My pet rat is very ill?

Question

i have a pet rat its looks very ill, but idk whats wrong with it, heres what wrong with it, its skinny, very slow, it's eyes are squinted, its sleeps more, its just very slow doesn't move much and it barley eats.

do you know whats wrong with it?

please help

Answer 1

see a vet

Answer 2

either a tumor, getting old, or not playing with it alot

dont worry if its a tumor, you can get it surgiclly removed! rats are known to heel quickly. if its getting old just give it a happy life till the end!if you dont play with it enough them get it more toys and take it out of its cage alot

Answer 3

You need to take your rat to the vet right now, today, immediately.  As in you should be calling the vet and heading over there as we speak.  This is not something that can wait.

Your rat sounds extremely ill, being cold is a sign that the rat's body is beginning to shut down.  The only responsible thing to do is to take the rat to the vet immediately.  Even if the vet cannot help you rat the vet can at least end the rat's suffering.  Leaving your rat to slowly die is not an acceptable option.

I'm sorry if I sound harsh, but I really want to let you know how serious this is.  Please take your little one to the vet now and do what is right.

Answer 4

I have raised and bred pet rats for roughly 7 years now. It does sound like a tumor although Im not sure what kind. It could be a mammory tumor. You need to get you rattie into the vet. Sometimes if these tumors arent fused with organs they can remove them. If you dont in the next day or 2 your rattie will die. There is no reason not to take your rat to the vet. It sounds like she may be in pain to. The vet should be able to even give her something to make her comfortable if he cant do anything for her. Give her pain meds or the like. Most mammory tumors are benign and if not fused with organs dont cause alot of problems. Your rat could be suffering from something else along with the tumor. She is probably dehydrated also. Try putting the broth from chicken noodle soup in her water bottle and see if she will drink that. Rats that are severely dehydrated will be slow moving, usually wont drink or eat and sleep alot. And they get very skinny and the spine will be more pronounced because they wont eat or drink. The proper thing to do is take her to the vet. If the vet cant do anything for her than she should be humanely euthanized so she isnt in anymore pain. Im not trying to sound mean but if you are not willing to take her to the vet because you dont have the money than you shouldnt get anymore rats until you can. They are wonderful animals but sometimes need medical assistance. I have 17 rats and they have cost me over $400 in medical bills just this year. That doesnt count food and bedding and the $230 cage that I just went out and got for them. A person that loves there rat and wants the best for him or her would want to take them to the vet. Im not saying you if you do take her. Im just saying all the ppl who come on here and there animal is sick and hope a home remedy will help because they dont have the money to take them to the vet to get them medicine. Just get her to the vet. It is pricey to have a tumor removed and if you cant afford that and it is affecting her quality of life than she should be humanly euthanized. Just make sure if they do euthanize her tell them you want her given something to put her to sleep first. To euthanize a rat because they are so small they have to stick the needle directly into the heart and inject the stuff. So make sure they put them to sleep before they inject it. You want it to be as humane and painless as possible for her. Im not trying to sound so final but just letting you know all of your options. Take her to the vet and keep your head up. You may be suprised. It may not be as bad as you think. My vet has brought some of my rats back when I thought they would die. She may even perk up if you can get her to drink the soup broth. I know alot of foods arnt good for rats with the fat content and all. But you can try giving her a SMALL amount of chocolate or lasagna or anything that a rat would love to eat. Just to get her to eat. If you can get her to eat and drink she might not be so lathargic. Hope I helped and sorry if I sounded mean. Good luck with your girl. Hope she feels better.

Hey xlivexlu you can put wet sopping towels over one side of your rats cage and put a fan in front of them to keep them cool. Or pea fishing. My girls love to do it and the frozen peas in the water also keep them cool.

Answer 5

it could have cancer i would see a vet immediatly

Answer 6

GO TO THE VET NOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWW!!!!! if you really care for your rat. it sounds like he has a tumour which can be fatal if you dont get it checked out!

Answer 7

im sorry to say this, but if your rat is cold..its on its way out. Im guessing its a female, they tend to get absesses and tumors easier than males, i would know, ive had over 15 rats. If it seems to be really suffering, id just go with euthanization.

Answer 8

You answered your own question. It sounds like a tumor. Your rat probably won' live for long. My mouse has the same thing going on. I'm sorry about your rat, give it lots of affection till the very end!

Actually, have it removed if it's still young. Sorry about the the dark answer but I assumed it wasn't very young. But, in any case that is the reality of it. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Answer 9

From the sounds of it, your rat is very very ill. If he feels cold his metabolism is shutting down and the other symptoms substantiate this. You need to get your rat to a vet IMMEDIATELY. You do not have a day or two to wait.  (You should have taken him before this - these symptoms do not appear overnight and it is your responsibility to provide veterinary care for him!) The tumor may or may not be cancerous, but even a benign tumor if ignored can take up an excessive amount of the blood supply and the rat will decline and eventually die.

Answer 10

sounds to me that the lump could possibly be a tumour!  Rats get them all the time, especially when they are older!  Do you know the age of your rat?  Their weight increases as well, the best thing to do is to get your rat to your vet for a check?

Hope its okay!!

Answer 11

Sounds like a tumour. Take it to the vet if you want it to have a chance to live.

I had one of my mice die just last month of a tumour. I didn't really care, cause it was a mouse I didn't purchase anyway(someone got sick of them and gave them to me).

But if my pet rat had the same thing going on, I would definitely take him to a vet to find out if I could do anything to help it.

My pet rat is sort of lethargic lately because of it being so hot in my apartment, he lays around a lot. I know it's because of the heat though, because he was the same way last summer.

Answer 12

You should call the vet and the lump on its side may be a fatty tumor i dont know about on rodents but on dogs it doesnt usually become a problem it could just be getting old. Not eating for a rodent is very very bad if its not drinking if you have a syringe give it some water with a syringe Have a look at this website, afrma.org.