Sitemaps

My rats sick, help please2007-11-24 22:12:59

I've had two dumbo rats since the very begning of the year, Ozzy and Orpy. Both were healthy adult males when we got them. Orpy, the fatter of the two, would beat Ozzy around a bit, and we ended up getting them neutered. Ozzy had to get his front teeth removed after breaking the bone in his upper jaw, so he has to eat cat food. Orpy has had some bad breathing problems for about a month now, but so far the vets haven't taken a serious look at him.

Just now, I picked him up (because he looked like he was in pain) and he puked up a bubbly, orange liquid. This is the first time I've seen him do this and it worries me. It's too late to take him to a vet, but I'm going to first thing in the morning.

Does anyone know what may have caused this though? Could it be that he has been stealing cat food from Ozzy and not enough lab blocks (which might be stale) or does it have anything to do with his eating habits? Please email me if you have a detailed explaination! fruitroll-fan@yahoo.com THANKS

Answers:

I have details for you, but it's not a pretty picture :(

It sounds like Orpy has had an illness from Myco for a very long time now. You say you've had the boys since the beginning of the year so it is very possible that Orpy has had Myco flareups off and on since, or before, you got them. A rat can live a long time with Myco coming and going throughout their lives. Each flare-up, however, scars a little more of the lung tissue, until eventually the rat starts to show a difficulty in breathing just as Orpy is showing you now.