Today when I went to give some of my rats treats, I noticed that one of my girls was all poofed up. The red flags immediately went up. She's not pregnant or with a litter at the moment. She normally comes up to the front of the tub and greets me with the other girls. She usually comes straight to my hands and licks my fingers. Today she stayed in the far back corner.
I picked her up and she was pretty limp and didn't struggle or anything. Once she's in my arms, she normally would be actively exploring.
Definitely not her usual self.
And aside from her behavior, she seems skinnier and has more loose skin.
I did the scruff pinch test to see if she was dehydrated. She was, so I gave her some Sub Q fluids. She seems to be breathing relatively normal. No wheezing that would indicate URI, however her nose is a little red.
My rats are fed Mazuri and have water at all times. The rest of the girls in her tub are physically normal and acting fine.
I just switched to aspen shavings for the first time this weekend. My usual stuff (pellets), were out of stock. I don't know if there's any correlation to that, but I thought I would include that.
And she's a Russian Blue Variegated. I had one other Russian Blue Variegated in a separate enclosure who mysteriously died last week. That Blue was the first rat death I've ever had that wasn't caused by a snake.
These two are the only two of that color and pattern. All my other rats are mink, American blue, Black hooded, or siamese. These two Blues were bred by the same breeder but from different litters to the same parents.
Again, I don't know if there is a correlation between the two Russian Blues, but thought it was weird this is only happening to both of them. This current girl is showing signs of what the other girl had a week ago before she died.
And again, they are in totally different enclosures with no contact with each other.
I hope someone can help me and give possible suggestions to what is going on.
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