Blood?

Today I wascleaning the rats cage and in the food bowl I noticed speckles of blood like light splattered also in the box I put in there there was alot of very light splatter paint of blood? my boyfriend thinks they might have done the dirty and got a little crazy?!?! lol. But seriously What Is Going On?!?!?!

Also as of right now I have 2 medium male female and 2 large all together, I looked at them and I didn't see any blood or clot likr stuff on their fur or any cuts on their faces.

Perhaps one is just about to give birth?

No I just got them literally 2 days ago.
But thank you for atleast posting an idea.

The mice that I keep for my BP tend to do the "dominate" thing and beat each other up. Therefore I see blood splatter all the time on the glass from it. Sometimes they even ripe patches of hair out of each other too. Crazy rodents. Hope that helped.

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Originally Posted by christina_ann0915

The mice that I keep for my BP tend to do the "dominate" thing and beat each other up. Therefore I see blood splatter all the time on the glass from it. Sometimes they even ripe patches of hair out of each other too. Crazy rodents. Hope that helped.

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This is an excellent point, they do tend to do this. Which is quite insane when you see huge chunks missing from their fur and fresh scabs :/

I rarely ever see scabs, just the fur missing. And I think I have seen bite marks on the tail too. Its crazy the way they act.

If you've got a female and more than one male in that cage, there are going to be fights - and they can get pretty savage! I'd start by separating any males...

~Bruce

Usually the really bad fighting started happening when I am down to 2 mice. And I mean EVERY time I have 2 left one gets beat up pretty good. Should I divide the cage up when I get down to 2??

Are you sure it's blood? I used to own rats, all deceased now unfortunately. Sometimes a reddish, blood/rust colored liquid discharge will be present around the mouth, nose, or eyes. Occasionally when the rats breathe, this liquid will kind of spray, possible resulting in the spray patterns you've noticed. If you haven't really noticed any wounds, this may be the case with your rats. The stuff isn't always visible on the rodent itself. When my rat Jasper started to get sick, I noticed what I first perceived as blood on his white bedding. A little research told me otherwise.

Check to see that your rats are healthy, as such discharge may be a sign of respiratory illness. Keep an eye out for sluggish rats, gurgling noises while breathing, residue around noses, etc.

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Originally Posted by kurtkoils

Are you sure it's blood? I used to own rats, all deceased now unfortunately. Sometimes a reddish, blood/rust colored liquid discharge will be present around the mouth, nose, or eyes. Occasionally when the rats breathe, this liquid will kind of spray, possible resulting in the spray patterns you've noticed. If you haven't really noticed any wounds, this may be the case with your rats. The stuff isn't always visible on the rodent itself. When my rat Jasper started to get sick, I noticed what I first perceived as blood on his white bedding. A little research told me otherwise.

Check to see that your rats are healthy, as such discharge may be a sign of respiratory illness. Keep an eye out for sluggish rats, gurgling noises while breathing, residue around noses, etc.

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Thank you. yah here I see residue on one males nose. I put him in another tank, now is he ever going to get better on his own or what would i need to do? and is it okay to feed him to my boa?

Oh, good. The sick rat will probably get better on his own. I'd say just watch him for a while and make sure that he isn't exhibiting any other signs of infection (ie. wheezing or gurgling sounds, sneezing, sluggishness, an apparent lack of personal hygiene, etc.) Respiratory illnesses are VERY common in rats, but can sometimes result in fatalities. Quarantining him is a good idea though. Also make sure that you check for any of the same symptoms in your other rats.

Now, I know a good deal about rodents, but I'm VERY new to the herp world, haha. As far as feeding the rat in question to your snake, I personally would wait until the discharge clears up just to be on the safe side.

Luckily, my Ball is CB and has been eating thawed frozen mice successfully. I don't think that I could stand raising rats for him; I'd probably end up keeping them ALL as pets and showing up on an episode of "Animal Cops" at some point. Haha. Good luck.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kurtkoils

Oh, good. The sick rat will probably get better on his own. I'd say just watch him for a while and make sure that he isn't exhibiting any other signs of infection (ie. wheezing or gurgling sounds, sneezing, sluggishness, an apparent lack of personal hygiene, etc.) Respiratory illnesses are VERY common in rats, but can sometimes result in fatalities. Quarantining him is a good idea though. Also make sure that you check for any of the same symptoms in your other rats.

Now, I know a good deal about rodents, but I'm VERY new to the herp world, haha. As far as feeding the rat in question to your snake, I personally would wait until the discharge clears up just to be on the safe side.

Luckily, my Ball is CB and has been eating thawed frozen mice successfully. I don't think that I could stand raising rats for him; I'd probably end up keeping them ALL as pets and showing up on an episode of "Animal Cops" at some point. Haha. Good luck.

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Haha I know what your saying it's SO hard raising them and then saying ahhh well your lunch today sorry. =[ But then again I'm getting a zoo in my bedroom.... 3 leapord geckos, 2 6-7ft RTBoas, and 6 balls and counting. plus the rat cages. uhhgg can you say hard to sleep at night?!?!?! But yea he's getting kind of sluggish and I dont see any approvement. at all...

Like you I too am new to the herp world. I just got a few new snakes and one is 100% het for pied. :D and a breeder male who I notice blowing bubble aka R.I :mad::( and a Female but the male looks kinda like a yellow belly when i get pictures im going to post something for help. my female also kinda looks like one but not as much as the male. uhg this stuff takes a toll on you after a few weeks.

But thank you guys all so much for all the info you guys brought to me! seriously you guys :gj: