[newratowner24]

So I got two girl rats about a week and a half ago from Petsmart. Big mistake there already from what i’ve now read, but i vowed to give them the best life possible. they are the first rats that i’ve owned, but i’ve done a lot of research on how to care for them.

they have a huge cage, lined with old t shirts and a bit of paper bedding. they have two hides, several ramps, several stories worth of space for the two of them. i feed them both pellets and produce, mainly broccoli and a few berries here and there. i clean their cage twice a week.


i noticed a few days ago that both of them were stretching pretty frequently. after some quick google searches, i was terrified to learn about “owchie” stretches. i decided to monitor them for a few days, because other than the stretching, they seemed fine. normal eating and drinking, playing, running around their cage, climbing up the sides chasing each other. they were fine. clear eyes, no sounds when breathing. they were like that as of this morning.



today, when i got home from work, i immediately noticed one was very sluggish. on and off labored breathing. mostly staying in a corner. she accepted food when i gave it to her. but i am so scared.

the other rat had red staining around her eyes, but still seems very active.


i plan to take them to the vet tomorrow (there are no emergency exotic vets near me.) but is there anything i can do in the meantime to help them? i don’t want to return them to petsmart because i love them and they are so sweet, but i was clearly sold sick rats because i’ve been treating them like royalty.


any ideas? i just feel so lost right now.

 

[CorbinDallasMyMan]

The "ouchie stretch" is actually pretty frightening and when you see it, it's 100% clear that something's very wrong. They will suck in their sides below their ribcage and their bodies look contorted

Rat is constantly stretching; seems to be experiencing...

I took one of my rats Daisy to the vet yesterday after she experienced a choking incident. Fortunately, it didn't last too long but I noticed afterward that she wasn't very active or interested in food (hence the vet visit). I figured that it was just due to her having a sore throat after...

www.ratforum.com

If you're concerned, you could post pics of a vid.

Lethargy is a persistent state. Being a bit sleepy and uninterested isn't necessarily a warning sign of illness. Having your rats checked out by a vet is never a bad thing, though.

 

[newratowner24]

thank you. their stretches don’t look QUITE that bad but are close to that bad, and are still very alarming. they tend to do it after climbing around their cage. it just freaks me out that they stretch that often at both of them do it. i have a video from today. i had just taken the ramps and stuff out of their cage to clean it and they were staring at me from the highest platform. i thought they looked cute so i started filming, and then she did this. this is just a screenshot of the worst part of the stretch, i’m new and can’t figure out how to attach the whole video.

i’ve called three vets but it’s last midnight where i am and of course no one has answered. i’m just hoping i can get them in tomorrow because this is so scary looking.

 

[Lord liam]

How are your rats doing did you ever get the info you needed ? My rat passed away last night she was poisoned before she found me and the poison is slow acting the little signs I thought were due to her age were the poisons early effects. I lost her suddenly and horribly she died in my hands take your little guys to the vet the red staining is a bad sign I would hate for anybody to lose a little friend I don't know if I can adopt another but I need to move on past this. Good luck with your little guys, my older rats would stretch like cats do I never thought anything of it and they lived for years.