Critter City

"They don't see you as I do, I wish they would try to,

 I'm sure they'd think again if they had a friend like Ben"

~Michael Jackson 

 Ben, the rat.

 All about health

IMPORTANT:    This information is  from a rat owner,  not a vet.  I am sharing with you some of my experiences and offering suggestions and  my advice should not be considered expert advice. In no way should this replace seeking medical treatment or advice from a professional.

MY GOAL:   My goal is to help the rat owner raise happy and healthy rats. By education on proper rat care and learning about everything from illnesses to proper diet and husbandry, your rat can live his life to the fullest.  A normal healthy rat can live to be 3 years old and older, but unfortunately, because of poor breeding and poor care, rats can die very early on. It is important to me that I help educate rat owners so we can provide optimum care for them and raise that life expectancy up higher.

On this page you will find the following information:

RATS!  RATS!  RATS!      

Our rats naturally are programmed to hide their symptoms when they are sick.  Rats are of course always in danger of being attacked by many animals and for that reason, they know it is important to hide their weakness or they will fast become a victim to predators. 
This of course makes our rats very brave, but it can also create a problem for rat owners because we cannot tell when our rats are sick
until they are seriously ill and can no longer hide their symptoms.  At this time it is critical that your rat is taken to a vet that has experience in dealing with rats.
There are many types of medications that can be taken for various illnesses, from antibiotics to pain medication.  Rats have a very high metabolism so therefore they need to be dosed accurately according to their weight.

 Vital Stats on Rats and Mice                                                                                                 

         Next up, if I already covered this, thats ok, because it needs to be embedded in the rat owners head that rats can reproduce very early. I am talking 5 weeks old.  Too many new rat owners make the mistake of thinking that since they are so young and so small they cant possibly be sexually mature, but that is WRONG WRONG WRONG said the lady that had 3 pregnant does all at once.  Not me, no no no, but someone else.  It was super hard to find them good homes too, but luckily she was able to find a Saint....errr....someone that took almost all of the babies off of her hands and placed them all in good homes. 

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Keep in mind that rats are very smart animals.  They can be taught to do alot of things that may surprise you!

Ok, I am pushing it...maybe a rat cant be taught to use a computer, but he is sure making a statement in the photo above with his "mouse"! Unlike many other small animals, rats need and require attention and affection from their human companions as well as other rats.  NEVER keep a rat alone!  You will be amazed at the things your rat is capable of doing, from understanding many many commands, including coming when you call their name, to the ability to be trained to use a litter box. 

Rats can be litter trained!

 Rats are naturally clean animals and will appreciate a spot to use as their "relief station"!  Often they seek out one particular spot in the cage that they will use on their own.  Once you find out the spot, which is obvious during the first cage cleaning, put a shallow square or retangle container there, one that will hold more than one rat so they can spin around in it and dig  like they like to do. Add litter to it, but  be sure you remove all litter from the cage floor or this will confuse them.  I use HEMP or ASPEN but you can also use carefresh, although that is not as fun to dig in as aspen is. 

Never use cat litter. 

You may want to line the bottom of the cage now that the litter is gone. You can use soft fleece for this or simply put down stick on tiles or plastic needlepoint canvas that has the teenie tinyholes in it. I buy fleece simply by picking up some inexpensive baby blankets at the "dollar store" and keep plenty on hand to change them every other day in case they do urinate on them here or there.

Dont get discouraged if your rat doesnt take to his/her new potty.  Sometimes rats prefer to simply do it where they please and there is nothing you can do to change their mind about it but most often it does work.  Sometimes rats will just use the bottom of their cage where all the litter is and not go anywhere else, like on the shelves of their cage, while others will not care and climb out of their hammock, take a fast potty break standing in the middle of the cage, yawn, and climb back into the hammock again!  Hey, at least he was polite enough to leave the hammock instead of wetting to bed!  

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Help! My rat just ate his stool!!

