Is my rat sick? if so what should i do?

Question

i think my rat is not doing well i don't know what to do.

he looks like his nose is bleeding and he is going slow and he looks like he has trouble with breathing

Answer 1

GO TO THE VET!!!!

Answer 2

If he's old, it could be cancer. However, when a rat's nose bleed, it might be because of (something I don't know what's called in english) what you have in the cage. The wood chips (I think) Some rats have a reaction to it and starts bleeding through the nose. Try to change it (the people at the pet store usually knows which one to use) and if it doesn't help, take him to the vet.

If you can't get to the petstore right away, shredded paper is a temporary solution.

Answer 3

Respiratory infection is bacterial and has little to do with bedding. You need to get antibiotics for your rat quickly. The bacteria leave blisters and scars on the inside of the lungs if left untreated. Your rat will be in pain for life if you don't do something.

Answer 4

what you see around its nose is actually not blood. it is porphyrin. a rats mucous(spit/snot) and tears turn red-ish and tend to look like blood when they dry..this is called porphyrin. it sounds to me like you rat has an RI (respiratory infection) this could be caused by many things. how long have you had your rat? what type of bedding is he/she on? it sounds to me like your rat needs to see a vet. the vet will identify if it actually is an RI and give you a course of antibiotics (usually Baytrill) for him/her.

check out this website and post your question in the health section. the people there know a lot about rats and their health, behavior, etc. i'm sure they will do what they can to help you out.     http://ratforum.com/

Answer 5

Probably respitory disease. My first rat had it because the pet shop sold me the bad bedding. Only use aspen shavings not pine or cedar. You need to take him to the vet as soon as possible as the longer you leave it the more damage is done to the lungs etc and the harder it is to medicate the next time it comes up (which unfortunately it does often).