The Rat Room

I’ve done a lot of research in the hope of stopping mammary tumours. Although almost always benign, the mammary tumour can definitely end up sucking the life out of the rat. At best a rat with a mammary tumour can live a few months, at worst it can grow so fast within days.
I’ve tried all kinds of supplement with absolutely no success, with Mycoplex and shark cartilage.
What did work is a spay. Spaying your rat removes the source of estrogen which in turn decreases the risk of a growth. I’ve had 29 females spayed. From the 29 only two went on to develop a mammary tumour. One of the two already had one when I adopted her from the SPCA. Kate had a mammary tumour removal and a spay at the same time. Unfortunately she and her sister were fairly ill and both also developed inguinal masses.
Out of the 29, a few had their spays later in life which proves that a spay at any age is highly beneficial.
Some might argue that a spay is invasive but with a good exotic vet, surgery risks are very minimal. The recovery of a spay is much faster than a recovery of a tumour. Tumours weakens the immune system and leaves the rat generally unwell, surgery at this point although very doable is still harder on a rat than a spay on a healthy girl.
I will always have my females spayed. Mammary tumours are not something you want to deal with.

In a colony there is always a chain of command. The alpha, usually the big male will rule the roost. Some are fierce and a bully while others are forceful yet gentle. I’ve seen all kinds of alpha from neurotic to very gentle.
One alpha was Tripp. He took care of his buddies and would butt in if he figured it was time too. The other rats respected him and the colony lived very happily with him as their leader. The time came when I needed to intro Tripp’s group with 3 older rats. Chase, a young neutered neurotic rat was having a hard time accepting the new buddies. He especially didn’t like old man Lex. One one occasion, during an intro Chase had cornered Lex into a box. Lex had nowhere to go and Chase was slowly approaching him, mouth open… along comes Tripp. Tripp pushes Chase aside and goes to lie down next to Lex. Chase immediately realizes that Tripp was telling him that Lex was an ok guy and welcome into their colony. Intros went smoothly because Tripp was definitely the good alpha.

This bacterium is spread via direct contact and is highly contagious. If one rat in your colony has it, you can bet all of them do. Rats can be without symptoms for many months until such time they become weaken and the disease start to take hold of their respiratory system. When your rats start to become sick with sneezing and wheezing the best course of action is antibiotics for life. Some rats respond successfully while others continue to slowly deteriorate.
I’ve used Baytril and Zithromax with success in some of my rats. The prognosis varies, some rats can live comfortably with this illness for many months while others can’t manage more than a week or so.
CAR Bacillus can only be detected through an ELIZA test (blood work) or through necropsy.

Your new rat sneezes? Some call it “new home sneezes” and it’s normal for a rat in a new environment to sneeze some. They are hard at work exploring and sniffing everything out. They should settle down in a few days and the sneezes should stop. It is still important to keep an eye on your little guy for more symptoms should it be something worse like the start of a mycoplasma flare up.
Your rat is not new and sneezing? I would then set out to find what could be the trigger. Look for any fragrance near the rat, the bedding might be too dusty as most are, or someone is smoking near the rats which is very unhealthy for them.
Unfortunately, sneezing can also mean mycoplasmosis pulmonis. A bacteria found in all rats in their respiratory system. Stress can cause this bacteria to flare up and cause havoc with your little guy’s breathing.
Any stress can do it from emotional, mental to physical. Stresses brought on by illness, old age, noises, moves or changes in their lives, loneliness can all contribute to a flare up.
This illness is progressive and it’s imperative to get the rat to a vet so he can be properly treated. If left unchecked can quickly lead to death.

All domesticated rats (pets and feeders) are considered fancy rat, no matter the color or markings.
A dumbo rat has bigger ears and different ear placement.
A rex rat has curly fur.
A double rex rat has patches of very short hair, another curly mutation.
A hairless rat has no fur.

I’m attempting to intro two big colonies. One that is 13 adult rats with 11 younger rats. The 13 are Julia, Noodle, Sara, Fleur, Minou that are all 18 months old. Jet, Jude, Jack, AnnaBanana, Sheela, Blue, Bunny, Roxanne they are all 15 months old. The group of 11 are Echo, Rocher, Matou, Darcy, Bug, Fox, Bronco, Pony, Sawyer, Benjamin and Desmond, they are all 5 months old.
Things are going as to be expected… keep in mind, all my females are spayed so no babies here.
I’m really hoping they become friends, even though they will probably never live together… this will allow them to have 2 to 3 hours of out time daily which is very important to rats.
Wish us luck!

All rats secrete an oil on their skin called sebum. In the rat community we call that buck grease as it’s way more common on males. This usually occurs when the male is very hormonal or is feeling a general malaise and has stopped grooming himself. This is not a sign of bugs or high protein, it’s too much oil secretion. You could gently clean your rat but constant bathing will actually make him produce more buck grease. Giving your little guy some olive oil once in a while can help him keep a cleaner, shinier coat.

Rats are very agile and fast but once in a while they move a certain way when they shouldn’t and they end up hurting their legs. A sprained leg is very common and not much of a concern although you must keep an eye on it in case an infection develops.
A typical sprained leg or bruised leg will swell up really big. But within 3 days the swelling should go down and the rat be back to his normal self.
Keeping the rat quiet and immobile will speed up his recovery. Some people will remove their rat from the colony cage to put in a hospital cage, this is ok to do so long as it does not create any new stress to the rat. Stress can completely halt recovery, in fact, it can make things a lot worse. So if you think rattie is happier in his current cage, then leave him be.
If you can sense that he’s in a lot of pain: stops eating, zones out, sleeps all the time, then it would be wise to get him a prescription of metacam from your vet.
Things to watch for, excessive swelling that doesn’t go down in a week, severe discoloration and lethargy. This could be an infection such as cellulitis which requires a vet check.

Rats are small animals but that doesn’t mean they don’t require proper vet care. If you only have a small number of rats, I highly recommend bringing them for a full vet check up every 6 months.
When your rat starts making noise, it’s time to see a vet. 99.9% of all rats have mycoplasma in their lungs and this can cause respiratory infections. When a rat makes grunting, chirping, wheezing, coughing noises, it needs to be addresses asap. If you wait too long, it can become pneumonia and lead to death.
There are other symptoms that require a vet visit: lethargy, labored breathing, breaks in limbs, severe bleeding, bloating, change in bowel movements and in urination.
With proper health care as well as vet care, your rats can live a good long life. 2 to 3 years is the rat’s average lifespan.
All animals deserve medical treatment when needed.

Normally rats adapt pretty well in varying degrees of temperatures, but there are some things we can do to help them cope better.
Fluctuating temperatures is hard on a rat. Unlike dogs, rats don’t pant but they do use their tails to help regulate body temperatures.
One thing to keep in mind, if you are uncomfortable in the current climate of your home, chances are so are your rats. When you see your rats spread out flat as a pancake and listless, this is a good indication that they are too hot. There are a few things you can do to help alleviate their discomfort. You can do like me and add central air or an air conditioning unit to your home but that’s not very economical.
You can move the cage to a darker part of the home, or even in the basement. You can have a fan nearby but not directly on the cage, drafts should always be avoided. You can freeze a bottle of water and then place it in the cage. You can also buy slate tiles and freeze them and place them in the cage. Have lots of water available to the rats. A bowl with ice so the rats can take a dip. Also giving your rats frozen peas and grapes would help as well.
Remember… if your too hot, so are the furry little guys.