SDA, Sendai and other deadly viruses!

One way to prevent the spread of illness to your rats is to make sure you do proper quarantine of any new rats that you bring into your home. This includes keeping the rat in a seperate airspace for 3 weeks.  During quarantine when you visit your new rats, before going anywhere near your existing rats, its a good idea to wash up, blow your nose to rid the mucus membranes of any inhaled germs, change clothes and if possible, avoid contact with your rat for at least 2 hours, ideally 3 hours.
Sometimes, this is not enough and although we take the proper precautions, there are times when our rats
 catch a virus that no matter how hard we tried to protect them from, an unknown source comes in contact with
 us and viruses are transmitted to our rats. There are very few disease that humans can transmit to rats, and although
our rats do suffer from Strep infections, it is NOT the same organism that causes strep throat in rats. They are different pathogens.
This hopefully will put the cap on the myth that humans can transmit strep to rats if they are infected with strep throat.
That is a MYTH.  They also CANNOT catch the common cold from humans. I do believe that due to the fact that ferrets
can catch a cold virus from humans, it was thought this was the case with rats, but again, another myth buster, it is not possible.
What we can transmit to our rats just from the soles or our shoes is SDA and Sendai viruses.  In August of 2004, I watched in
disbelief as 17 out of 24 of my rats fell ill all within several days of each other.  Two died within 24 hours. Diagnosis?  SDA!

 I just could not believe this happened to us.

There was no known mode of transmission at all. As time went on we came to the conclusion
that somehow, possibly from an outside source, maybe from wild rodents, I may have stepped in something
 that was contaminated with the virus, perhaps urine in the grass, and I carried it in from outside right on my shoes.
SDA itself is not fatal, but the secondary infections that occur after the disease runs it course, which is usually in 7 days,
the residual effects linger.  I have lost a total of 11 rats from secondary infections that have caused them to have lung disease and heart disease.

 The links provide discuss SDA and its causes, preventions and how to deal with the aftermath of this disease.

Here is a very important link that will discuss SDA and Sendai in great length and is a must for all new rat owners:

Rodent fancy: 

WARNING:

Never put medication in a rats water bottle! Doing this is a big mistake and most vets would never suggest it if they were educated enough on rat care. First of all and most importantly is the fact if the water changes to a taste the rat doesnt like, he may stop drinking. A real hazard for a sick rat that needs to be hydrated at all times. Second, alot of medications will lose their potency when exposed to light which can happen if placed in a clear bottle of water and also the chemicals may break down in the water, again, rendering the antibiotics useless. Also, how will you now how much of the meds were really taken when the rat drinks? Its a waste of precious time and I strongly stand firm against this practice.

Giving rats their medication! 

If you have a sick rat, chances are it will have to take medication. It should be in liquid form given orally unless the vet wants to show you how to give injections at home. Rats are simply not good candidates for injections on a daily basis due to lack of proper spots to use. It can be an easy experience if the vet knows how to make an elixir that tastes yummy to the rat! However, unfortunately some vets just are not up to par on this and will hand you a bottle of bitter nasty tasting liquid and a nice GOOD LUCK and your out the door!

GREAT! NOW WHAT?

Never fear! Its simple! Just measure out the dose of medication that is to be dispensed and add it something  yummy like melted sugar free (or regular too! It wont hurt I promise!) ice cream (just a half a spoonful is all you will need and the tiny bit of sugar will NOT hurt your rat) You can also use a bit of strawberry or grape or any flavor on hand of jam or jelly, flavored yogurt is another favorite! . Even a bit of vanilla extract can make it appealing enough to lick from your fingers.  Simply put this on a little dish and they should lick it right up.  Now I know alot of people may go through more than that making sure that they do the healthy thing and use soy milk etc...but really, its "ok" to do it this way. I even had my Vets techs doing this when I had to board my rats for a week and they were on meds for various reasons. Instead of stressing the rat and forcing the meds, they did it "my way"  Beware though that tetracycline (not Doxycycline) should not be given with dairy products but this is not a popular choice of meds used so its not something to worry about really.

