I'm in love....beautiful rat!

I got her from a feeder store to give to my snakes.
Max and I just couldn't do it--and when MAX says she's too cute to feed, something is really special about her. Hes usually my lighthouse and brick wall when it comes to feeding the snakes, when I get a little queasy or sad he does it for me, no problem.
But "Chips" as we called her is too cute.
She seems to have a little cold, too--what could that be from? Lots of sneezing. It's adorable but I know that she can't feel good with a rat flu. :(
She is albino...I think? Her eyes are black it looks like but they could be just deep red. She is the only rat I've seen where she has a colored head and stripe down her body that is NOT black, I think these are called hooded? Her color is a very light brown. It's gorgeous.
Pictures :wuv:
http://i1028.photobucket.com/albums/...E4MjYuanBn.jpg
http://i1028.photobucket.com/albums/...E4MTcuanBn.jpg
http://i1028.photobucket.com/albums/...E3MzIuanBn.jpg
http://i1028.photobucket.com/albums/...E3MDkuanBn.jpg
http://i1028.photobucket.com/albums/...E3MDEuanBn.jpg
http://i1028.photobucket.com/albums/...E2NTIuanBn.jpg
http://i1028.photobucket.com/albums/...E2NDMuanBn.jpg

http://i1028.photobucket.com/albums/...EwMzYuanBn.jpg

one more reason why i dont play with my food LOL;)

Lol I tried not to! But my mom said we had to wait to stun the last one (she doesn't like to hear the noise) and we had fed all the other snakes, so we put her in the tub for a little bit where they usually wait if we have to leave before feeding them to the snakes. She looked so adorable we couldn't do it. :(
I think it's cruel to keep them in the little teeny pet store cardboard boxes so I always try to give them lots of space for their last few minutes of life. :confuzd:
She is precious though :wuv:

thats the same reason i have a rat now lol. Mine is huge now and super cool. kinda glad i ended up keeping him

They usually sneeze when in a new surrounding. It should go away in a few days. GL with her, they're unique pets.

Or - she could have a respiratory infection that will only go away with oral benadryl or other antibiotic that will need to be prescribed by a veterinarian. I'd go ahead and plan to get her seen. Unfortunately, pet store feeder rats aren't kept in the best of care.

If you plan to keep her as a pet, please do get her seen - because you're going to need to get her a buddy rat as well, and you need to make sure they're both healthy. Rats do much better in pairs (two girls or two boys).

Most all of my rats are creamed hoodies (as well as being dumbo's).

Also - is that one of those Sterilite drawer systems? That will not hold her for long! Meaning - it's very easy for her to escape from.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by rabernet

Or - she could have a respiratory infection that will only go away with oral benadryl or other antibiotic that will need to be prescribed by a veterinarian. I'd go ahead and plan to get her seen. Unfortunately, pet store feeder rats aren't kept in the best of care.

If you plan to keep her as a pet, please do get her seen - because you're going to need to get her a buddy rat as well, and you need to make sure they're both healthy. Rats do much better in pairs (two girls or two boys).

Most all of my rats are creamed hoodies (as well as being dumbo's).

---

Or it can be this too. But I would wait a couple days and see if it stops. Check her over and see if she has mucus. If so then chances are she's sick.Check her ears and eyes as well.

the main reason i don't feed live...if i did id have a billion rats!

For the record...Benadryl is an antihistamine, not an antibiotic. Regardless, it should only be used under direct supervision of a vet, as stated previously.

If you plan on keeping this rat, I would have it seen immediately rather than "waiting to see how things go". Small animals deteriorate very quickly, and things can go South in the blink of an eye if medical assistance is not provided at the right time. Many times, small animals come in too sick to save, and usually by the time they're showing a few symptoms, it's too late.

So hopefully, if you get this kid to the vet sooner rather than later, you can nip the possible resp. infection (if that's what it is) in the bud...While you're at it, bring a fresh stool sample for analysis.

Good luck, and yeah, she's really cute!

I have to rehome her anyway. :( I guess I'll tell whoever might want to adopt her on Craigslist that she needs to see a vet. She's so adorable, I love her. :(
My mom won't let me keep her. The only thing that scares her more than the snakes is a rat or mouse. :(

Also, she is still sneezing and we have had her since Thursday. It's less often than it was, I think.
I don't see any mucus out of her nose, her ears look fine but I'm no expert. She's acting normally and eating normally. Her stools also look healthy, no diarrhea or anything like that. I'm not sure if that makes a difference.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JordanAng420

For the record...Benadryl is an antihistamine, not an antibiotic. Regardless, it should only be used under direct supervision of a vet, as stated previously.

If you plan on keeping this rat, I would have it seen immediately rather than "waiting to see how things go". Small animals deteriorate very quickly, and things can go South in the blink of an eye if medical assistance is not provided at the right time. Many times, small animals come in too sick to save, and usually by the time they're showing a few symptoms, it's too late.

So hopefully, if you get this kid to the vet sooner rather than later, you can nip the possible resp. infection (if that's what it is) in the bud...While you're at it, bring a fresh stool sample for analysis.

Good luck, and yeah, she's really cute!

---

You are correct, and I meant to say Baytril, not Benadryl (I had Benadryl on the brain since I'm currently taking it for some allergies).

You can also use Tetracycline (a fish antibiotic) to treat mild respiratory infections. (Please note I said MILD respiratory infections. A serious infection needs antibiotics prescribed by a veterinarian). I have used this medication to treat infections before with success.

It is a shame you have to re-home her. She is a cutie! That is the problem with rats. They are too darn cute for their own good! So many people see them as disgusting, disease carrying vermin and it is such a shame. They make great pets. I hope you find her a good home. :D

Where can I buy tetracycline? And how do I tell if it is mild or not? She has no mucus but she sneezes quite a bit. I changed her bedding to paper towels, she's still sneezing. A lady at a pet store said it might be vitamin A deficiency so we are giving her some parrot snacks that have red dried peppers in them, hoping it will help. :( Other than that I don't know what to do. She acts normal other than she seems to rub her nose a good bit, but my old mouse did that too.
Until we can find a home for her we bought her a companion female mouse. Since we named the white one this thread is about Chips, we named her new friend "Potato." They snuggle a lot. :)

Hi,

I thought rats normally killed mice? :confused:


dr del

I rescued one of my feeders before. Turned him into a breeder and saved a ton of money on feeding since then.

More importantly tho i saved the lil guys life :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dr del

Hi,

I thought rats normally killed mice? :confused:


dr del

---

Whenever I bring home mice and rats in the same box, 99% of the time I hear fighting in the box, and most of the time I just hear the mouse sqeaking. One time though, the mouse actually had all 3 rats huddled up in a corner. He had a big ego!

Hope everything goes well.