my daughters rat past on

Question
QUESTION: Hi, my daughters rat past on last night and I don't know why.  she ran out of her rat food 2 days ago and we gave her fruits and vegetables.  she was eating but last night she went into convoltions and gasping for air.  can this be caused from her daily food being different for 2 days.

ANSWER: Hi Marina

I am really sorry for your loss. :(

Had she been sick?
It was in no way your fault for changing foods. Actually, the fruits and vegetables were probably better than the food she was eating if it was store bought rat seed mix. Store bought rat food is too high in protein and fats and causes heart and kidney disease later in life so what you were giving her for the past two days probably did her much more good than her regular food anyhow.

Was she eating when this occured? Is there a chance she could have choked to death on her food?

If not, it was probably a heart attack. How old was she?



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

QUESTION: I don't know if she had eaten before hand because my daughter was not handling her.  My daughter just noticed her look fatigue and sick.  she was only 6 months.  I think when my daughter is ready for another rat we will have routine visits every three to six months since their life span is not very long.  I never thought a pet rat would be the best pet we could have had.  She was wonderful and will be missed.  Thanks, i really appreciate your response.

Answer
Rats really are totally misjudged.  I remember so many years ago I was shopping for a little critter for my son (who is now 18) for a Christmas gift.  Hamster or gerbil or whatever, but never thought of a rat. There on the counter by the cash register sat this GIANT rodent. I will never forget him. I said "whoa is that a....."  and the employee at the pet store finished my sentence and said "Rat, yes"   Well I went right over to him and picked him up and just fell in love. I bought my son two rats but took over within 48 hrs, they became MY rats. LOL  Not long after that did I realize there was not enough info out there on rats nor was there enough medical care for them and I quickly got involved with their care, and the rest is history. Oh and the pet store rats? The store owner sold the pet store and I adopted the two "house rats" who were alerady 2 yrs old but they lived to be 3 years old so I was able to enjoy their wondeful company for at least a year. After all, if it wasnt for them I never would have fallen in love with rats.

As for your daughters rat, it was probably a heart attack.  Often, pet store rats (if that is where you got it from) are not always the most healthy.  If she looked sick she probably had pneumonia, which is usually acute and doesnt give much warning unless your really up to par with their actions etc....   A vet visit every 3 month isnt really necessary although I wont discourage it, but if you read up on rat care, understand their behavior and what to look for YOU will know better than your vet and that is the truth. So many owners bring their rats in and tell us they are sick. We examine them and find nothing yet they swear they were gasping earlier or had blood coming when they would urinate etc....  and since we dont see this, we depend on the rat owner to be in tune with their behavior. I made a website, dedicated to the new rat owner and veteran rat owner alike, and it is full of information on many common rat ailments, how to notice them and the best way to prevent them.  Mycoplasmosis is one of them. If your not real sure what it is, this is very important you read up about it before getting another rat so you know what to do and not to to.  To ensure a long life, if you can call 3 years long, proper diet is necessary as I said before, because their kidneys are so fragile they really cannot handle high protein diets and just about every rat mix on the store shelf exceeds recommeneded daily allowence of protein.
And litter...thats even worse because pet stores insist on selling cedar and pine which are the two most toxic litters a small pet can be exposed to. The phenol oils are a carcinogen to small rodents and can contribute to lung problems yet pet stores still sell it and even suggest it to pet owners. Next on the list of bad litter is corn cob which if eaten, can block the rats intestines and it also grows a nasty mold when it gets wet and is not changed within 24 hours. Cat litter is also a NO NO for rats and alot of folks think its ok if cats use it. The rats lungs are so delicate that you should not even light candles in the same room as they are, use air sprays and of course, smoking is off limits too anywhere near the rat.
A cage is a must, where a glass tank doesnt allow air circulation and the ammonia from the rats urine builds up and...you guessed it, it can cause lung problems.   All of this, your thinking, and geeze is it worth it?  Yes it is, just to follow a few things about rat care and you can ensure a healthy happy rat for several happy years.
Oh and last but not least, female rats should be spayed around 3 to 5 months in order to avoid mammary tumors that they are prone to getting after they hit 2 years of age or sooner.  You may know all of this already....but if not, glad I wrote about it. Check out for even more info at my website here:

http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/gettingstarted.htm


Write any time and again I am so sorry the little girl died so young!