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I got my rats on Feb 12 (so just over a week ago). At first I was a little concerned because they were sneezing, and the people at Petsmart said that was a thing to watch out for, but they didn't show any other signs of illness, so I relaxed a little and wondered if maybe it was just a reaction to the smells of their new house.
A week later, one of them (Link) is still sneezing a lot, more often when he gets excited. Amadeus sneezes some too but not as much as Link.
I've also noticed that they don't seem to have a regular sleeping schedule; they just nap when they want and play when they want.
I feed them Oxbow Essentials mouse & young rat food every day, but I also add some fruit or vegetables (more often fruit because they don't like the vegetables I have) to their food; and they have Carefresh bedding in their cage, so there has been no exposure to wood shavings or anything like that, which I've read can cause irritation and illness.
Earlier today one of them had diarrhea, and that concerned me as well, because I wasn't aware that he had eaten anything other than the food I gave him (rat food and a few nibbles of plum), and I don't think it would have caused that. Then, for a while today, both of them were acting inexplicably nervous, hiding and lying flat in the bottom of the cage, whereas they usually run up to the side and beg for attention.
Other than that, they have both just been doing normal rat things: running around the cage, wrestling with each other, grooming and napping, chewing on stuff, etc.
Does anyone have any idea what might be going on with them? or am I just overworrying, and this is normal behavior?
A week later, one of them (Link) is still sneezing a lot, more often when he gets excited. Amadeus sneezes some too but not as much as Link.
I've also noticed that they don't seem to have a regular sleeping schedule; they just nap when they want and play when they want.
I feed them Oxbow Essentials mouse & young rat food every day, but I also add some fruit or vegetables (more often fruit because they don't like the vegetables I have) to their food; and they have Carefresh bedding in their cage, so there has been no exposure to wood shavings or anything like that, which I've read can cause irritation and illness.
Earlier today one of them had diarrhea, and that concerned me as well, because I wasn't aware that he had eaten anything other than the food I gave him (rat food and a few nibbles of plum), and I don't think it would have caused that. Then, for a while today, both of them were acting inexplicably nervous, hiding and lying flat in the bottom of the cage, whereas they usually run up to the side and beg for attention.
Other than that, they have both just been doing normal rat things: running around the cage, wrestling with each other, grooming and napping, chewing on stuff, etc.
Does anyone have any idea what might be going on with them? or am I just overworrying, and this is normal behavior?