If we must fight our rats to take medications, I should also tell you how to do that, although I hope it doesnt come to this! You will have to hold your rat firmly with his head between  your fingers, holding him so that he cannot back away and insert the syringe in the side of his mouth. Squirt slowly or it can really choke him.  Sometimes scruffing a rat and making him helpless is the only way to do it. I prefer this technique be demonstrated by the Vet since its very hard to explain it in text. Rats HATE this more than anything so hopefully we have a vet that knows how to make yummy meds right at the clinic.

Welcome to the Abcess club!!

Rats are very prone to abcesses and let me tell you, beware of these nasty buggers! The require attention right away in order to keep your rat from getting very sick. An abcess is a pocket of infection that develops in a localized area, usually a staph infection from a bite or scratch that the rat may have gotten. even just from playing with each other. The abcess should be drained but never squeezed. Squeezing can cause the bacteria to go internally and you can actually make things worse by causing your rat to become septic, which can be fatal.   Putting a warm compress on it and allowing it to form a head usually is one way to treat them. Sometimes they form a scab and you may need to help lossen the scab so the abcess can rupture. After it opens up, there is often a thick green or white pus with a very very foul odor to it.  You must clean the abcess with rat safe DILUTED antibacterial solutions  for them but your rat usually keeps it clean himself.  I do advise internally antibiotics for rats with abcesses since we are dealing with a very unfriendly bacteria that can enter your rats system. Sometimes rat owners make the mistake of waiting for it to burst on its own thus allowing the abcess to grow bigger and rupture internally.  A vet may have to sedate the rat and lance the abcess to help it to drain properly.  Recently my rat had a small drain inserted into an abcess below his ear to allow it to drain.  The rat feels much much better once the infection comes out, as you can well imagine!  Dont be discouraged if the abcess returns. This is also common not to mention frustrating!!  Again, I prefer the rat owner seek medical attention soon as you notice any kind of lump on your rat. A lump doesnt always mean an abcess. It can be a cyst or tumor or even a swollen gland!

Check out this link for more detailed information on The rat guide,  (which by the way, I consider the "Rat guide" a very valuable resource for all rat owners!)

Abcess info

Bumble foot

Pododermatitis (Bumble foot) in rats appears basically to be a sort of pressure-sore but it is actually an infection.  It used to be believed that  wire-floored cages and shelves caused the rat to develop bumbles, but it has since been proven wrong once rat owners began to cover the wire floors and shelves up. The rat continued to suffer from bumbles. It is known now that bumblefoot comes from a rat basically stepping around in his own mess along with extra pressure on his feet, often from excess weight from being a bit too much on the squishy side. All of these are believed to increase the risk of developing such sores:. Very soft floor-covering is used once the rat has developed this condition to prevent the rat from having to walk on a hard surface. The truth is, not much can be done to get rid of bumblefoot. Many ointments and sprays have proven worthless, although some people still continue to say that certain treatments do work.  My experience with bumblefoot and my boy, Peanut, was a nightmare.  He had three operations to remove the bumble, just to watch in disbelief as the bumble would pop out right in the same place that it was before almost as soon as the stitches came out! He was on various antibiotics including amoxil and baytril but nothing helped. I used the bluekote spray and nothing!!  Finally the vet did a biopsy and sent the tissue off.  We later found that Peanut had an unusual type of bacteria that was causing his bumbles.  He had a yeast infection! This explains why Peanut did not respond to other antibiotics.  He was given medication to be taken orally that was for a yeast infection and it began to clear up right away. It does come back after a while and he has to get back on the medication for another 14 days.  During his flare ups, the bumbles will bleed and cause some discomfort. When this occurs, applying pressure to the bumble for several minutes helps clot, and I put a wrap on his foot.  I discoverd that Doctor Scholls corn pads work wonderful! This helps add padding to his foot and keeps the sore from coming in contact with any soils in his cage. Make sure you do not buy the corn pad REMOVERS. There is NO MEDICATION in the corn pads I am talking about. A photo below will show you the exact product that I use for Peanut. He actually leaves it on for a day or so. He knows it helps. Do not leave the pad on more than 48 hours or the bumble becomes very soft and will make it more tender. I also have his two story cage padded with thick fleece and also a cut up velux blanket.  He is totally litter trained so that makes it easier to keep his cage clean. When he has flare ups I also keep on hand narcotic pain medication that I use to help keep him comfortable. This is obtained from a vet only and dosed according to his weight. There is no need for your rat to have to live in pain so do not hesitate to discuss this with your vet. 

