Is my rat sick?

[Suzi13]

Hello everyone ! :hello3:

I have 2 male rats, they are now 3 months old, and are named Thor and Loki
When I got them, and up until about 2 weeks ago, Thor was always the most active one by far ! He was always running everywhere, was awake way before his brother, and in general, if you can call it like that, was the devil child hehe. Thor is also the skinny side (has always been since I got them), but seems despite this to be a bit more dominant.

But for about 2 weeks now, he is always sleeping ! I heard him sneeze sometimes (or I think it was sneezing...), but not often at all, maybe 5 times total. Once he is awake he seems all good, likes his treats, eats food and drinks water. But he is most of the time sleeping/sleepy. He is probably active no more than 3 hours a day as far as I can tell (but I don't know about night time, the cage is far from the bedroom so I can't tell if they are active or not). Now Loki, who used to be the quiet and calm one, is awake before Thor in the evening and seems more curious in general when someone passes by the cage, etc. Thor just keeps on sleeping.

As I write this post it is now 9pm at my place, Thor is just waking up but Loki has been going around for about 2h already.

So I am not sure if I should be worried about him? It is just so strange because he used to be the energetic one and now not at all. Loki seems to be just fine, and I just thought if Thor was sick he would have passed it on so I would see signs on both rats?
If it might be relevant, I use a vetbed for the cage floor and a non-toxic litter for their litter box. To clean the cage I use unscented baby wipes and a 50/50 water-vinegar solution. When they are outside (on a bed), they are on a fleece cover.

Thanks in advance for your answers ! Never had rats before so I don't really know what to look for sadly...

:thanks:

 

[jorats]

Hi, rats do change in activity levels as they age. The boys are now entering maturity.
Things to look for that might indicate an illness: porphyrin (red staining around the nose and eyes) loss of appetite, dirty coat, scruffy coat. But if the only changes so far is more sleeping, I wouldn't worry yet.
One thing you could do is hold him up to your ear and listen to his lungs. You shouldn't hear much noise at all. If you hear wheezing or loud whooshing, then it might be wise to see a vet.

 

[Suzi13]

Hi !

Thanks for your reply ! I have listened to him breathing, and didn't hear anything special, so hopefully he is good ! I am still worried about him though, today I took both rats out to "their bed" at 8pm, now it is almost 11pm, and still Thor has always just been hiding in the "house" they have (it's a big card box filled with papers) and not been out much, not even to see me when I come in the bedroom to check on them Is it possible that without being sick maybe he is lacking something that would make him extra tired?

 

[jorats]

Some rats go through a fear phase at around 3 months. Maybe he's not tired but instead he's worried so he stays hidden. Try staying with them and playing with them when they are out. It might make him feel more confident.

 

[AboutPetRats]

Excellent advice, here!

I want to add that it's always a good idea to have new rats checked out by an experienced rat vet. Even if you don't think anything's wrong, a thorough physical exam can at the very least give you a baseline reading to compare to later on. Also, even though I've had rats for 24 years, I've still taken my rats in for "wellness visits" every six months. Once, I brought a rat in with a problem and my vet found a completely different problem that was much more serious than the one I'd noticed. In a nutshell, establishing a relationship with a great rat vet is instrumental in keeping your rats healthy and living for as long as possible.

 

[Suzi13]

Hey !

Thank you for your good tips I didn't get my rats checked when I got them because they came from a breeder so I assumed they were good, but now I can see it would have been a good idea anyway :s I'm not sure if I have good vets in my area for rats, I had looked around to get their claws trimmed but never found any doing it except on dogs and cats (we only really have 2 vets, small town), but I will most definitely give them a call and check. As for the behavior Thor is being strange, tried to stay longer with them in the bedroom, and eventually he will sometimes come out (he still seems to wake up way later than my 2nd rat) and is then mostly interested in being petted. He basically now acts like his brother did before, and now Loki is the one who wont be petted and cant stand still 2 seconds. I guess i'll just have to wait and see, at least I am not so worried he might sick ! Thank you guys again for the tips !