Is there something wrong with my young rat?

Question

I recently bought a young rat from a pet store so that my other rat wouldn't be alone. When we bought the young rat, he was alone in the cage. Ever since we got him he seems to not be interested in playing or anything, all he does is sleep. Even out of his cage, he isn't interested in exploring- all he does is tuck his head under something and try to sleep. Keep in mind, he isn't a baby, but he IS pretty young. If someone could help me out and tell me what's going on with him, I'd really appreciate it.

Answer 1

he probably ill , rats are usually verry active and lively if they act all tired and slow then there might be an internal infection , or it could be the heat , provide plenty of cold water , freeze a bottle of water wrap a towl around it and place it in the cage  it will act as air conditioning also put him in a seperate cage just in case , if no improvement is made take him straight to the vet asap , dont even hesitate just do it , an improvement should be made within 12-24 houres , good luck.

Answer 2

i would go to the vet rats are supposed to be very active especially outside of the cage

Answer 3

Sounds like he's not feeling too good. Do you have a local vet that handles rats? If so, now would be a good time to set up an appointment for the new guy.

Until then, you may want to separate the two rats (do you have an extra cage?).

It may be something that's contagious to your current rat, so it's not something to ''wait and see'' over.

Answer 4

Illness is probably the answer. Hold him to your ear to see if you can hear crackling or labored breathing in his lungs. If you do, he needs a vet for sure. Be sure to keep him quarentined from the other rat for a few weeks. Unfortunately most sicknesses in rats are airborne so yours could already have picked it up.