Body spasms?

[CherryChan]

Ok well, i know i posted this in my other posts, but i wanted to be clear on this new symptom my girl is having. It looks a lot like hiccups, her entire body will jerk all at once, then again. No sound, just twitching. She has only done it twice that i could see. Also, she is lethargic in her cage, but hyper when i take her out. whats with that? any ideas?

 

[lilspaz68]

Sounds exactly like hiccups...don't worry, its normal.

 

[CherryChan]

and what about the lethargy in her cage, but not while out?

 

[lilspaz68]

and what about the lethargy in her cage, but not while out?

Does she live alone or have a friend?

Btw - think of it like a kid...

Cage - bedroom (boring)
Out - big park to play in

now if she does have a friend and never plays with them then there could be a problem.

What exactly does she do or not do?

 

[CherryChan]

Well, she has her sister, and they do play! But when they arent, its like 50-50% of the time, 50% she will be happy and playing, the other she will be slow, pancaking, hanging her head, doing generally sickly rat stuff. Its not hot in my room, so i dont know why she would pancake, but im starting to think she just likes to hang her head, and the only time i see her do this lethargic stuff is when either i just got home, or when i havent been around them for awhile. Maybe she is always just waking up since im not there....sleepy rat :3

 

[Petunia]

do you notice her needing to stop and rest when she's out to play? or having any trouble breathing, fast breathing etc? how old is she?

 

[CherryChan]

i dont know how fast rats are supposed to breathe. She seems to be breathing faster then her playmate though. It isnt labored though, just quick and i can just barely see her sides moving. She doesnt normally take any breaks, the only thing she does is freeze when she smells something new. She has seemed a bit panicked today though, like jumpy. But i think that was because the cat was near the door.

 

[fenshae]

She sounds like she's pretty normal to me. It's a good thing you're a vigilant ratty momma, though

My lazy-bones boys pancake and head-hang all the time. They sleep in all kinds of ridiculous positions, actually, and treat sleep like an olympic sport.

Bear in mind that rats are active during different times of day than people are, so you could be missing her most active times while you're asleep.