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Common Problems and Illnesses
Etiology: Also known as respiratory infections in rats. It is one of the most common illnesses and can be quite frustrating to rat owners. It is caused by a type of bacteria that is not stainable with gram stains, due to its lack of a cell wall. Most rats, with the exception those who have never been in contact with rats containing myco (such as lab rats), have bacteria living in their respiratory tract known in the rat fancier community as myco. Myco normally doesn't harm a rat and they can live very healthy lives. It is when a rat's immune system starts to fail that the bacteria start to cause a problem. Because the bacteria is always present, myco is not entirely curable. If you have one myco flare-up you will most likely see it again at some point in your rats life. Many things can cause flare-ups. Age, stress from moving an animal, or a dirty cage are common. Keeping your rat's cages clean and free of ammonia buildup is important for your rats health. Since some rats don't like travel, try to reduce stress as much as possible if you have to take them somewhere. Temperature changes and drafts should also be a consideration. Try to keep your rats in a temperature controlled environment that is neither too cold nor too warm (70-74°) that is not drafty.
Symptoms: Rats with mycoplasmosis can show a variety of symptoms. Some of the most common symptoms include increased sneezing, a wheezy or rattling sound when the rat breaths, porphyrin around the eyes and/or nose, rough or unkempt fur, lethargy, and decreased appetite. While you should be able to hear any breathing noises that are problematic by putting your ear to your rat's chest, investing in a stethoscope is not a bad idea. By using it during weekly health checks you may be alerted to problems before major symptoms start to arise.
What to do: As soon as you start seeing symptoms of myco, its time to go to the vet. You may feel like you are being paranoid, but it is much better to catch myco early. Myco outbreaks can be treated with medication, but speed can be key. If the bacteria is not treated it can cause abscessing in the lungs. Once that occurs, it is almost impossible to completely treat, and respiration will be compromised. More potent medications, such as Ciproflaxine or Baytril are better medications for treatment. While some vets may try to prescribe less potent, cheaper, medications like Sulfatrim or Ammoxidrops, they are less likely to work. Finding a vet experienced in rats is one of the most important things you'll do for your rat's health. Move sick rats into an aquarium or cage without bars where they will be away from other rats. You'll want to cover part of the top of the aquarium with a towel to keep the warmth in, as well as supply a heating pad to one section of the cage. This way the cage stays warm, but not hot, and your rat can choose between the warm and cool sides of the cage. While your sick rat is alone you can monitor how much food and water he/she is consuming and any elimination habits. Tell your vet of any changes that occur that seem troubling to you and follow any and all of the directions prescribed by the vet. Remember, it is best to medicate for the entire length of time prescribed by your vet, regardless of whether or not the rat seems fine.
Rats are incredibly prone to tumors and finding one on your rat can be one of the most gut-wrenching and devastating things an owner can go through. As scary as the statistics are, I have found that 50% of the females that I have adopted from pet stores and shelters have developed tumors while none of the males have developed them. Now, I'm not saying to go out and only adopt males. Females are much more likely to get mammary tumors, but males can develop testicular growths as well. It is rumored that spaying and neutering can help to decrease these risks, but as of yet I believe they are just rumors. The major question in my mind is: Is it worth it to put a rat through a major surgery for something that only might reduce the risk of tumors? I don't believe it is, but it is a personal, and monetary, choice. Tumors in rats can be both malignant and benign like in humans and they can be found at any time once they are large enough to be felt. If you are doing a weekly health check, making sure to feel under your rat's armpits, groin, and even neck can help to catch growths early. Of the tumors I have seen, the most have been in the groin region, but I have also experienced one on the top of the shoulder, one on the front right side of the neck, and one in the armpit. When new, the tumor may feel like only a small bump that isn't quite right. For a while you may not be sure that there is anything at all, but sooner or later it can easily be felt and identified as a growth.
