schooler. Our rat lived happily for another year after the surgery. I mostly find vets through google lol.

Agrimony · Feb 18, 2013

Thank you guys for the information! I will try and talk her into getting him a friend. I think she knows she should but we'll see. I'll keep you updated and post a picture if we get another. The sneezes have gone down very significantly! A joined a rat forum the recommend feeding him parsley and honey before bringing him to a vet and that rats are very sensitive to new environments and allergens and may just be adjusting. I still would prefer he go to the vet just to be sure its nothing my piggies could catch. I'll keep everyone in the loop!
Sounds like intos for rats are very similar to intros for piggies (neutral territory, clean cage, etc.). One thing i'm unsure of though is whats normal domiance behavior vs serious aggression. Anyone here do rat introductions before? This would be two males.

clb89 · Feb 18, 2013

Sorry quote won't work on tablet, but yeah introduction done in neutral territory just like guinea pigs. Males are usually more laid back then female rats in my opinion. May try to push one around for dominance, our girl nipped at the new girl, but wasn't a full on bite. When put into cage try to do at same time so first rat doesn't feel like territory is being taken over.
Others may have more to add.

RodentCuddles · Feb 18, 2013

I'm not sure if anyone else has said it already but I'd get your friends boy neutered as it can help alot with agro rats especially males....On the nz rat forum most people get all their rats de-sexed as it can take away some likely hood of them getting some things only intact rats can get when they're older as well as helping with agro ratties.

Neutering my boy boris was a heck of a lot help...the pet shop was going to put him down (like Trixie my piggy) and so we took him home (for free) and he was very aggressive before getting neutered and now he's so much better...I'm not sure if the girls have helped.

Also, if your friend ever wants more rats, if you get him neutered then they could adopt girls and neutered boys as with ratties unlike guinea pigs more then 1 male can live with females with-out fighting over the girls.

ETA: Rattie intros are so much easier then piggy ones...in fact because a friend of mine has a half wild rat so she doesn't trust him out side of the cage (as he goes hyper) so when ever she adopts new rats for intros she just cleans the cage and puts all the rats in...Introducing my boy to the two girls was also really easy...

clb89 · Feb 19, 2013

RodentCuddles said:
I'm not sure if anyone else has said it already but I'd get your friends boy neutered as it can help alot with agro rats especially males....On the nz rat forum most people get all their rats de-sexed as it can take away some likely hood of them getting some things only intact rats can get when they're older as well as helping with agro ratties.

Neutering my boy boris was a heck of a lot help...the pet shop was going to put him down (like Trixie my piggy) and so we took him home (for free) and he was very aggressive before getting neutered and now he's so much better...I'm not sure if the girls have helped.

Also, if your friend ever wants more rats, if you get him neutered then they could adopt girls and neutered boys as with ratties unlike guinea pigs more then 1 male can live with females with-out fighting over the girls.

ETA: Rattie intros are so much easier then piggy ones...in fact because a friend of mine has a half wild rat so she doesn't trust him out side of the cage (as he goes hyper) so when ever she adopts new rats for intros she just cleans the cage and puts all the rats in...Introducing my boy to the two girls was also really easy...

I don't recommend surgery on a rat just because, even neutering, as it does have a risk of losing that rat. Both sexes of rats do have a teenager stage, just like guinea pigs, where they may be more aggressive. This usually mellows out when they are no longer teens. We did have males at one time, different time then when we had females, the males were always very laid back then our females. Might be personality of the individual rat too.

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Ratties New rat may be sick.

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