Picture source - A Fun & Care Book Rats by Debbie Ducommun

Refer to this site below for more specifics on this condition:

Bumble foot help 

Cataracts

Corneal Abrasion

CHOKING HELP

Taken from THE RAT FAN CLUB

            Because of the arrangement of the rat’s throat, true choking is rare.  If your rat appears to be choking the most likely cause is a piece of food

or other substance stuck in her throat.  This can cause gagging and drooling.  A rat who is gagging will open her mouth wide and pull her ears back. 

As long as the rat can breathe, don’t do anything accept try to comfort her.  Anything you try to do to stop the gagging may make the situation worse.  The offending food will eventually pass down in most cases.  You might try offering your rat a small piece of bread to see if that will help push the food down, but do not use doughy bread which might make things worse.

            If your rat is having real trouble breathing, and not just labored breathing, you can try doing the Heimlich maneuver, by pressing sharply up and in underneath your rat’s ribcage. 

Or you can do a procedure called “the fling” which uses centrifugal force.  Hold your rat firmly around the neck with one hand, and by the base of the tail with the other to hold her securely.  Make sure there are no objects within an arm’s length.  Lift the rat overhead and bring her down in a rapid arc, so that at the end of the path she’s tail up and head down.  This can be repeated 3-4 times, then give the rat a rest, check her breathing, and see if anything is visible in the mouth.  This is extremely effective in dislodging objects or mucus in the throat. 

If neither of these techniques helps, you can put your mouth over the rat’s mouth and try sucking the obstruction out.  Be sure you do not cover the rat’s nose.  If the rat is still having trouble breathing, try a shot of dexamethasone.

If choking or gagging persists for more than 6 hours, take your rat to the vet.  There may be an object lodged in the throat too big to pass down, or there might be a tumor or some other problem.  Sometimes respiratory disease can cause gagging and choking due to swelling of the airway and/or too much mucus. 

"Ace" owned by Ashely of CA.

Heres a little story, something to think about actually.

We all know that rats do not live as long as we would love for them to!  2 to 3 years, give or take a few months. I have had some live to be 3 years and 3 months old and they were comfortable and happy till the last few days of his or her life.

Its not how long they live, its how they live.

My rat, Sugar, who is 2 years old, had several tumors on her. Growing at a rapid rate I knew they needed off and soon. With the odds stacked against her, considering her age, her health which at the time a bit sketchy since she has chronic lung problems, and her rapidly expanding waistline (ok so shes a bit hefty....but shes still a cutie!!) the odds were against her.Happily I can report that with the skill and experience of the vet, she pulled through with flying colors. 

