i think freckles is sick

[zig zag zoey]

hay i think freck is sick fore anayone that doesnt know freckles he is my rat i got 4 days ago well he was fine yesterday but today he is not himself he acts relly week and his eyes look like he has been crying its hard to explane and usally if i hold him in my hand he will try to git out and cral up my arm to my sholder today he just hanges ther even if his legs are hanging down its like he doesnt cair i dont have a vet fore him yeat i have 1 fore my bunnies but ther not even regesterd or what ever with the clinick i dont know if he will take kair of a rat i want to know what i can do if he is sick he only sneezed 1-3 times no more i dont know how fast rats git sich gps can git dedly sick in 1 day i heard and just sick in a night i hav no clue if rats git sick that fast or not but i think he was fine yesterday

[BirdLuver288]

I would still call your bunny vet, this sounds deadly serious!

What are you feeding him, what sorts of treats, where has he been in the 4 days think of EVERYWHERE it could be poison, it could be somthing else....

I'm not a rat medic expert, so i'm not sure of everything to ask, but also find as many medic rat yahoo groups as you can and post like crazy...This really doesnt sound good at all...

[zig zag zoey]

he eats gerbal food yesterday i gave him human grade wattermellon cantlope and something els i foregot what it was :eek: i ate it and i got sick after eating it:( thats probly it its allmost 10.00 now so all the vets are closed should i wate until tomorrow and see if he is anay better? maby its food poisinon or something? i have no clue becouse i have never had food poisoin freck didnt eat varry moutch tho

[Pepsidoodle]

I am sorry Zoe. I know that when a bird eats something bad you should feed them peanut butter. It helps to draw the toxin out. Not sure about ratties. I am worried. I hope he is okay. I would give him lots of water and maybe try the peanut butter. It won't hurt him I don't think. Try and keep him warm. I sure hope he is okay. Let us know sweetie.

[BirdLuver288]

OH! try feeding chocolate! it opens the airways in rats! and may help him feel a little better, I have no idea about peanut butter, I know it wont hurt them if they are healthy, but I'm not sure if it will help sorry :(

[kyukidojen]

Isn't chocolate poison for rats? I know it is for hamsters and mice....

[zig zag zoey]

i dont know i relly have no clue but he is acting allot better and last night he was throwing his dishes around and everything so i will keep you posted o yea i feel allot better to domt know what it could haf ben?

[RachelLynn]

I hope he will be ok. I wouldn't feed any animal chocolate it isnt good for them and could make them very sick.

[BirdLuver288]

Chocolate is SAFE for rats. I give my rats small ammounts every now and then, not because i'm out to hurt them, but because they LOVE it, and its perfectly ssfe, ask any rat forum you want, they will all tell you the SAME thing..

[S.U.A.C.]

hm....your rat isn't sneezing or coughing blood, right? does he have a bloody nose or weezing breath?

[kyukidojen]

bird lover - sorry if i came across grumpy - i was, but not at you! Please forgive me? I should know better than to post when i'm as cranky as I was. I had no idea it was okay for rats to have chocolate! Something I'll have to keep in mind for when I DO have kids... If they're anything like me, I'll end up with at least one rat over the years... hehe... is it JUST rats, or is it okay for mice and stuff too? Cuz I know my hamster that got loose when I was little ate chocolate (we found her in the process) and she died within a few hours...

[BirdLuver288]

I dont know about hampsters, or mice, I never risked it with my mice because i'm not sure how it would affect tehm, but I am positive that its ok with rats...And I dident think you were being snobby, I just wanted to get my point accross, I just dont think its right to run away from somthing thats not scary :)

[zig zag zoey]

well he isnt sneezing blud or eneything yesterday his nose as relly red like he had a nose bleed but i checked his cage ther was no sign of blud and he isnt weezing i think ther was something rong with the cantlope that him and i ate (not the same peec) becouse we went to a picknick and some body els brought it and cut it and that

[zig zag zoey]

should i try the penut butter or the chalcklit? or both hees sick again this time he is varry sleepy allwise aslep and he has a red spot on his ear i think madu a vain poped or something but i think it might be related its just that i know feeling but i dont o yea and he has the runs i have no clue what could have caused it grandma thinks i am crazy and the person that runs the country surpluse told me thers nothing rong hees tired let him sleep but nethr of them know anaything about rats

[BirdLuver288]

hmm, I would seriously take him to a vet, or atleast check out some of the rat yahoo groups, you dont have to wait long for a responce, and its all done through email so its not another site to remember

[zig zag zoey]

OMG OMG OMG!!!!!!:(:( he sneezed on me today and it was blud!!!!! i cannot call a vet today becouse its a weekend and nowones in and ther are no E-vets grandma sead that she would call but thers no wone in and tomorrow being 9-11-2006 i dont think thay will be in then eather hees going to die i will look up the yahoo groups i hope thers something i can do o yea and i dont think the vet tacks cair of rodent or rodent like animals what do i do then? i have ben a nervice reck since he sneezed on me last night i notest he only could walk in shurt sperts than he stops fore 1 or 2 seckends then goes fore a seckend on and on omg hees going to die i have only had him 2 or 3 weeks tomorrow

[phillydogs]

I'm so sorry to hear that Freckles is so sick. My vet had said that rats can be prone to heart disease and pneumonia, both my ratties died from heart disease.

The best you can do is keep him comfortable until you can get him to a vet. Also keep him away from any other pets you have, in case he is contagious. If he should pass away, just know that it's not your fault, he may have been sick when you got him and it's really hard to tell with small animals.

I hope he's ok. God bless.

[zig zag zoey]

thanks i heard that i kind of animals like dogs cannot pas illness to andther kind like cats so that doesnt bother me should i be?

[zig zag zoey]

o my god freckles has a hell of a will to live!!! i notest afue days ago he was doing better but i didnt want to post and git your hopes up and then hve him die on us but he is he is back to normin!!!!! i am soooo happy!!!! thers no word to explain what i feel right now im just so relived

[zig zag zoey]

its been around a mounth a mounth and a half and he still is healthy. he snezez some times but im not relly worried no blud.

[BigMommaBear]

my daughter & i have had many rats over the yrs & the most illnesses they've had was either a stroke or respiratory disease which is the #1 killer of rats. i'm glad yours is doing fine now.
as far as people food, we feed our rats: cantaloupe(frozen), grapes(they love the red ones), broccoli florets, cauliflower, mango(frozen), cheerios, & their fav snack of all...dried banana chips. :)

[BigMommaBear]

all rats sneeze hon, but if he starts showing blood then its time to take him to the vet.

[zig zag zoey]

a stroke? how can i tell if he has 1 of them?

[mynameislola]

Mammals, like dogs, cats, and humans, can pass diseases to each other. The scientific name for that is Zoonoses. Humans can also get sick from birds. Hermit crabs and turtles can carry Salmonella.

Wash hands after playing with pets. :)