My 3 month old rat died suddenly . . . why?!?!?

Question

Towards the end of June, I bought a rat from Petco. She wasn't a feeder rat. Today she was out playing happily, and jumping up onto furniture. The only thing that seemed odd before she died was that she had a urine accident while out playing today. However, while she was running up the stairs, I noticed she was positioning herself to poo, so I put her in her cage. When I put her in the cage, she just let herself drop. I picked her back up and her nose and mouth started bleeding. It wasn't the red discharge that some rats get - it was definably blood. Then she just died . . . just like that.

There were no other symptoms - no wheezing, no coughing, no nasal discharge - nothing. I don't use pine bedding, she has a large wire cage that isn't by a draft, she had high quality food, etc. She was eating, drinking, had nice clear eyes. She seemed healthy.

What on earth could have happened to her?

Answer 1

Take her back to Petco. never buy pets from places like that, because the animals are bred for quantity not quality. She probably was born with a genetic issue from rat farms.

Answer 2

I heard PETCO rats are really gerbils in rats clothing. Demand a refund.  

Answer 3

Goodness, I just tried doing a google search and can't seem to find much that matches that. Maybe you could go back to Petco, since most pet stores try to keep resident rodent/fish/bird/etc experts, and ask about your rat's unusual death. Maybe see if you could find out if they know what could have caused it or find out what her living conditions were at the store. It sounds like you did everything right, and this is completely out of left field. I'm sorry about what happened to your rat, especially without any warning.

Answer 4

you should go and ask a vet...

Answer 5

YOU KILLED HER ! o_O

Answer 6

eww a rat that is a disgusting pet

Answer 7

Sounds like a infection to me, they can get nasty and cause internal bleeding rats are incredibly good at hiding illness..... but it sounds allot like some type of poisoning maybe she could have eaten something while out?? probs not like but have a look round any way

sorry for your loss  

Answer 8

Could've been a heart defect.

Hard to say what causes sudden death in rats, but I have personally had a couple in the past that have done the same. No symptoms, acting just fine one minute, and deceased the next.

P.S. All rats from Petco are ''feeder rats'', technically. They're not separated by ''pet'' and ''feeder'' and someone looking for snake food is just as likely to pick a colored rat vs a pure white one. They're all cared for equally.

Answer 9

Check out my rat info page at http://sites.google.com/site/guineapigsf... to make your next one live longer