The bill was not cheap. From the procedure itself to the medications used, we are talking several hundred dollars. However, she no longer has to tote along a mammary tumor the size of a golf ball and we no longer need to worry that it may be spreading throughout her tiny body. Ok I admit she isnt tiny....700 grams....so now you know! No woman wants to share their weight anyhow!  HA! HA!   What this all did was hopefully added several more comfortable months to her life and that was our goal. Now, this sounds strange to non rattie owners that think...wow! Just a few months? 3, 4 5 maybe 6?  Thats INSANE!  But you see, I am aware of the fact that Sugar is already in the last year of her life at 2 years old.  Every month counts and to me, knowing that she has even 3 to 6 more months of a good quality life, that makes it worth every penny spent.  Its not about the money. It shouldnt be.  Its about their good health and happiness. That is what it is all about.  Again I stress that if you truly cannot afford to take care of your rat, actually any pet, save the animal the agony from future suffering and do not get the animal.  These are harsh words, I realize that, but this is truly how I feel and I do think its fair of me to say that many other pet owners would stand firm behind me on this.

"Ace" Owned by Ashley of CA.

Being a rat owner is a little tougher than just owning a common pet such as a dog or a cat. I lost count of how many rude comments I have heard about owning rats as pets. I have gotten alot of "Ew! Why a nasty rat of all things??!"  to hearing how they can kill me with all the nasty diseases they carry. Uh, last time I looked, humans carried more germs on their body than any other animal in the world.  Human children are even more dirty than rats are! Look where kids put their hands...up their nose, dirt and sand from outside, you name it...and more often than not, a child will grab a cookie from a plate before washing his or her hands.  Now tell me that my rat is more dirty than your child after reading this paragraph! No, I am not "anti child" either!  I have two of my own children thank you very much.  I am simply stating fact and yes, being a bit defensive of my furry friends while I'm at it!  You would feel the same way too if you sat at the vets office while two women kept their feet off the ground up on their chairs, putting themselves in a fetal position after they found out that the animal that was in the cat carrier was not a cat, but a rat.  A few "EEEKS!" from them and it was drama queen time for both of them.  They could have earned themselves an Academy award for their performance! Actually, the receptionist felt the same way as I did about our two very rat paranoid patrons and she and I exchanged a few "rolling eyes" and a quick wink and a smile.  The fun began when the receptionist called my name and asked why I was here today with my rat.  Catching her stare, I gave her a wink as if to tell her to play along with me.  Without batting an eyelash I simply stated that Mister Jingles and I were back for a check up since he has finally recovered from the bubonic plaque.  The receptionist tried to retain her laughter as the two drama divas gasped in horror. So you see, its also normal for rat owners to be a bit defensive too. Not only are rats totally misunderstood, but they have a very bad reputation that is unwarranted. Much of it is based simply on myth. Rats do not carry rabies. In fact, if a rat were attacked and bitten by a rabid animal, chances are that the rat, who weighs anywhere between 200 to 800 grams as an adult, would more than likely die during the attack and if he did not die at that moment, I am sure he would have sustained injuries that he would eventually die from, thus in turn preventing him from spreading the disease around himself.  Rats are not known to be carriers of rabies and in fact, there has never been a documented case in this country of a rat transmitting rabies to a human being.

The plague!  Many people think that rats and the plaque go hand in hand. Another myth!  Do you know that the plaque really came from a simple flea and that simple flea came from a dog! The flea got on the rat, the rat got on the ship...and the rest is history!  Its also another way to make rats look bad. Rats do not get to be the size of an adult cat like some people say. I have heard folks say they go to a big city and see rats come out of the grate of a sewer and they are the size of a big cat. First of all, a big cat can weigh up to 15 pounds. How did an animal that size squeeze through a sewer grate?  If someone truly saw an animal that size, you can pretty much bet that it was not a normal rat. 

An exterminator was "ATTACKED" by a killer rat!   

(learn a little about rats vision and teeth while your at it!)

I do have to laugh at the way some folks continue to believe that rats have these huge massive fangs that can penetrate through your bones. Exterminators have a story that has been going on forever saying that once, a worker was in the basement of a home that was heavily infested with rats.  One rat in particular had this exterminator "marked" as the man claims, saying this rat stalked him, hiding behind various boxes etc..until he was able to have the man in the correct position that he needed him to be.  This rat was of course sizing his human prey, calculating the distance from floor to the mans throat, since of course the rat was going to sink his 6 inch fangs into this mans jugular vein.  Of course, jumping is no problem for a rat, according to our victim, since he claims he has seen rats jump from a three story building and they were able to get up and run away as if nothing ever happened.  The poor soul claims the rat, which was the size of a large house cat, jumped at least 5 and a half feet for his throat, biting into his neck, but the loud screams coming from his victim scared him off.  THANK GOODNESS!  

