My rat Sammy has a rapid heart and breathing rate

Question
QUESTION: Hi Sandra,

I am worried sick about my pet rat Sammy. I thought that he was a little quiet yesterday but other than that he seemed fine. Tonight I came home and he looks really poorly. He seems to be breathing very fast but he is making no noise that I can hear out loud or that I can hear when I listen to his chest. All I can hear is the horrible sound of gasping for air. His heart also seems to be beating much faster than all of my other rats. He coat has gone all starky and he now has Portheryn around his eyes. His eyes are half closed. He dosn't feel cold to touch and although he is just leaning up on objects in my cage or laying in my arms, every now and then he gets a bit more lively and I have seen him clean himself once. He is a rescue rat and so I can not be definate about his age but I think he is about 5 months old. I am so scared because I had another rat called Skye who died last year just one month older and who seemed to exhibit the same kind of symptoms but she was cold and had a slow heart rate and died very quickly. Please could you help me and give me some advice? At the moment he is with his cage mates who are leaving him alone but I am worried that they may pick on him during the night. Here in England it is 12:15am in the morning and so I can't get to a vet now. Is there anything I can do for him now? Many thanks and best wishes. Rachel Greenaway

ANSWER: Hi Rachel

He sounds pretty bad. Usually it is a type of pneumonia causing it esp if it comes on so suddenly. Are there any emergency vets in your area?


If you can get him in a room with a steamy shower going so it can help loosen up any mucus he may have and offer her a bit of chocolate to help dilate his airways since chocolate is a natural bronchiodialator   but its antibiotics and oxygen he needs...

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Sandra,

My little baby Sammy has passed away today. :(

I emailed you at 12:00am this morning England time and so there was no vets available at that time of the night. I tried to do everything I could to make Sammy comfortable but he died this morning. I feel guilty and that I didn't do enough to help him. My mum thinks that he had some kind of heart problem and that there was nothing I could have done for him but that doesn't make me feel any better.

I just wanted to say thank you for giving up your time to answer my questions and for your great advice and help. I really appreciate what you have done for me!

Many thanks and best wishes. Rachel

Answer
I am really sorry you lost Sammy.

I still think Sammy had pneumonia. It comes on suddenly and makes them breathe very fast, which in turn makes their heart race. The fact he was gasping also tells me he was hypoxic which is something that occurs when the rat cannot breathe.  

Usually in these cases, aggressive treatment with antibiotics and oxygen are the route to take but in most cases, the rat passes away because acute pneumonia is one of the most dangerous secondary infections our rats can get and its often fatal, as you have found out.

You did all you could do and the important thing was you let him know you loved him.  

Again, I am very sorry.