Somethings wrong with Speedy....

For the last week I have noticed that Snow has been "picking" on Speedy more than usual and everynight when I bring them out for play time that Speedy's fur has "chew marks" on the back of her neck...no broken skin just messy fur. The last two days this has grown to include "messy fur" all over her back.
She does not have runny stool, but last night when I went to get them out Speedy looked and acted like a 90 year old rat! No way near her usual self. Speedy got her name for her speedy pshyco ways and now she is very limp, listless and not moving around very well. She also is really not showing any interest in food. When she does finally make her way to the bottom of the cage she just nudges the food around and then just slowly makes her way back to her hammock. She has been in the hammock almost continuously curled up on her self since yesterday. Now 2 nights ago I had her and Snow out for play time and she was fine....running all over my bed, and back and forth from my computer desk to my bed. I don't understand this.
I have moved Snow out of the cage last night as I thought she was just being beat on to much but after a night of rest she seems no better!
I can not make it to a vet today as we are having a huge birthday party with lots of guests in just a few hours. I am at a loss? This is NOT my Speedy.
Any one have any ideas? Please, any ?

the messy fur situation can be from grooming. i know one of my retired mamas gets bald from over grooming by her two roommates.

the listlessness... i'm not sure what they would be.

do you see a lot of dominant behaviour between the two rats?

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Originally Posted by recycling goddess

the messy fur situation can be from grooming. i know one of my retired mamas gets bald from over grooming by her two roommates.

the listlessness... i'm not sure what they would be.

do you see a lot of dominant behaviour between the two rats?

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Yes I see dominant behavior from Snow...very very dominant.
Know I am niticing that Speedy is breathing rather hard and labored!

i would keep them separated and hopefully she'll come back to herself. the fact that she doesn't have runny stools is a good thing.

becky, jo, april... any of them may have more info for you. i'm sorry i'm not being much help. :hug:

no chance speedy is in labour?

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Originally Posted by recycling goddess

i would keep them separated and hopefully she'll come back to herself. the fact that she doesn't have runny stools is a good thing.

becky, jo, april... any of them may have more info for you. i'm sorry i'm not being much help. :hug:

no chance speedy is in labour?

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No, no chance she is in labor,,have had her for 5 mths and has only been house with Snow.
Don't apologize,,,I appreciate any help at this point!

okay well at least we know it isn't labour.

have you tried giving her a yummy treat... like some break soaked in olive oil. hard for any rattie to refuse that and it's soooooo good for them.

and hopefully one of the more 'enlightened in these matters' members will chime in!

perhaps pm them so they notice this thread ;)

My girls pick on each other all the time, it's really no big deal. It would probably be helpful to get a third girl so the aggression is spaced out a bit between all of them.

As for her labored breathing, I would think she's getting a respiratory infection. Are her eyes and nose porphy(red stained)? If she's thin, get her separated and if you have some canned, high quality cat food or something, give her that. Ensure works well too, just anything without lactose. Canned tuna is good for protein.

Do you regularly bring in unquarantined rats to feed Zeke? If so, that may be the source of her problems as those rats bring in god knows what, and it takes about a week for the symptoms to manifest themselves.

If you have a 10-gallon with a lid, and a water bottle that hangs on the side, put her in that. Add a heating pad(on low) under about 1/3 of it in case she's cold. Taking her into a hot steamy bathroom would help break up the crap in her lungs and let her breathe better.

I have 22 rats, hence why I feed mice from my own breeding group. Nothing icky comes in that the rats are susceptible to(mice are quarantined anyway, regardless). Pet store rats can carry alot of things such as Streptococcus(about 7 of my rats died in about a week's time following an outbreak of strep-based pneumonia), internal/external parasites, and other bad bacteria that our pet rats haven't built up an immunity to.

If you MUST feed rats to Zeke and have pet rats at the same time, keep them at a totally different end of the house. After you bring the rat-to-feed home and it is fed off(you go NOWHERE near your rats), you need to sterilize your shoes, wash your clothes and take a shower.

Blowing your nose is especially important. This is the only way I know of to prevent unwanted illnesses coming into a healthy house of rats. I practice this everytime I go to a pet store(as even those Strep carrying baby rats came from Petsmart...).

