New young rat died any thoughts

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Jeanne duffy

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so my daughters new pet Emilia died unexpectantly overnight she was very young and purchased from a pet store yesterday - she seemed alert and healthy but was sneezing - any thoughts for first time rat parents? She’s deviststed so if we did something wrong I really need to know - thx in advance
 
My condolences. It's hard to lose a wee fuzzy at any stage.

What kind of bedding did you have her on? How big was the cage? What were you feeding her? All of these things play a role in the health of rats. It's possible she may have been sick when you got her, too. Do you have a vet lined up for the next rat?

(Also, for future reference, rats are social creatures and should be kept in pairs at very least. They need other rattie company.)
 
I am very sorry
She may have been ill .... rats become ill and die fast so when you notice they are ill, you are already into a medical emergency. Having a good vet experienced and knowledgeable about treating rats is essential.

The baby may have been too young to be away from its mama.

As already mentioned above, rats need to live with at least one other same sex rat. And diet, cage, bedding, water free from chlorine & fluoride, etc are all important Edit: mentioning these things in case you decide to get more
 
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I'm very sorry for your loss. Rats have very sensitive lungs, it could have been a pneumonia or something unknown to us even. Rats need a lot of care, a large cage, companion rats, food formulated for rats, mental and physical stimulation as well. But I can assure you that a rat without these things would not die, he/she would just have a very lonely life.
 
The reason I asked about food, bedding, etc. is because if the answer was something like, "We found her dangling by her back foot from the wire mesh around the Tupperware box," or, "We gave her a lovely piece of raw sweet potato as a treat," then those things have some bearing on what may have happened. (For newer folks who may be reading this: raw sweet potato is a huge no-no. It turns into cyanide in a rat's stomach.) If she ate something that's bad for rats, it could have been the culprit. More info is often helpful in situations like this.

As jorats said, a small cage, seed mix, and lack of company aren't fatal, but they're not exactly good.
 
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