My rats died...

Question
Last night two of my rats that were about 1 1/2 years old died within 20 minutes of each other. Me and a friend were lying in bed about to go to sleep when I noticed Murphy acting strangely, he was jumping up and down in one spot and jumping around the cage alot. I thought he was just playing around, but later in the night we looked over into his hammoch and his head was dangling from the end, it took me a minute to realise that he was dead.

A bit later I noticed Paco started acting in the exact same way, jumping up and down, he wouldnt stop moving. I freaked out, but I was hoping he was just freaking out because of what happened to murphy, then I saw him fall onto the ground like he was almost fainting and his feet kept slipping through the bars.

We put him in a smaller cage and watched, he just got weaker and weaker and we didn't know what to do, he was dragging himself around, every few seconds he would have a kind of spasm. I noticed the "blood" around theyre noses.

When I first got them they both had sneezing problems, it would go away for a time then come back for a day, then go away again. I feel terrible for never taking them to a Vet after it came back a few times. The cage had been cleaned a few days before.

What I can't understand is why they died on the exact same night, within 20 minutes of each other. Any insight would be helpfull.

Answer
I'm sorry for you loss. This must have been very difficult for you.

Rats aren't my area of expertise though I have kept them in the past.

Please do not beat yourself up about this. You are obviously a very caring person and this is unlikely to be your fault. It could simply be a co-incidence as they were probably from the same litter. I don't know why they died and the only sure way is to ask you vet for a necropsy. However, it can be expensive and you should ask yourself whether this would make you feel better or worse depending on what they find. Either way it doesn't change the fact that you lost you rats.

I don't think the vet could do much for sneezing problems as I believe they are quite common in rats. It could have been a cold or a mild irritation to something.

I'm sorry I can't help you any further. Don't blame yourself as I'm sure your rats knew you much you loved them.