What to do: Once found, the only real choice is whether or not the tumor should be removed. There are several factors that should be taken into consideration. First, how old is the rat? Older rats are usually the ones who get tumors, and these usually start showing up after two years of age (the earliest I have seen was at 1.5 years and it was on the shoulder). Older rats are often the ones who have respiratory infections. Is your rat healthy enough to undergo anesthesia? A second thing to think about when thinking about the age of your rat is how long do you think they will live? If the tumor is slow growing and your rat is close to three years of age, it may not be worth it to your rat to go through with the surgery since older animals don't heal as well as younger ones (and that just isn't a great way to live out your last days). The last thing to consider is money. Do you have enough money to have the tumor removed? Removing tumors can be expensive depending on where you are located and whether or not your vet considers rats as exotics. A tumor removal can cost anywhere between $100 and $300 dollars easily, and since it can't be guaranteed that it won't come back you may be back in a month, six months, or a year. Most vets when they quote a price will add in a quote for Histopathology (what I do for a living in humans). If you opt for this, the tumor will be sent in a fixative, most likely neutral buffered formalin, to a diagnostics lab where a piece will be cut from the tumor and then put through processing. During processing the tissue is dehydrated, the dehydrant (usually alcohol) is removed with a clearing agent, and then the tissue is infiltrated with paraffin wax. The tissue can then be embedded in a block of paraffin, cut into extremely thin slices, put on slides, and stained for a pathologist to look at under a microscope. The pathologist will then call your vet about the diagnosis and you'll find out what it is. Having Histopathology done can be very expensive, often tagging on an extra $100 to your already expensive operation. This is something that isn't completely necessary. Always ask if Histopathology is included in the quoted price. If it is and you feel that you can't afford it, just say you don't want it sent. It will save some money.
Knowledge is power: If you decide to have it removed, make sure the vet you are using is knowledgeable about rats. Ask if they have done surgeries and, if so, how many! You want to know that your rat is getting the best care. Small animals can be hard to anesthetize and should never be injected for anesthesia. Using gas is a much safer way and can be done in a box, which is thought to be less stressful, or with a small mask. Small animals, like rats, can also drop their body temperature and blood sugar levels quickly during surgery. Most vets will have a heated blanket to keep your rat safe and warm. If you feel comfortable with your vet and their practices, go for it. Since rats can't vomit you don't have to worry about fasting your rat before surgery. In fact, I give treats, such as yoggies, to my rats before bringing them to my vet to keep blood sugar levels up. I don't know if it really works, but it makes me feel better.
Post-op care: Have an aquarium ready when your rat gets to come home with plenty of food and water for your rat. Line the bottom with either paper towels or white cloth so you can see any changes in discharge or bleeding that occur. Right after surgery some drainage is to be expected, but it should eventually stop. Placing a warm water bottle on one side of the cage or wrapping a heating pad around part of the outside will help to keep your rat warm while he/she recuperates. If actual sutures are visible, instead of internal sutures or glue, make sure that your rat can't chew on them. My first surgery left me with an extra whole in my pocket when Mara chewed all her stitches out overnight. Internal sutures are preferable to external ones, but if you have external sutures, making a cone out of a dixie cup or having your vet make a padded one out of bandages and x-ray film can insure that your rat leaves them alone. After a couple of weeks your rat will be good as new, hopefully, and can lose the cone and go back to his or her cagemates.
Etiology: As rats get older, some start to show a certain amount of weakness in their limbs, which is caused by a gradual decrease in the amount of myelin sheath around their nerves, known as demyelinization. Myelin is made from certain neuroglial cells that exist in the white matter of the brain, hence the color, and in the peripheral nervous system. It is found around the axon of nerve fibers and functions to increase the speed that impulses are sent. As some rats age, that covering breaks down and the impulses slow down.
Symptoms: At first, the symptoms may seem like crazy rat antics. Normal rats walk on the tips of their feet, mainly their toes. As they get older and start to develop weaknesses in their limbs they will gradually start to talk on more and more of their whole back feet, to the point where it may almost look like they are ice skating when they walk. You may also notice that the rat no longer moves around like they use to, tend to stay in one particular level in their cage, having problems grooming with their hind legs, or may fall when trying to climb.
