sick baby

Question
QUESTION: Hi there. I have 4 week old baby rats, and today one of them died. There was no prior sickness, her body looked completely healthy, and we don't know what caused it. It looked like her tongue was pressed right up against her teeth, could that be a sign of choking? We ran out of their regular rat grain mix a couple of days ago and have been feeding them a gerbil grain mix (along with hard pellets and fruit and vegetables). We also gave them cooked pork yesterday, but thats not a regular thing. When they were 6 days old their mother died (she was very young, we bought her not knowing she was pregnant), we nursed them for a few days until we could find them a surrogate mother. They have seemed strong and they have all made it this far, can you help figure out what happened? We are very concerned because another one seems to be lethargic. Please help because we have nursed these babies and they are very loving, I don't want to lose any more of them.

ANSWER: Hello Kate,
I'm so sorry your rat died. I would personally not put them on a gerbil diet as it doesn't contain the right amount of nutrients or ingredients that a rat needs to thrive fully. hmmm... some babies just don't make it pass a few weeks and it can actually be normal for some to not make it. I call it sudden death if there are no warning signs of any illness. It may not have been what you could see, but what you couldn't. The rat could have had something internally wrong with them.  The lethargy of the other rat concerns me because it could be because of the food. I would personally take her for a vet check up just to make sure she's okay. I would hate to see another one pass away.
Also, sometimes there are some rats that are just lazier than others, but considering that you have lost one and this one is lethargic I think it would be best to rule out any type of disease being spread throughout the cage.
Good luck and keep me posted.

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

QUESTION: hi there. one of my pet rats, who is only 4 or 5 months old has stopped using her back legs. she doesn't seem to be in any pain and can use them a little bit. she will push a little if i apply pressure to them, but mostly drags herself around with her front legs. she is breathing heavy sometimes but not all the time, and has the reddish stuff a little around one eye. i live in a small town and the vet here doesn't know how to treat small animals? can you help and give me as much info as you can? thank you

Answer
The red coloration around the eyes indicates the rat is stressed or ill. The rat having a hard time moving the back legs could indicate a pinched nerve or a stroke. An antibiotic like Baytril is typically given to small animals that may have a bacterial infection as well and with the heavy breathing something else could be wrong. An x-ray can also help identify anything else going on. I hope this helps.