Hello! I have a few questions regarding my rats Ruby & Ivory, but first let me explain the situation.
I rescued Ruby & Ivory from the animal shelter and was told they're about 3 years old. Understanding that they probably wouldn't live much longer, I decided to adopt them to give them a happy "rest of their life." I've had my little ratties for 7 months.
About 2 days ago Ivory started grunting and hasn't stopped since. After some research, I've found it's most likely respiratory related. I'm also concerned because she seems to be getting aggressive with Ruby lately. They were making a lot of commotion last night, squealing and all, so I separated them.
Ruby's fur is red stained and has been for at least a month now. I know that this is called porphyrin and that it’s caused by either stress or an illness. I thought it was stress because I’ve moved recently and have to keep my rats in my bedroom with my cats. I block the cage at night so my cats can’t stick their paws in the cage and disturb them. I've also tried giving Ruby as much attention as I can and clean their cage once a week, but nothing seems to help. Her red tears come and go, but the red staining around her neck and ears hasn't changed.
My questions are this:
1) If Ivory does have a respiratory illness, is it contagious?
2) Could Ivory be acting aggressive because she is not feeling well?
3) If a rat is stressed, how long does it take for the red staining to disappear once they are not stressed anymore?
4) If the staining is not going away, is it fair to assume that Ruby is ill and not stressed?
These are the first rats I’ve owned so I’m not quite sure what to do. I know people will tell me to take them to the vet, but how much will that cost? Please help. Thank you!
I rescued Ruby & Ivory from the animal shelter and was told they're about 3 years old. Understanding that they probably wouldn't live much longer, I decided to adopt them to give them a happy "rest of their life." I've had my little ratties for 7 months.
About 2 days ago Ivory started grunting and hasn't stopped since. After some research, I've found it's most likely respiratory related. I'm also concerned because she seems to be getting aggressive with Ruby lately. They were making a lot of commotion last night, squealing and all, so I separated them.
Ruby's fur is red stained and has been for at least a month now. I know that this is called porphyrin and that it’s caused by either stress or an illness. I thought it was stress because I’ve moved recently and have to keep my rats in my bedroom with my cats. I block the cage at night so my cats can’t stick their paws in the cage and disturb them. I've also tried giving Ruby as much attention as I can and clean their cage once a week, but nothing seems to help. Her red tears come and go, but the red staining around her neck and ears hasn't changed.
My questions are this:
1) If Ivory does have a respiratory illness, is it contagious?
2) Could Ivory be acting aggressive because she is not feeling well?
3) If a rat is stressed, how long does it take for the red staining to disappear once they are not stressed anymore?
4) If the staining is not going away, is it fair to assume that Ruby is ill and not stressed?
These are the first rats I’ve owned so I’m not quite sure what to do. I know people will tell me to take them to the vet, but how much will that cost? Please help. Thank you!