Are my Rats ok?

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Talulla

Active Member
Joined
Sep 27, 2020
Messages
27
Location
Canada
Hi, so I'd like your opinions on these videos... this are my two rats Tamira, the black hooded, and Nifti, the gray hooded. I sometimes catch them breathing like this and I don't know if it could be an URI (they are also a bit sneezy but have always been, even my vet gave them the all clear) or just them relaxing. I'm quite new at keeping rats and am terrefaid of overlooking something that could be going on with them
I'm probably being paranoid, at least I hope so...




PS sorry for the akward angles, but I always struggle to film them with out them jumping up and running away
 
Thanks for responding!
Try holding their sides to your ear to listen to their breathing. Wait til they stop wiggling.
their loungs sound clear to me, no cliking or whissling.

I honestly can't hear anything.
I never hear them breathing loudly (exept for when they're sniffing somethin intensly), what concerned me was them suking in their sides and going a bit foword with their head, as if breathing more heavily than normal...

Thanks again for responding. This is something that has been bugging me for some time and I was never able to find any videos showing something like this.
I know I can be paranoid (with all my animals), but better safe than sorry, right 😅
 
Thanks for responding!

their loungs sound clear to me, no cliking or whissling.


I never hear them breathing loudly (exept for when they're sniffing somethin intensly), what concerned me was them suking in their sides and going a bit foword with their head, as if breathing more heavily than normal...

Thanks again for responding. This is something that has been bugging me for some time and I was never able to find any videos showing something like this.
I know I can be paranoid (with all my animals), but better safe than sorry, right 😅
Side sucking is something to be concerned about. Do 'rat phone'. Let them sit on your shoulder and listen for any clicks and wonky breathing. Now you might hear congestion and it might not be a URI. Are they eating and drinking normally? Are they puffed up in their fur? Are they not grooming themselves or other rats?
 
Side sucking is something to be concerned about. Do 'rat phone'. Let them sit on your shoulder and listen for any clicks and wonky breathing. Now you might hear congestion and it might not be a URI. Are they eating and drinking normally? Are they puffed up in their fur? Are they not grooming themselves or other rats?

Their behaviour has not changed, still eating and drinking normally, no puffed fur and still grooming like always. It is getting colder now, that might have thrown them off... Plus after Nifti (the gray one) sits like shown in the video for a few minutes, she stars bruxin and boggling; that's what's throwing me off.
I tried holding them to my ear and I could only hear their hart beat very clearly on one side and "whushing" on the other... Just like when I brought them to the vet a few weeks ago.
They do seam so fight a bit more over some food, but could be because they are getting older (they'll be one in two weeks) and think they have to stash for potential babies... but this is only a guess.
I sometimes feel that they are doing this strange behaviour because they are lonely, and that they might benefit from a third companion... I have no idea if this has anything to to with that but I do get this feeling a lot lately
 
Well, you could get them a third companion. The weather change has affected my rats too. One of my rats is congested and is going to the vet Nov 2nd b/c I'm worried she might have a URI but she's still eating, drinking, playing, grooming. no piloerection.

You know, when my heart rat turned a year old, I noticed she got a big chonkier and bit more sleepy and just a tiny bit less active. It did concern me but that's because I'm so close to her and worry about her. This is another reason why she needs to go to the vet and get checked, just in case and to establish a good relationship with the rat vet Dr. Chow. I know as she gets older, we will need to have a rat vet. If you feel concerned, take the time now to find a good rat vet and bring them in. You will feel more confident and you'll have someone there as they age to help them.
 
Well, you could get them a third companion. The weather change has affected my rats too. One of my rats is congested and is going to the vet Nov 2nd b/c I'm worried she might have a URI but she's still eating, drinking, playing, grooming. no piloerection.

You know, when my heart rat turned a year old, I noticed she got a big chonkier and bit more sleepy and just a tiny bit less active. It did concern me but that's because I'm so close to her and worry about her. This is another reason why she needs to go to the vet and get checked, just in case and to establish a good relationship with the rat vet Dr. Chow. I know as she gets older, we will need to have a rat vet. If you feel concerned, take the time now to find a good rat vet and bring them in. You will feel more confident and you'll have someone there as they age to help them.
Thanks for the advice.
I do trust my current vet and she already has gotten to know my rats a bit... At this point I think I will wait a few days for the weather to calm down and if nothing changes I'll ring the vet.
As for a third rat, I'm strongly considering it but, given my current situation (I'm a student not living at home), I'm not sure I could afford an other rat.
Anyways, thanks again. And good luck for your vet visit!
 
UPDATE
I took them to see the vet yasterday and thay told me that their lungs are clear. They could not tell me if there was something else wrong but suggestet that the side suking could be caused by pain somewhere else and advised me to wait and see if it gets worse or it becomes more obvius why she (Nifti) is doing that.
However we did fine a small (like smaller then a rice corn) lump under Tamira's arm...
Thanks again for your advice, it did help when I talked to the vet:)
 
UPDATE
I took them to see the vet yasterday and thay told me that their lungs are clear. They could not tell me if there was something else wrong but suggestet that the side suking could be caused by pain somewhere else and advised me to wait and see if it gets worse or it becomes more obvius why she (Nifti) is doing that.
However we did fine a small (like smaller then a rice corn) lump under Tamira's arm...
Thanks again for your advice, it did help when I talked to the vet:)
Glad you ruled out the lungs. I hope everything goes well for you and your rats. Let us know any updates.
 
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