What to do: Unfortunately, there isn't a whole lot that can be done to help a rat suffering from this problem. As long as the quality of life is good all you need to worry about is making sure your rat is happy and safe. If you are worried about him or her falling from the cage, moving your rat to a one level cage, like an aquarium, may be a wise course of action. Because it may be hard for your rat to groom themselves, you may need to help them. You can take a damp, warm cloth and rub it with the fur to help them clean those hard to reach spots on their fur. For their ears, either a Q-tip with baby oil or helping them get their hind foot into their ear are good ways to do it. I found that Sato really liked feeling like she was cleaning herself, so when she'd try to groom in my lap I'd just help get her toes into her ear so she could clean them out herself. As the weakness increases your rat may not be able to move much anymore. If he or she has problems moving to go to the bathroom, bedsores can develop very easily. You may need to wash your rat off gently with some mild critter or baby shampoo. At that point, however, it may be time to think about quality of life.
Rats can be parasites for a lot of different places, including bedding, toys from another rat fancier, or just from being outside. Lice are fairly easy to spot if you know what you are looking for. Lice are small, reddish-orange cigar shaped bugs that suck blood from the skin of your rat. They lay eggs, called nits, on the base of the hair shaft and leave them there to hatch. Rat lice are species specific, meaning the lice can only survive on a rat. Your rat can't transfer the lice to you or your cat or dog, but it can transfer them to your other rats.
Checking for lice: Before adopting a rat and during weekly health checks, I recommend checking for lice. The way to check for lice depends on what color your rat is. If you are looking at a light colored rat, the nits are difficult to see, but the orange lice are fairly visible. The best place to look in on your rat's rump, for whatever reason that is. Holding your face, blow through their fur so you can see to the base of the hair shaft and start looking for small orange rods, some of which may be moving and others may be stuck in the skin. If you are lucky you may also see something shiny at the base of the hair, but that is easier to identify on darker colored rats. The nits are tear dropped shaped and have a clear to slightly opalescent color that shines slightly. When you blow into the fur of a dark colored rat they are quite obvious, especially when heavily infested. If you are having trouble identifying them, giving your dark rat a quick bath can help bring out the shine of the nits.
Symptoms: If you aren't doing weekly health checks or just got your rat you may not notice nits or the lice right away. Small pinhead sized scabs or increased scratching are signs that point to parasite infestation.
What to do: Luckily, treating for lice isn't as hard as you may think it is. There are several ways to do it, but I find that going to the vet is the safest way. Your veterinarian can prescribe Ivermectin for your rat at the appropriate dosage, either in an injection or as an oral liquid. Ivermectin can also be purchased from fleet farms and some pet stores that also cater to horses in the form of a paste. I don't recommend this way because of the lack of dosage. I have heard that just a small pinhead sized amount is needed for an adult rat, but I have also read about overdose related deaths using this method. Be careful if choosing to treat this way. Either way, a dose of Ivermectin will need to be given once a week for three to four weeks to kill off the entire life cycle. If multiple rats in the same cage are infested, Ivermectin can be given in water for four days and then replaced with clean fresh water for three days (repeated for three to four weeks). Topical shampoos can also be used, but are slightly more difficult. Choose a brand meant for puppies and kittens, instead of adult dogs and cats. The main active ingredient to look for are pyrethrins, which should be in the smallest amount possible for safety. The lowest dosage that I have found is 0.05% in the Zodiac FleaTrol brand. This shampoo has to sit on the rat for 4-5 minutes, meaning you have to hold your angry rat out of water with shampoo on for a timeframe that seems like eternity for you and your rat. According to the directions, it shouldn't be used for another two weeks, which makes me skeptical about it's use in regards to the three week life cycle of the louse. Aside from the actual treatment, the cage and surrounding areas need to be sanitized. Lice can live in wood, so all wood based toys and homes must be thrown unless you want to start treating again later and the floor around the cage has to be vacuumed to get rid of any other lice or nits that are around. The cage should be cleaned thoroughly with bleach to kill off any remaining parasites. Since lice can come from even things like bedding, you may want to freeze your bedding for over 24 hours before using it as a precaution.
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Last Updated: 08/20/05 Melissa J. Cowman © 2005 |
