Drooling Rat

[Beautiful_Insanity]

I am wondering if anyone has heard of rats drooling sometimes? I noticed today that Klouse, my youngest boy started drooling while I had him outside with me on the deck. It's happened once before, with Edgar-Allan (one of my older guys) a few months ago- before I had joined the forum. It really scared the heck out of me, as I came home to find him laying on his hide box- flat out, looking like he was half dead. It was late at night, and no vets were available at that time, so I took him out and just layed there with him on my stomach. He didn't have any energy, and I honestly wasn't sure if he would make it through the night to see the vet first thing in the morning.
Finally, I had to get some sleep- so I put him back in his cage with his brother Poe. When I worriedly came to check on him in the morning, he was perfectly fine! Full of life and activity, and dry as could be
Now Klouse doesn't seem to be half as bad as Eddie was- he's got energy and seems in good spirits- it's just the drool. Under his chin was all wet.
I've just never heard of rats drooling before. Wondering if anyone else has dealt with it- and if so, what causes it? How can I help them? What's the best way to avoid it? Is there such thing as a rat 24 hour flu type of sickness?
My critters are my life, and it really bothers me when I don't know what's bothering them

Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks guys! I don't know what I'd do without this forum <3 You guys are the best!!

 

[mamarat]

Usually rats drool when they're choking on something. They make lots of saliva to dislodge whatever is choking them. After they can be very tired from all the effort and just go rest. It's best to leave them alone to work it out by themselves. It's very scary to watch though. I'm glad your little fellow is ok now.

 

[Beautiful_Insanity]

Thank you so much! After reading your reply I found another topic on the subject- and it does sound like that was the problem. It was really frightening, but thankfully everyone's okay. I'm so glad to now know what the problem was, as it was never something I had dealt with before.

 

[Joanne]

I seem to recall one of my rats drooling, not a lot like choking, but just a wet chin. I think it might have been from fear. Has Klouse been out on the deck before? Maybe he was really scared. (It sounds like your first incident a few months ago was choking.)

 

[Beautiful_Insanity]

Klouse has been out on the deck a few times before, and seemed to be okay with it. He was playing with his buddy Krone and myself on the picnic table and the lawn chair. Neither of them seemed to be showing any signs of fear. Klouse has always been a pretty shy boy, but lately he seems to be coming out of it and starting to trust me more. He's my youngest, and I've only had him for a couple of months.
A few minutes before we went outside he was nibbling on a blueberry, so I guess it's possible that a little seed or something got stuck in his throat. But he wasn't showing any signs of chocking before we went outside. When I noticed it, I brought him back inside and put him in his cage. He seemed active, and found his way over to the water bottle and got a drink- from there, he seemed to improve, and before I left the house he wasn't drooling anymore.

 

[jorats]

That's good news... could have been a choking and it's always scary when they do that.