My rats acting wierd, but not showing common signs of being sick.

Question
My rat is about 2 years old. She has been acting strange lately and I don't know what to do. She has been sleeping a lot more than usual, not wanting to come out of her cage and laying down on her side like she's dead. She's still eating normally, but (even though she doesn't drink much water when she's healthy) has not even touched her water bottle. Like I said before, she doesn't have signs of respiratory problems or other red flags of health problems, but I'm concerned all the same. Is it possible she's depressed? What can I do if that's the case?

Answer
Hi


Actually, she is showing signs of illness just by her actions, which you said are not her normal actins such as sleeping more, not wanting to come out of her cage when she usually wants to come, and laying on her side like she is dead. If she never did that before, this may be indicative of a problem, possible pain issues or something internal that is not easily recognized.  Not drinking can cause her to dehydrate very fast so I would offer her foods that are water based such as baby foods, water melon etc...and of course she needs a vet, and a vet that knows how to treat rats and is properly equipped to do so.  A vet that lacks experience with rats but offers to "take a look" may misdiagnose her since she is not showing obvious signs of illness, although as stated above, any change a rat makes in their routine and in their personality is indeed a sign something is wrong.  As for the eating part, I have had rats that were dying yet still ate and even brought themselves to their litter pan to go to the bathroom, all the while they were having trouble breathing due to lung cancer.  This was my own rat, Pepsi, who sadly I had to put him to sleep just two weeks ago and he still wanted to eat and use his box, despite the fact he was literally turning blue from lack of oxygen.  Rats are tough, they hide illness and pain very very well until they cant take it any longer. This is why I always teach rat owners to go over my site and read the obvious and not so obvious signs of illness.  A sick rat may even stop sleeping in their usual spot and sleep somewhere else, somewhere strange that you would not think would be an ideal spot for them to sleep. Often a rat that is suffering from respiratory issues will seek higher ground, going as high up as they can, even on top of a toy house etc...to lay, or push their noses through the bars. This is their way of trying to get more oxygen.  A rat in pain usually withdraws more and doesnt want to be bothered, not wanting to come out to play, but a really sick rat that is scared of his pain or illness will seek out his owner and want held, may become more needy and seek comfort from his owner.

Do you have a vet for your rat?  If not, please let me know and I can point you in the right direction.