i bought 3 small rats last thursday and up until sunday night they were all doing well, eating, drinking, playing, etc.
sunday night rolls around and i notice the smallest of the 3 acting odd, breathing heavily, not eating, drinking a tiny bit and trying to cuddle with the other but they were shrugging it off or moving away.
i decided i'd just keep an eye on it for a day or so and see if it improved on its own or not.
monday night we went and picked up my snake.
yesterday i isolated the "sick" rat in a plastic critter carrier and kept an eye on it.
last night i noticed it still breathing heavy but by then it was making a low squeaky kind of grunting noise every time it exhaled. i called the pet store and they said they had no warranty or something like that for feeder rats. the lady told me that the rats they sell are mass produced and that i may have just ended up with a defective rat, as can be the issue sometimes. i didnt call them expecting a replacement but i was hoping for something more then just "oh, well you might have just gotten a bad one."
ok well thats all fine and dandy but now that's 1 less meal for my snake this month. (the rat finally died just hours after i noticed the noisy breathing.)
we MIGHT be able to replace that rat later on in the month, and i'm keepin' my fingers crossed.
is there anything i can do to make sure i don't continue getting "bad rats" cuz quite honestly our financial situation will not allow us to be constantly replacing these rats that meet a premature end.