Lethargic rat, what is going on with her?

Today is cleaning day and as I move each rat out of the enclourse I usually give them a once over.
Just now while moving her over I noticed one of my hold back females is acting strange. She is normally a little ball of energy but when I picked her up just now she seemed very lethargic and out of it. Also noticed she has a 'bloody" nose (either blood or porphyrin), not running but some wet/dried stuff on her nose. She is not sneezing or wheezing but I think her breathing is labored (not sure if it may be just the anxiety of being picked up).
Something else, her abdomen seems like it may be larger than normal.

I've separated her into the quarantine enclosure as a precaution but really have no idea what is wrong with her or if there is anything I can do for her.

Here is a video of her new behavior:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arEPtUVjysM


Anyone have any idea what the problem may be?

Well never mind, she just died. Whatever it was it killed her quickly. Any idea what it could have been?

I've already sterilized all my rat enclosures but I'm very nervous about the rest.

Sorry for your loss. It could've been anything but the swollen abdomen makes me think of tumors. We recently lost a pet to a brain tumor but females normally get tumors in their chest or abdomen which usually looks like swelling. When our pet died of the brain tumor it didn't take long at all. But like I said it could've been something else.

Might be a lower intestine problem. I've had one that ended up early food because of it. It isn't megacolon but something similiar. She had trouble passing fecal material. It was ok until she got to weaning stage and then her abdomen got larger and she started whincing when I picked her up. I fed her off right away both to prevent undue suffering and waste of a rat if she died. I haven't seen it since so I doubt it is a virus or anything.

Regards,

B

Lethargy and swolen abdomen are also symptoms of mega colon, but that would have been slower. Hmm.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rhasputin

Lethargy and swolen abdomen are also symptoms of mega colon, but that would have been slower. Hmm.

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I've had rat with megacolon live past weaning age but most died quickly after. Megacolon is possible but Simple Man did say his food could have been the issue.

Simple Man,
I would say feeding off a rat with a mystery illness is no no. But hey, that's just my opinion. Do you know what the sire and dam look like? She does have a partial blaze.

The rat I fed off was a Black Eyed Siamese. A snake isn't going to get sick from a rat. No need to waste good food but that's for another thread :) Every once in awhile a rat just isn't put together right. It happens. I have 99% healthy animals but once in a blue moon something goes wrong. When you're producing hundreds of rats, one every 6 months is nothing to worry about in my opinion.

Regards,

B

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Simple Man

The rat I fed off was a Black Eyed Siamese. A snake isn't going to get sick from a rat. No need to waste good food but that's for another thread :) Every once in awhile a rat just isn't put together right. It happens. I have 99% healthy animals but once in a blue moon something goes wrong. When you're producing hundreds of rats, one every 6 months is nothing to worry about in my opinion.

Regards,

B

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I can see your point lol. I'm just super picky. :D I drive everyone nuts.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Simple Man

The rat I fed off was a Black Eyed Siamese. A snake isn't going to get sick from a rat. No need to waste good food but that's for another thread :) Every once in awhile a rat just isn't put together right. It happens. I have 99% healthy animals but once in a blue moon something goes wrong. When you're producing hundreds of rats, one every 6 months is nothing to worry about in my opinion.

Regards,

B

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Let me know if your opinion changes after you've been breeding for 6 months or produced hundreds of rats. :P

J

Probably mega colon, as stated, just advanced quickly. But who knows, there are tons of things it could have been... Feed it off and move on to the next one...
Megacolon is just wonderful, especially when you know you have a female passing it along, but you can't find the source.
I feed freshly dead rats all the time, there's no problem with it. Snake will eat almost anything they find including carion. I feed it as long as I know it's only been dead for a couple of hours.

Simpleman, if you're doing 99%, you're doing great!!!
Man, I lose rats daily. Always have, it's part of the game. I'd go as far as to say, I sometimes lose 3-4 a day in some cases. It's just what happens when you breed on a large scale... No matter how clean you keep the cages, or the quality of the diet, sometimes they just die...Anyone who says otherwise must be doing something extraordinary...

My wife calls me crazy, but my kids help me alot with my rodents.. My 9yo daughter says: "Bring out yer dead" as we go through the tubs... She's never seen the movie, where could she have picked that up I wonder? ;)

I just have one question. When she was first weaned I saw her pass waste (on me while handling). Is megacolon a birth defect blockage or something that sets in later and then blocks the intestines?

I beleive it's a genetic flaw in the intestinal tract. I've heard of it setting in later in life. Most babies end up dying quickly after weaning. It usually shows up around 6-8 weeks of age.


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