[Summer102]

My rat, Spice, has been extremely lazy for the past couple of days. She wont go out of the cage unless I pick her up and move her there. She is not over weight. I also have checked her ears, eyes, and nose for signs of sickness. I even listened to her breathing and everything was normal. She has always been a very calm and sweet rat. I am concerned mostly, because she is a female rat and she used to always go out of the cage. She is only 9 months old. Is she sick? or is she just an extremely lazy rat?

 

[Gribouilli]

If she is considerably less active that she used to be, she might be sick or depressed. Does she have some rat friends to play with?

 

[Cookie_Rat12]

Based on what ur saying it seems u don't have another (female) rat, and therefore ur rat is bored and depressed. U should really get another rat if u already don't have one and I'm sure ur rat will be as happy as she once was. 🙂

 

[Summer102]

I do have another rat for her, her name is sugar and she is extremely active. Both of them also get along really well. I also have been considering getting 1 or 2 more rats lately though.

 

[JAnimal]

She may have just mellowed out very quickly. Does she look lazy or lethargic?

 

[Summer102]

She may have just mellowed out very quickly. Does she look lazy or lethargic?

no, I have been almost constantly watching her and she seems to be slowly getting a little better such as she will sprint out of the cage and in the tunel and then stay there for five or ten minuetes and then sprint to another box and then she just wont move unless I pick her up. She is kinda like a vampire rat I noticed because its like being out in the open scares her or something. Its strange

 

[JAnimal]

Does she have red or pink eyes. They are known for having really awful eyesight. She could just be scared to be in the open because she can't see what is around her.

 

[mis.kay]

Like JAnimal said, she may not be able to see well. Also, the large space may worry her. Did you recently move them into a larger area? Or change something in the room? Some rats take some time to adjust to new things. For example, when I removed my bed from my room, my last girl was very confused and for a while would just stay in her cage, or stay by me. She didn't explore very much but eventually adjusted. But last night, I transitioned my young boy from my sister's tiny room, into my quite large room. A completely different environment, different setting, same room as my other boys and he pranced around with all the space exploring every nook and cranny he could! Different rats react differently to change. Even if you recently changed around her cage this may have confused her. Though if you notice that it is getting worse not better, even the slightest change, I would take her to the vet because there may be something they can see that you may not be able to.