I need help with a sick pet rat...

Question

My rat is a female, unknown age but I know shes less that a year old. She stopped eating yesterday and she is no longer active. It just happened suddenly. She hides in her dome and sleeps all day or just lays there. When I pulled her out of her cage I noticed she had small scabs on her shoulders and back of the neck so I checked her for fleas or lice, she doesn't have either. So I think it might be mites. However I live in Roanoke VA and I cant find a vet that takes care of rats. I heard that Ivermectin can help with mites but I dont know where to get it. Shes gone almost two days with no food and if I order it online it might not get here for another three days or so.

I want her to at least drink water but I havent seen her do that either. Does anyone think this might be something other than mites, or know what I can do to help her feel well enough to eat or drink? Or where I might be able to buy Ivermectin.

Answer 1

I agree with the poster above that mites alone are unlikely to make your little girl stop eating and drinking completely.

Check her bedding - is there any blood in it??

Check her urine - is there any blood in it? You can test this by placing her into a carrier with some clean white bedding for 10 minutes or so.

The other thing to make certain of is that she is urinating full stop. If she isn't, she could have a bladder stone preventing her from being able to pass water.

Feel gently around her abdomen. Can you feel any swelling? Girl rats are prone to pyometra (womb infection) so unless your girl has been spayed, this is something to look out for, and something serious that requires immediate vetinerary attention.

Call every vet in your area and find someone who deals with rats as your girl sounds like she is in pain! Is she sucking her sides in as she breathes? This is a sign of pain...

Good luck to you both, I urge you to seek emergency vet treatment.

Answer 2

Ivermectin is also used to deworm horses and can be found in a paste-form at feed stores.  however, it's EXTREMELY unwise to use any if you don't know what you're doing, as it can poison your rat.  Mites wouldn't make her stop eating and drinking, though.  (And Ivermectin is a pretty poor way to get rid of mites, Revolution works much better.)  It's not safe to give either to sick rats, as well.

If I were you, I'd call every single vet you can and ask them.  You're not the only person in Roanoke who has pet rats, so surely there's someone.  Call a town or so over, too, just in case.  If Petsmarts have Banfield's inside them where you live (Banfield is their vet office) they see rodents, as they take care of all the stores' sick rodents.  Revolution is a anti-flea/tick thing for dogs and cats, the cat/kitten kind is safe to use on rats in the right dosage.

ETA-  Red out of the eye is excess poryphin- it can happen when a rat is sick or stressed.  Grinding the teeth is bruxing- they do this when they're happy, but when they're resting/to comfort themselves.  If I were you, I'd get to a vet ASAP.

Answer 3

Yeah,that happened to my rat once too.The only thing it didn't have was the red discharge.Find a vet ASAP.Many mites could kill an animal that small.