Heart Beating So Hard They Shake

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Yogurt

New Member
Joined
Dec 5, 2019
Messages
3
Location
Philippines
Have you ever had a rat whose heart is beating so hard that their entire body shakes the way a person who has hiccups does?
This is something I’ve seen with my first female rats and then with the boys I have now who were born from one of them.
It used to freak me out but they’ve been living relatively healthy lives thus far, it seems to be something they just do every now and then. I’m not sure if that’s a rat thing or because I got my first two from a pet shop...
(There are no breeders on my island, rats are seen as pests/feeder.)
 
If you've had multiple rats whose hearts are beating so hard, they may be incredibly frightened. Perhaps it's a genetic thing, but nonetheless, if they're hearts are beating that fast, refrain from stressing them out. We don't want to induce a heart attack if their hearts are already doing this.

Since you mentioned rats are seen as only pests and feeders where you are, I'm assuming there is no vet that'd care for them then?

And no worries. We support rescuing over buying here.
 
If you've had multiple rats whose hearts are beating so hard, they may be incredibly frightened. Perhaps it's a genetic thing, but nonetheless, if they're hearts are beating that fast, refrain from stressing them out. We don't want to induce a heart attack if their hearts are already doing this.

Since you mentioned rats are seen as only pests and feeders where you are, I'm assuming there is no vet that'd care for them then?

And no worries. We support rescuing over buying here.

Thank you for your response!
So it's not a common thing. :/
...Strangely they do it even when they're relaxing. For example, I usually just have them roam around my bed while I lie with them. Then, I see one of my boys walk over with their heart beating, I don't know why but I do my best to calm them down.

I've been to two different vets for other issues who don't expressly state that they only treat cats & dogs but even they said that they have no previous experience with treating rats but were willing to check them.
 
I'm dumb lol... It just occurred to me that your rats may just be having hiccups :oops: Hiccups are completely normal, and even if they squeak during the hiccups, they're perfectly fine. That's what I get for typing a response right after waking up.
Here's an example of rats with hiccups.

If it is their hearts beating quickly, nonetheless, don't startle them.

Well, at least you have professionals willing to treat them, even if they don't have experience. Perhaps you and your rats can give them that experience1 :) If anything, you can work with the vets to find the best treatment for your rats if something happens. Hopefully nothing will, though!
 
I'm dumb lol... It just occurred to me that your rats may just be having hiccups :oops: Hiccups are completely normal, and even if they squeak during the hiccups, they're perfectly fine. That's what I get for typing a response right after waking up.
Here's an example of rats with hiccups.

If it is their hearts beating quickly, nonetheless, don't startle them.

Well, at least you have professionals willing to treat them, even if they don't have experience. Perhaps you and your rats can give them that experience1 :) If anything, you can work with the vets to find the best treatment for your rats if something happens. Hopefully nothing will, though!


I totally misinterpreted them, you’re right they appear to just have hiccups. I listened to one of the boys while it was happening and he squeaked a bit and shook a lot like the rat in the video.
Thank you so much for the help! :D
 
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