Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok, one of my new little guys is having these symptoms.

Breathing very heavy, caving in around ribs.
Dark Bloodish stuff in nose, not his eyes.
A little tick like a little jerk type movement.
I have also noticed him sitting and swaying but I thought that was normal for vision reasons.
He seems to space out for a bit.
I just found him laying on his back with his brother on top of him. I thought he was dead.

Could he just be really stressed out? He seems to have warmed up to us and will let us hold him with out trying to get away. But maybe this is why he is letting us hold him because he is sick.
Should I change his bedding, I have carefresh mixed with the lavender smelling kind from Kaytee (left over from the hamster we had).
Should I seperate the 2 so the other does not get sick?

Thanks for your help. Its been so long since I had rats that I forgot alot. And I did not have a sick one either so I am not familiar with the illnesses.

Should I take him to the vet? Or do any special things for him?

Thanks!

I woke up this morning and he was dead. The only thing is we was chewed on and his intestines were strong out.
Did the other rat do this on purpose, did he kill him, or what do you think? Is this 7 week old little one already cage aggressive and does not want to share his cage. He is very hyper acting but I thought that was a normal things, he is like always climbing the cage franticly. I thought it was just his personality.
Please let me know what you think happened.
I am saddened because he was my first one and my favorite.

Sorry to hear about this, there could be a few explainations.
The rat could have died from old age or an illness and the other just started chewing on it.
Some animals are very territoral and could have killed the other, if it was sick already it may not have had the strenghth to fight it off, does the other rat have any bite wounds?
Does the dead rat have any deep wounds to the face or neck?
Its hard to say without seeing the rats.
Robin
Harm None.

I doubt the rat was killed. It is normal and instinctual for rats to dispose of a dead cagemate by eating them. They're not being gruesome or murderous, it is a survival trait to keep away predators.

Doesn't sound normal to me, I would get him to the vet. He shouldn't be breathing that hard, and the bloody discharge isn't healthy. I would keep him away from your other rat with a paper substrate and an old small towel for warmth.
Robin
Harm None.

They both are just 7 weeks old. The sick one is the one I found dead. The only bite wound is the side of the body were the other started to "eat" it.
I am going to go talk to the lady were I got them also.
Thanks for the info. I know it is probably hard to tell from just my description.

not sure if you bought both babies at the same time or same place.

However, the injury and being chewed on, often happens when a cage mate dies, the others will start to eat the carcass, both as a food source and to clean things up. It could have died from a respiratory infection which it may already have had when you bought it. The scented bedding certainly didn't help it. I recommend tossing it out and not using it with any rodent. Scents can be irritating to rodents, even if it smells very mild and nice to us. Hence why Cedar and some pine are not recommended. The smell is what causes problems in rodents.

Heavy breathing,excessive discharge from nostrils, sneezing, these are all signs of respiratory problems. As he had died already, probably be a good ideal to get your survivor checked over, to make sure he didn't catch anything.
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PHLdyPayne

Last night I threw away the lavendar smell and just used the carefresh and plain shredded paper.
I am going to take care of the one left and see how he does. After I move then I will look as adopting some others from the rattie rescue were I am moving (Im moving to a different state).

Thanks for giving me advice.

Let me say this... I'm late on this topic but I've heard of this in the past.
Sometimes when a rat dies the other rats with it will start to eat it & the theory behind that is that they feel the need to clean up their environment.
They aren't being horrible or aggressive, they just need to tidy up so they'll do that.
The heavy breathing though.. I'd be very concerned that the rat still living will have caught a disease from the one that died.
It'd be a good idea to have the other one seen by a vet.
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PHRatz