Hi!
I bought a new rat named Ozai a few weeks ago from petsmart. He is a few months old. I have been doing a lot of research on rats (thanks to this forum and others) and took Ozai to the vet a week after getting him. The past 2 or 3 weeks I have been treating him with baytril and doxy...he also has/perhaps had the pneumonia (the vet told me last week but I suspected over thanksgiving break). He's actually improving, finally!! I'm nebulizing him twice a day with an antibiotic. Since I bought him I have been wrestling with the idea of getting him a friend. I take him out as much as I can but I am in grad school and work all day. I know that they are social creatures and need companionship!!! Other than my boyfriend and I, of course. The problem is that I do not want to get another rat if he could be sick (clearly I bought Ozai sick), or if he could get infected from Ozai. I have already spent hundreds of dollars on vet bills and meds, etc. I cannot even afford that--but I will of course. He deserves that. However it eats me up that he does not have a friend. Any advice? Would Ozai get a companion rat sick? If not--or if it's unlikely, how can I buy a rat that isn't sick in the future? He didn't have symptoms when I was at the store (and most people have wondered how I even knew he was sick--started off with the sneezing), so I feel I could easily make that mistake again. I want my rat to be as happy as possible, but I can't afford any more vet bills. As a side note, not even sure how and what the best way is to integrate another rat into his life. Ideas? Thoughts? Any advice on this would be helpful. I just want to do everything I can for what is best for Ozai. Ps--supposedly he is a few months old, according to petsmart.
I bought a new rat named Ozai a few weeks ago from petsmart. He is a few months old. I have been doing a lot of research on rats (thanks to this forum and others) and took Ozai to the vet a week after getting him. The past 2 or 3 weeks I have been treating him with baytril and doxy...he also has/perhaps had the pneumonia (the vet told me last week but I suspected over thanksgiving break). He's actually improving, finally!! I'm nebulizing him twice a day with an antibiotic. Since I bought him I have been wrestling with the idea of getting him a friend. I take him out as much as I can but I am in grad school and work all day. I know that they are social creatures and need companionship!!! Other than my boyfriend and I, of course. The problem is that I do not want to get another rat if he could be sick (clearly I bought Ozai sick), or if he could get infected from Ozai. I have already spent hundreds of dollars on vet bills and meds, etc. I cannot even afford that--but I will of course. He deserves that. However it eats me up that he does not have a friend. Any advice? Would Ozai get a companion rat sick? If not--or if it's unlikely, how can I buy a rat that isn't sick in the future? He didn't have symptoms when I was at the store (and most people have wondered how I even knew he was sick--started off with the sneezing), so I feel I could easily make that mistake again. I want my rat to be as happy as possible, but I can't afford any more vet bills. As a side note, not even sure how and what the best way is to integrate another rat into his life. Ideas? Thoughts? Any advice on this would be helpful. I just want to do everything I can for what is best for Ozai. Ps--supposedly he is a few months old, according to petsmart.
