A few questions about my new rats?

Question

Hi there,

I have recently bought myself two rats to keep as pets and they are great. They still need more handling but I'm going to stick at it and help make them into a happy pair!

One of my rats keeps squinting its left eye, and has the red mucus around it. I heard that they secrete a red mucus from the nose and eyes so I'm just worried about the slight squint. He doesn't do it all the time.

The other rat has a sticky mucus on hos bum, I got some on me and it really smells! He also seems to be a lot shier than the other.

Also they both sneeze a fair bit, but it does seem to be getting better so I put it down to stress. They also scratch but I have looked for signs of fleas and can't see anything in their fur.

They are also still very scared and need to be hand tamed and I've had them almost a week and they still don't want to crawl on my hand. One of them steps on my hand for food, but won't go any further. They just don't seem to want to come out of their cage. I have tries hand feeding, talking to them, stroking them and they still seem to move away from me. I'm trying to be patient but my efforts seem to be futile.

Any advice on the above questions is great thanks.

Answer 1

I got two rats about three months ago now and they wouldnt come anywhere near me but now they cant wait to get out th cage so carry on enticing them. The sneezing could be down to the bedding you are using especially if you are using sawdust, also rats spend about seventy percent of the time scratching and grooming so I wouldnt worry too much about that, as for the mucus I havent a clue.

Answer 2

my rat died from having a tumour in his eye ... this isnt rare for rats to get at all!!

if your rat is going to die from anything it would be a tumour ...(sorry didnt mean to sound insenstive i just meant people's rats in general xx)

i think you should go and get it checked out because the tumours can be treated

my rats tumour went away several times and then came back for th final time :'(

RIP BUBBY xxxxxx

Good Luck And God Bless x*x

Answer 3

You haven't had them that long...did you get them from pets at home or another pet store?? If you did, go back to the pet store and express your concerns about their health.  They should not be selling sick animals, usually if you tell them all the problems healthwise they will tell you to bring them in for a free check up by the vet.  Note - tell them that you have only had them a week and that they shouldn't be scratching, sneezing, secreting weird things etc. and then they should feel obliged to do something about it for you.

At least you will find out if there is anything wrong with them of if it is just down to stress.

Next....

You have only had your rats for a week, don't expect too much of them.

When i got my first rat he was smaller than my index finger.  He was only too happy to play with me and that, he didn't have any other choice because he couldn't bite me really, and I just took him out his cage and played with him.  

The last two rats I got were very different.  I bought them from a pet store and they were already 10 weeks old.  They were really friendly and played with me in the pet store but they were monsters as soon as I got them home.  They wouldn't come near me, they would bite me alot and for no reason, they wouldn't come out the cage, and they wouldn't let me pick them up.  I had some help from people on Y!A and also figured out a bit myself.  What I did was I got a small box.  Taped it closed except for a door I cut in one of the sides.  Then what I would do was get my rats to go into it.  This way i could move them from place to place without getting bitten - also helped my shy rat as eventually one of my rats clambered up on me, and the other would not follow, so I used the box and he liked going into it because it was dark.  Then I would advise that you play with them on your bed, or in the bath where they cannot really escape.  Then find a throw or light blanket and put it over your head whilst you sit on the bed with the rats...you should look like a T.P.  The rats will start to trust you because you are sitting in the dark with them.  Don't start by making movements towards them, let them come to you.  If all this fails another thing you can try is just pick up a rat and hold him against you for 20mins.   This will force him to become socialised.  Do this once a day every day until he comes to you on his own.  I tried all these things with my rats, I even had to buy bitter stuff for my hands because they bit alot.  But even now like 4 months down the line, they are still not as socialised as my first rat.  They do however come to me now.  The do tricks that I teach them.  And they run all over me when they are running free range.  However, I think it is down to the personality of the rat.  Personally, my rats prefer running around to cuddling with me.  Whereas my previous rat loved nothing more than to burrow into my hair, take a ride on my chest, or sleep behind me on the sofa.  All rats have their own personalities.  All you have to do is work with it, have alot of patience, and an equal amount of yoghurt for treats!! :)

Answer 4

Sneezing - When I had my pair of first rats I used wood shavings and they were fine with it and never sneezed. But my new pair kept sneezing so I started using cat litter instead of wood shavings on the bottom of their cage; this stops the sneezing if it were the wood shavings/dust causing the problem. Also, the cat litter absorbs the urine which makes the cage less smelly.

Shyness - You should leave your rats alone in there cage for the first week so they can settle and get used to there surroundings. Only go near them in order to put food in their cage and change their water - do not attempt to pick them up or stroke them in the first week. After that whenever you handle them keep them close to your body so they dont get scared and feel like they will fall. Before picking them up maybe just stroke them softly and give them a treat, just let them get used to your smell then in a few days start picking them upwhen they are used to you.

I would keep an eye on the rats eye/bum and if it hasnt gone in a week or two maybe see the vet?!

Answer 5

It seems as though these rats had these problems before you bought them. I think they should both see a vet. He will give them a good look over and give you something for both lots of mucus and the scratching, which may have resulted from a skin infection. The slight squint will go after the mucus has been dealt with.

They'll probably be totally different when they are back in good health. I don't think I would want to be handled if I was feeling a bit grouchy.

Answer 6

idk about the health issues, but as for the shyness, just keep at it. they'll come around eventually.

good luck!

Answer 7

a) Mine do this quite a lot, but I've had them for a long time so I know when it's time to maybe see a vet, especially when mucus is coming. Maybe see a vet over this, as it may be a cold, and he'd need some treatment.

b) Hate to ask it, but is it a male rat? If so he could of gotten a bit... excited. If not, it could be sticky urine maybe. I don't think I've come across this in my last 5 years of keeping rats tho. Give him a bath with soem rodent shampoo, and he'll be smelling lovely in no time, and it's also excellent bonding!

c) As it's getting better, it's most likely the stress of moving that inciated it. All rats are born unless carried about my C-section a 'virus' that can make them prone to breathing problems. It could also be your bedding, but if you haven't changed the type, i'd put it down to stress.

d) My trio took a while to come round to me, then again, I have to admit I didn't have all the time in the word to play with them. However they soon came round in a couple of weeks,with the aid of one of them who was already human friendly (put him with them due to an aggressive rat in his old cage). Feed them something really yummy, like some fresh veggies, or egg! They LOVE egg. Just give thme a little bit of their meal, and hold the egg after further out. Once they know the food is safe, and trust me rats are clever, they will probably come a little further for more. It just takes a little time and patience, but sooner than later, their curosity will get the better of them :)

Hope this helps

Answer 8

Sneezing is a problem i have come across with domestic rats.

They do suffer from wood shavings and dust allergies so you have done the right thing by buying Carefresh bedding.

Also do not house them in a tank as this will cause respiratory infections as the moisture condenses. Use a ferplast all wire cage (preferably 2 tier) and take the mesh out of the bottom as it is no good to their feet.

If sneezing persists then go back to the petshop and insist on them being taken to the vet. Rats  carry respiratory infections sometimes from the way they are housed in the petshop (glass fronted cages) or picked up in the litter from dirty bedding.I have seen 6 week old rats come into the petshop with respiratory problems and have been taken straight to the vet and quarantined back at the shop to get rid of infections.

Our vet has told me that this is all too common in domestic rats.

Answer 9

The mucus sounds like a "kennel cough" type infection.  They should see a vet about that.  They probably got it from the store and all the rats there are infected.

As far as training goes, just keep up with it.  If they are sick, it will take a lot longer to train them.

I bought my rats cheap canned mixed veggies to supplement their food.  They love scraps and leftovers, too.

Good luck!