[xNiax]

I have two male rats, Milo and Asher, they're both alittle over a year old, and they've never had any health issues in the past.
Recently one of them attacked the other, it wasn't serious and I was able to heal them on my own. But I separated them into different cages so that it wouldn't happen again and ever since they've had all sorts of problems; they've been lethargic, they holding their bodies really low to the ground, Asher has been throwing up, and I think Milo has too but I don't know for sure. And now they've got little scabs all over them that I think may have something to do with lice

I know that the best thing to do is to take them in to see the vet, but I can't afford to at the moment so I was wondering if anyone has -any- kind of advice that I could use in the meantime. Especially about the vomiting, that really scares me.

 

[Night]

Whoa, your boys need to see a vet, and soon. If you can't get them proper vet care, then you should surrender them to a rescue or shelter.

 

[twitch]

you'll have to describe the vomitting in more detail. i thought rats couldn't vomit. but they can ooze out spit mixed with half digested anyhting that's stuck in their throat. or they can ooze out puss if they have an infected tooth. they can drool too if they are really sick and don't have the energy to swallow their spit. i'm not really sure how you would go about checking for a blockage or tooth problems though.

how's their breathing? does it look laboured or quick? do theyhave red discharge from their nose or eyes? that would all be signs (added with the lethargy) of a respiratory infection. you can treat a bit with eccinachia (not sure the dose) and stream treatment, maybe a bit of dark chocolate too, until you can get them to the vet but that is only a stop gap, without proper anti-biotics they will never get all better and will eventually die from it. the sooner you can get them in the better as well, you don't want lung scaring to be caused from long term illness.

the "vomiting" is a bit odd and leads me to think illness but the other syptoms could just be loneliness. rats are VERY social and separating them to live on their own after living together for so long is probably really hard on them and they're feeling down. there is a reason why we say rats that have a friend are typically healthier after all. rats can suffer from depression and feel sad and rejected and all other emotions just the same as humans can after all. how bad was the fight? what started it? did someone take a piece of food from someone else? maybe someone called the other a really bad name? rats will fight. no matter how long they have lived together without them every now and then there will be a tussle. the rule of thumb here is no blood-no foul.

i would put them back together. if they are sick it would seem that they both have it anyway and they will be happier together. with a bit more information on the vomiting we may be able to tell you if its something simple or not and recommend better home remedies until you can get them to the vet. have you called one to see how much you need to save up? vet prices can greatly differ depending on the vet too so call around. not all vets have to advertised as exotic to know what they're doing with rats too so don't limit yourself.

 

[xNiax]

you'll have to describe the vomitting in more detail. i thought rats couldn't vomit. but they can ooze out spit mixed with half digested anyhting that's stuck in their throat. or they can ooze out puss if they have an infected tooth. they can drool too if they are really sick and don't have the energy to swallow their spit. i'm not really sure how you would go about checking for a blockage or tooth problems though.

how's their breathing? does it look laboured or quick? do theyhave red discharge from their nose or eyes? that would all be signs (added with the lethargy) of a respiratory infection. you can treat a bit with eccinachia (not sure the dose) and stream treatment, maybe a bit of dark chocolate too, until you can get them to the vet but that is only a stop gap, without proper anti-biotics they will never get all better and will eventually die from it. the sooner you can get them in the better as well, you don't want lung scaring to be caused from long term illness.

the "vomiting" is a bit odd and leads me to think illness but the other syptoms could just be loneliness. rats are VERY social and separating them to live on their own after living together for so long is probably really hard on them and they're feeling down. there is a reason why we say rats that have a friend are typically healthier after all. rats can suffer from depression and feel sad and rejected and all other emotions just the same as humans can after all. how bad was the fight? what started it? did someone take a piece of food from someone else? maybe someone called the other a really bad name? rats will fight. no matter how long they have lived together without them every now and then there will be a tussle. the rule of thumb here is no blood-no foul.

i would put them back together. if they are sick it would seem that they both have it anyway and they will be happier together. with a bit more information on the vomiting we may be able to tell you if its something simple or not and recommend better home remedies until you can get them to the vet. have you called one to see how much you need to save up? vet prices can greatly differ depending on the vet too so call around. not all vets have to advertised as exotic to know what they're doing with rats too so don't limit yourself.

I've thought of loneliness too, I let them play together and everything, and let them be in the same cage together just never unsupervised. The fight wasn't horrifying, but there was blood, mainly from Asher (which I thought might be connected to the vomiting because I think that started the day after). It was scary enough though that I wouldn't want to leave them alone together over night unless I really thought I needed to.

I think the vomiting it really more like oozing with an occasional wretch, usually it's light brownish (which is the color of their food blocks) with bits of undigested food in it. I don't see Asher do it very often, it's seems like once every other day or so and he's usually pretty quick to eat it, so I wouldn't know if he was doing it more often. And they do have some brownish discharge around their noses. Their breathing is pretty quick, and they sneeze occasionally.

 

[twitch]

i think the fight may have been over food and in their hurry to mnake sure the other didn't get it they now both have a bit stuck. if their teeth were bothering them then they wuoldn't be eating hard things like the lab block. the discharge could be due to stress over the blockage or could be illness. the quick breathing could be because they are having a hard time breathing because of the blockage or it could be because they are sick. so you could have 2 things going on at once or it could all be a blockage. again, i'm not sure how exactly to find out if its a blockage and how to get rid of it though. i would imagine the ratty hiemlich would work but i would be worried about adminstering it if this isn't what the problem is. try looking on ratguide.com, they normally have a little bit of info on nearly everything and if they don't have it you can email them and ask them about it.

i would still call around the vets and try to figure out when an appointment can made though just in case. it could be a blockage but it could very easily be something else. i'm not a vet and even if i was i can't actually see what's going on. better to play safe then sorry later and you'll know who to call if ever there was an emergency

 

[xNiax]

i think the fight may have been over food and in their hurry to mnake sure the other didn't get it they now both have a bit stuck. if their teeth were bothering them then they wuoldn't be eating hard things like the lab block. the discharge could be due to stress over the blockage or could be illness. the quick breathing could be because they are having a hard time breathing because of the blockage or it could be because they are sick. so you could have 2 things going on at once or it could all be a blockage. again, i'm not sure how exactly to find out if its a blockage and how to get rid of it though. i would imagine the ratty hiemlich would work but i would be worried about adminstering it if this isn't what the problem is. try looking on ratguide.com, they normally have a little bit of info on nearly everything and if they don't have it you can email them and ask them about it.

i would still call around the vets and try to figure out when an appointment can made though just in case. it could be a blockage but it could very easily be something else. i'm not a vet and even if i was i can't actually see what's going on. better to play safe then sorry later and you'll know who to call if ever there was an emergency

Thank you so, so much. As much as the idea of a blockage scares me it's far better than having no idea what's going on with my boys.

 

[Poppyseed]

I would definately take them to the vet. Have you called to make sure how much it would cost for the vet to see them? With some corners cut and some financial juggling it's actually not that hard to get together a basic vet visit fee. Take them A.S.A.P or they very well may die very soon.

 

[IceLore]

How are your boys now? Have anything changed or have they seen a vet yet?

 

[xNiax]

How are your boys now? Have anything changed or have they seen a vet yet?

They're actually doing better, they haven't seen a vet yet but I'm still planning on taking them as soon as I have the money (the vet will cost alittle over $100 for them both, including antibiotics if they need them, and I have about $80, so soon). They've been a lot more active since I've been giving them tiny amounts of dark chocolate and also making sure the house isn't as warm as it has been, I think the heat was making everything that much worse for them.