You must always have a vet on hand. When life with rats gets complicated, a veterinarian knows what to do to bring things back to normal. There are many problems that you can solve at home, but you should not try to solve a problem at home if you are not willing to learn how to do it. Making an attempt to clip a rats teeth when you don’t know how will prove disastrous. Whenever you have a gut feeling that something is wrong, contact your vet right away, as you should if you notice anything abnormal with your rats. To keep yourself from bugging your vet all the time, however, I suggest buying a handbook such as the “Rat Health Care booklet” by Debbie Ducommun. This guide is not a regular rat book, but more to diagnose problems and treat them. It can help you determine whether the problem really is a problem, or it’s just regular rat behavior. The following information provides help on the most basic and most common problems.
Respiratory Infections and Mycoplasma
Mycoplasma. This disease is so common, it’s hard to find rats tha
t are free from it. The most common symptoms are sneezing and wheezing, but if the infection is far enough along, it can also cause gasping for breath. Mycoplasma, or, mycoplasmosis, is a respiratory infection that is extremely contagious (from rat to rat, not from rat to human), and it is incurable. It can be spread by direct contact, through the air, and from your touching an infected rat and then touching a healthy rat. The symptoms can be increased by cigarette smoke, ammonia from dirty cages, and vitamin A or E deficiency. Mycoplasma causes a blister effect on the surface of the lungs. It can also cause lung abscesses, emphysema, and infection of the uterus. Rats that have the disease usually act quite normal, besides the sneezing, and will eat well and be otherwise healthy, until the disease is quite advanced. When my rats show signs of the disease, I put them on tetracycline, which is an antibiotic you can get from your vet. The rats usually stop sneezing. Many other people, however, don’t use tetracycline. They use Erythromycin, doxycycline, baytril, and tylosin. I want to try tylosin, because I heard that a rat breeder says that in rats under 10 months old, the disease can be eliminated by repeated treatment. This hasn’t been proven, but if it works for her, it’s worth a try. You can get tylosin by mail order through the Omaha Vaccine Company under the brand name Tylan. The number is 1-800-367-4444. Powder in a 100 gram bottle costs about $25. For more in-depth information on treating and scientific facts, please see the links page under “Health Problems.”
Tumors and Abscesses
Every female rat I have ever had has, at some point, grown a tumor. Usually spaying females decreases the chance in getting them. Male rats are less prone to get them. Tumors can be either benign or malignant. Benign tumors are non-cancerous and can be removed in surgery. The most common tumors found in rats are benign mammary tumors (like my girls) and benignpituitary tumors (in the brain). Keep in mind, though, not all lumps are tumors. Some are abscesses. Abscesses, which are under the skin, are infections that are commonly caused by injuries due to another rat. An abscess usually requires treatment with antibiotics, and you should go to the vet. Also go to the vet if there are abscesses or pus around the jaw.
Runny Eyes or Bloody Nose
Many people (including myself at one time) become alarmed when they notice that their rat has a bloody nose. Sometimes, if a rat also sneezes, this “blood” will become spread around the cage, often concentrated in the area where he or she sleeps. Never fear, however, because, as I’m sure many will be relieved to hear, this is not blood. In fact, it is porphyrin, from tears! Because the nose and the eyes are connected, watery eyes will often cause the nose to secrete this purplish substance, as well as the eyes. Check the cage and make sure there isn’t anything (such as dust) that could be irritating the eyes, especially if only one eye appears to be affected. Other causes could be plugged tear ducts, stress, and infections. If it seems to be chronic and is making your rat uncomfortable, you might want to see a vet. Most rats with this problem, however, don’t really seem affected by it.
Tilting Head
Although I have never had a rat with this problem, I seem to get a lot of questions about it. Typically, a rat with a head tilt will have his or her head cocked to one side and may also exhibit a circling or rolling behavior. Generally, this is a characteristic of an inner ear infection, which affects balance. Ear infections are a common part of mycoplasma (see above). Other causes for a head tilt are pituitary tumors and stroke.
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