All of the information gathered from the poor helpless soul has rat owners totally confused now. This killer rat must have been one helluva predator changing just about all of the rats vital statistics!!  A rat that can jump nearly 6 feet? A rat that was going directly for this mans jugular vein?  Its time that non rat people learn the truth.  Yes rats are good jumpers and climbers. They can jump about 3 feet and climb a brick building with ease. But to jump from floor to ground, even just 5 feet?  Impossible. He said the rat had massive huge white fangs.  Uh...as most rat owners know, rats dont have white teeth, they have oranish yellow teeth! They also do not have "fangs"!  Rats do not have canines *which some refer  as "fangs"!  In fact, rats have just 16 teeth, with four of them being the incisors (those funky yellow buck teeth!) and the other 12 being molars.  Also, rats are very shy. I cant imagine a scared shy rat not running for the nearest exit and instead, going after this man. I dont care how mad this critter was, (what was the reason the rat was mad anyhow?) I just cant see the rat taking aim for this man.

Why?

I will tell you why....because rats are basically blind!  They cant see more than a few inches away plus its blurry too. They have poor vision, period. Often, you will notice a rat swaying back and forth. This is known as "head swaying"  and you will see it more in rats with red eyes than you will in rats with dark eyes.  Head swaying is a way for the rat to try to focus his very blurred vision. Rats have lousy perception of depth and thus in turn, rats use what is known as motion parallax, which is when they sway their head in order to bring objects closer before making a jump or to focus on something in the distance.

Basically, what I am saying is, its real hard for me to believe that a rat would be able to target anything, especially something from a distance of over 6 feet. Again, another activity that would be difficult if not impossible to perform! (I am leaning more toward impossible!!)  Finally, lets address the description of the rat. The size of a large cat?  um....uh huh!!  No matter what, there is no way that a rat is the size of a large cat. None!  Nadda!  No way!  Impossible!  Get my drift?   In fact, put it all together: Fangs, able to jump 6 feet from the ground...snarling and hissing, aggressive?  What he is describing is a CAT (or at least my cats!  LOL!)

Rats and their poor vision!

With all the talk about how rats have such poor vision, I have here a few links to offer so you can read up on it.  I myself was really shocked to learn just how bad their vision really is. No wonder they are jumpy when the see something move suddenly from a distance!  They are not able to see what it is and that scares them!

Two examples of what a rat sees through his eyes: The first picture is what it would be like looking through the eyes of a red or pink eyed white rat and the second is a rat with pigmentation or darker eyes.  Either way I think it would be real hard to aim and target anything specific like a 6 foot tall man's throat!  Anyone that would even remotely believe that story needs to go back to elementary school!!

Anyhow, the links below are real helpful, especially the links that shows you what the rat sees from his eyes! Pretty cool stuff!

Journey into a rats world    

Rat cam           

Eye-boggle (eyeboggle, boggle): Eyeball vibrates rapidly in and out of the socket. Occurs during high-intensity bruxing (soft, repetitive grinding of the incisors). The rat's masseter muscle, which passes through the eye socket behind the eyeball, moves the jaw rapidly up and down during bruxing. When bruxing is intense, the contractions of the masseter vibrate the eye in and out of the socket in time with the incisor grinding. Usually considered to indicate pleasure and contentment.

• Still photos of Niles during an eye boggling sequence
• Video of Niles eye boggling (3 second video, 850 MB, Quicktime). Video courtesy of R. Arthur of the Dapper Rat, Niles the rat belongs to L. Dux.