Keep her warm, hydrated and eating(meat babyfoods, ensure, sugar water) until you can get her to the vet on Monday.

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

My girls pick on each other all the time, it's really no big deal. It would probably be helpful to get a third girl so the aggression is spaced out a bit between all of them.

As for her labored breathing, I would think she's getting a respiratory infection. Are her eyes and nose porphy(red stained)? If she's thin, get her separated and if you have some canned, high quality cat food or something, give her that. Ensure works well too, just anything without lactose. Canned tuna is good for protein.

Do you regularly bring in unquarantined rats to feed Zeke? If so, that may be the source of her problems as those rats bring in god knows what, and it takes about a week for the symptoms to manifest themselves.

If you have a 10-gallon with a lid, and a water bottle that hangs on the side, put her in that. Add a heating pad(on low) under about 1/3 of it in case she's cold. Taking her into a hot steamy bathroom would help break up the crap in her lungs and let her breathe better.

I have 22 rats, hence why I feed mice from my own breeding group. Nothing icky comes in that the rats are susceptible to(mice are quarantined anyway, regardless). Pet store rats can carry alot of things such as Streptococcus(about 7 of my rats died in about a week's time following an outbreak of strep-based pneumonia), internal/external parasites, and other bad bacteria that our pet rats haven't built up an immunity to.

If you MUST feed rats to Zeke and have pet rats at the same time, keep them at a totally different end of the house. After you bring the rat-to-feed home and it is fed off(you go NOWHERE near your rats), you need to sterilize your shoes, wash your clothes and take a shower.

Blowing your nose is especially important. This is the only way I know of to prevent unwanted illnesses coming into a healthy house of rats. I practice this everytime I go to a pet store(as even those Strep carrying baby rats came from Petsmart...).

Keep her warm, hydrated and eating(meat babyfoods, ensure, sugar water) until you can get her to the vet on Monday.

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Thank you for all the help.....
I do bring rats into the house to feed Zeke but they are lucky if they are here for an hour and I keep them in the paper bag on his tank until it goes into the tank. I will remember to wash well after handling the bag before handling my girls...and blowing my nose.
I have the girls seperated in two different cages and will continue this until Speedy is recovered.

Yeah, it's just very important to be diligent when you're trying to keep your current rats healthy.

You can always keep a spray bottle of properly diluted chlorhexidine(Valley Vet.com has the best prices on the gallon of concentrate), and you can spray yourself and your shoes(especially the bottoms). I always spray my face too, just in case.

Ask the vet for a combo of Baytril and Doxycycline. That should cure pretty much any respiratory problem she has. I'd keep her on it for 10-14 days, twice a day. Just ask the vet for it and he should comply :)

of course if her breathing improves when her stress level reduces (by being alone) then personally i would hold off any medications. ;)

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Originally Posted by recycling goddess

of course if her breathing improves when her stress level reduces (by being alone) then personally i would hold off any medications. ;)

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She seems to be a little bit better, not much. I have her in the bathroom with the shower running because she does sound a little congested, no runny nose or anything just kind of "chesty" I have put her favorite sweet treats in there but she has no interest yet. I am hoping with some rest and lots of love she will be back to herself in a few days.
I have gone and bought Snow a new home of her own, she has no signs what so ever of being sick, but think I will keep Speedy in the bathroom for a week just to be safe. I am concerned about the girls being "alone" now but do not want to bring in any new animals and am afraid of Snows agression towards other rats....she definitely seems happier by herself and spending time with me....is it normal for some rats to shun other rats and crave human attention??

yes it is. ratties, just like any other critter can be a loner... just like you can have one grumpy ball python when the rest are gentle.

i have one female breeder who is nasty... but a great breeder. she bites us when we go into the cage, beats up any cage mates... and yet is an excellent mother. we are 'rehoming' her after her next litter cause my 8 year old is sick of being bitten when she goes in to feed her.

you may just have a girl who wants/needs to live alone. i would (after this week) keep the cages close to each other so they can 'visit' if needed. ;)

keep us posted lisa. :hug:

Actually, with rats, when they start showing signs of illness(being a prey animal and all), it means they are going downhill pretty quickly and the disease has progressed enough that it is affecting their everyday life. Antibiotics need to be given as their lungs are easily scarred, creating breathing problems for the rest of their lives.

