PS i am a first time rat owner.
What happened ??
Warning for description of rat death. I just don’t know what happened.
I have two rats, one of them just died. I just gave both of them their antibiotics which he was excited for, and then suddenly I saw him opening his mouth repeatedly and saw it was full of blood. He started running wildly around the cage and I took him out to see what was wrong and he felt extremely weak. He tried running all over me and jumped onto the ground. I picked him up and he felt like he was choking on his blood. His mouth was full of it and it was coming out of his nose too. He suddenly died in my hands. I don’t know what happened. The same exact thing happened to him about a month or two ago. But he quickly recovered from it, he wasn’t weak or anything, he was just gagging with his mouth full of blood, he ate a popsicle, and seemed perfectly fine after that. (This time i didn’t even have time to get him a popsicle or do anything at all, it all happened in less than 30 seconds). And I didn’t have money to take him to a vet when that first time happened. When it happened, his bottom tooth was split down the middle, so I assumed he broke his tooth on something and that was where the blood came from, as I couldn’t find much information online (and trust me I looked as much as I could.)
So I just don’t know what happened. It was so unexpected and sudden. He hasn’t been acting weak or anything at all. Both of my rats have been perfectly fine, eating, playing, etc. The only problem has been sneezing but it’s not excessive, and they have antibiotics for it. I should mention that the first incident happened Before they started antibiotics so I don’t think that would have caused it. I don’t know.
And i don’t know what to do now that he died. My other rat (the one that’s alive) is older, I don’t know exactly how old, I got them both from a friend that had to rehome them due to them not getting along with their other rats, and all they told me was that one of them was old. The one that died was visibly younger. I don’t know if my rat will be okay being alone. Will be become depressed now that his friend is gone?? I don’t want to get any more rats and go through this again.
I have two rats, one of them just died. I just gave both of them their antibiotics which he was excited for, and then suddenly I saw him opening his mouth repeatedly and saw it was full of blood. He started running wildly around the cage and I took him out to see what was wrong and he felt extremely weak. He tried running all over me and jumped onto the ground. I picked him up and he felt like he was choking on his blood. His mouth was full of it and it was coming out of his nose too. He suddenly died in my hands. I don’t know what happened. The same exact thing happened to him about a month or two ago. But he quickly recovered from it, he wasn’t weak or anything, he was just gagging with his mouth full of blood, he ate a popsicle, and seemed perfectly fine after that. (This time i didn’t even have time to get him a popsicle or do anything at all, it all happened in less than 30 seconds). And I didn’t have money to take him to a vet when that first time happened. When it happened, his bottom tooth was split down the middle, so I assumed he broke his tooth on something and that was where the blood came from, as I couldn’t find much information online (and trust me I looked as much as I could.)
So I just don’t know what happened. It was so unexpected and sudden. He hasn’t been acting weak or anything at all. Both of my rats have been perfectly fine, eating, playing, etc. The only problem has been sneezing but it’s not excessive, and they have antibiotics for it. I should mention that the first incident happened Before they started antibiotics so I don’t think that would have caused it. I don’t know.
And i don’t know what to do now that he died. My other rat (the one that’s alive) is older, I don’t know exactly how old, I got them both from a friend that had to rehome them due to them not getting along with their other rats, and all they told me was that one of them was old. The one that died was visibly younger. I don’t know if my rat will be okay being alone. Will be become depressed now that his friend is gone?? I don’t want to get any more rats and go through this again.
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Hi and welcome to the forum.
Sorry to hear about your rat passing so suddenly.
I'm not much help about why he died, but I thought I'd mention something about his teeth.
Rats can splay their bottom teeth apart at will, because their bottom jaw is actually in 2 separate pieces. If you have a Google about it you might find it interesting.
Might it have just been that happening when you saw his teeth 'split'?
I know it won't bring him back or anything but I thought you might find it helpful to know.
All the best finding answers for your other questions.👍
Sorry to hear about your rat passing so suddenly.
I'm not much help about why he died, but I thought I'd mention something about his teeth.
Rats can splay their bottom teeth apart at will, because their bottom jaw is actually in 2 separate pieces. If you have a Google about it you might find it interesting.
Might it have just been that happening when you saw his teeth 'split'?
I know it won't bring him back or anything but I thought you might find it helpful to know.
All the best finding answers for your other questions.👍
You mentioned antibiotics, were they being treated for upper respiratory infections? I’m wondering if he went into respiratory distress (mouth open and gasping, running around in a panic, it sounds like something I’ve had the misfortune of seeing before). Was he struggling to breathe prior to this? Sadly rats of any age can have respiratory issues that then have the potential to lead to respiratory distress when severe enough... I’m very sorry you had to go through that.
Rats are social & need to have companions. If you aren’t going to keep rats after this, you may want to consider rehoming him or dramatically increasing the time spent with him so he does not become depressed. However, I would recommend you give yourself a few days to come to terms with what happened and avoid making a rash decision. Again, I’m so sorry for your loss.
Rats are social & need to have companions. If you aren’t going to keep rats after this, you may want to consider rehoming him or dramatically increasing the time spent with him so he does not become depressed. However, I would recommend you give yourself a few days to come to terms with what happened and avoid making a rash decision. Again, I’m so sorry for your loss.
1 - 4 of 4 Posts
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