I've had rats be perfectly normal one day, and then the next day have a stroke and I find them in the bottom of the cage cold and barely breathing, with porph around their eyes and nose. I've saved them from pneumonia by taking them to the vet and putting them in an oxygen tank and doping them up with bronchodilators, steroids and antibiotics. It isn't anything to play with or take lightly.. A friend of mine spend over $1200 at the emergency vet to save one of her rats. Pnut had some vestibular issues as well as pneumonia, but she just couldn't get through it regardless of anything that was tried.

This is something that needs to be treated like a pneumonic condition. Get her through the weekend giving her alot of calories(Nutri-Cal gel is good for this, as are protein rich foods), and then get her to the vet.

But anyway! Off my soapbox. :)

And yes, some rats prefer to live alone. I have 2 sets of boys who prefer to be alone, one is by himself but likes interacting with me and the other had a brother(they are both 2-3 years old), but his brother passed away. He doesn't like human interaction so he just gets treats and lots of hammocks. I had one hairless boy, Sneezy, who hated other rats and would get very stressed being with them. He bulked up considerably and looked wonderful being alone. I took him out multiple times during the day and he ran errands with me.

After Speedy recovers, if she indeed does, I would consider getting her a younger friend or two(quarantined of course for a good month or two months). She'd probably enjoy the company.

becky i totally understand that some people are willing and able to spend $1200 on a pet... unfortunately though, not everyone has the ability or desire to do so. it's a personal decision.

if she's breathing better, i would say she is getting better... as stress can cause laboured breathing. if she doesn't get better... then a course of antibiotics would definitely be in order (if that's the route lisa chooses to go)

either way... i hope speedy is back up and speedy again soon :hug:

ok just snuck in from the party to check on her and she actually is not better...I can hear her breathing!!! I'm freaking here people...I have some cipro here that was for the little dogs can I give her like 1cc of it or not??

Speedy has taken a turn for the worse...bad....her breathing is very labored and I can hear her standing 3 feet away. I have gone I got her some tetricycline but I have a bad feeling she will not make it through the night:(
I am going to run the shower to steam her again..I am also treating Snow...Please keep Speedy in your thoughts and prayers....i sure do not want to lose her:(

:( I wish I knew some way to help. I hope she pulls through for you! :hug:

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Originally Posted by JLC

:( I wish I knew some way to help. I hope she pulls through for you! :hug:

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Thank you Judy!

sending healing reiki vibes their way... :hug: keep us posted lisa!

my dog died a few weeks ago, by a large tumor in her stomach. she started out looking very sad and not wanting to eat. she would perk up every few days, then go back to acting strangely. we finally got her to the vet, where we found a tumor the size of large potatoe chip bag. she died a month or so later. her breathing got very labored as this went on. the night we were going to get her put to sleep she died. i hope that you do not have to go through any of this, and that Speedy gets better. but as a precaution to all, if your dog and/or pet is acting sick, take them to the vet, before it gets to be too late. i hope that Speedy makes it. you and Speedy will be in my prayers!

I have another thread to let you all know but thought I would put it here also...My precious, sweet, Speedy has died....

oh lisa i am so sorry to hear this :hug:

wow that all happened so fast... i'm sending healing hugs to you :hug:

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Originally Posted by recycling goddess

oh lisa i am so sorry to hear this :hug:

wow that all happened so fast... i'm sending healing hugs to you :hug:

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Thank you...I can't believe how fast she turned for the worse:(

are you going to take your other rattie, snow to the vet and grab some meds in case she gets sick as well?

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Originally Posted by recycling goddess

are you going to take your other rattie, snow to the vet and grab some meds in case she gets sick as well?

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Have the meds to treat Snow...she has slight discharge from eyes and nose but no sounds of congestion. she gets treated twice a day and I am keeping her out of her cage as much as possible for the "fresh air"

oh i hope she'll be fine. sounds like you are nipping it in the butt.

:hug: