# Pet Rat died today.



## Predator (Aug 7, 2005)

I have 2 rats and I noticed today one was laying down and my girlfriend picked her up and she was just laying on her back in her hands.  It looked as though she had broke her leg or somthing because she was alive and breathing and trying to move.  There are no vets here open on a Sunday so I was trying to think what to do.  She put the rat back in her cage and she stopped breathing seconds later.  RIP otis.


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## cacoseraph (Aug 7, 2005)

i am sorry to hear that.

that is why i don't keep any pets with bones. too sad when they die.


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## Imegnixs_Cinder (Aug 7, 2005)

One of my rats died about a month or so ago, it is horrible. Really sad for the remaining rat too as they bond so well to each other.
My sympathys are with you Predator


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## Scorpendra (Aug 7, 2005)

this is why i dislike keeping mammals most of the time. i remember my hamster. got wet tail and just croaked all of a sudden when we were trying to help her. nothing i could do, since their average lifespand is rediculous.


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## Scorpendra (Aug 7, 2005)

worst thing is: you get too far attatched to them, and it's like you lost a child or sibling when they go, even moreso than a cold-blooded animal (or at least in my case.) my amphibians and bottom feeders are pretty durible, so not many have passed, so don't hurt me if you think otherwise


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## OldHag (Aug 7, 2005)

Our old rat died yesterday. She had a HUGE tumor on her tummy... so we had her put to sleep. It was sad.  I dont agree with what some of the others  said. Yes it hurts when things "with bones" die. But its WELL worth all the joy they bring during their lives. WELL worth it


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## WhyTeDraGon (Aug 7, 2005)

so sorry to hear that, I have 2 rats of my own, and im very attached. 
While not a rat, I lost my Southern Flying Squirrel last night. Saw his tail hanging out of his box, he was dead. I dont know the reason, but he had some fake plant leaves in his cage that he had torn from the tree next to his cage, perhaps he ate some. Or it could have been that he always pooped in his water bowl, and never drank from a bottle. I dont know. But it is so hard to lose them


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## Scorpendra (Aug 7, 2005)

sounds like my M. Domesticus. she hates water bottles and never poops in her litterbox. always next to it.


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## Predator (Aug 8, 2005)

We only had the rats for a few weeks but my girlfriend took it the hardest.  She cried for a little bit but seems ok now.  I told her we will go get another one.  My pet store sells the rats as feeder rats so when you ask about sizes its either small, medium, or large.  I was wondering maybe the rat was too young and didnt have very good balance.  I put them in a 10 gallon tank with one of those toppers and it has ramps up to the top.  the rat was a bit bigger than a mouse.  Was she too young to be in a tank with ramps like that or was this more or less a fluke that she fell?  The other rat we have is a good little bit bigger and climbs all over the top part that has the wires.  She seems to know what shes doing.  I was just wondering because I dont want to get another the same size as the other one was just to risk her falling again.


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## MyNameHere (Aug 8, 2005)

Condolences, Predator.  Rats are incredibly charming pets and it always marks a big loss when you lose one, no matter how long you've had them.

From what you say in your last post I don't think the cage was ill-suited for your rat.  One that size probably couldn't have even broken any bones in a fall inside a 10 Gal tank.  Was she dropped when someone was handling her?  It's possible that she just sprained her foot, either in a fall (also doubtful inside the house you describe) or she sprained it when it got caught in some cage equipment and she pulled it loose.


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## Predator (Aug 8, 2005)

MyNameHere said:
			
		

> Condolences, Predator.  Rats are incredibly charming pets and it always marks a big loss when you lose one, no matter how long you've had them.
> 
> From what you say in your last post I don't think the cage was ill-suited for your rat.  One that size probably couldn't have even broken any bones in a fall inside a 10 Gal tank.  Was she dropped when someone was handling her?  It's possible that she just sprained her foot, either in a fall (also doubtful inside the house you describe) or she sprained it when it got caught in some cage equipment and she pulled it loose.



Well from the top of the cage its maybe 2 1/2ft.  Depending on how she landed I guess it could of hurt her.  Only me and my girlfriend handle her and neither of us have dropped her.  Its possible she could have got it caught in the top portion of the tank and fell.  I heard the setup I have is pretty good for 2 rats and I have seen people with much taller cages.  I couldnt see her dieing from just a sprain either in under 24hrs.  We had both of them in a small hamster cage cage but knew they needed more space.  Unfortunately it was her first night in the new enclosure and sadly it was her last.


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## Imegnixs_Cinder (Aug 8, 2005)

It could be any number of things, rats do suffer from several ailments inc bad lungs, tumours, brain hemorages etc.
If you are going to get another I would suggest a cage rather than a tank to be honest with you. Tanks tend to mist up and there is nothing for the rat to grip hold off and there is also a lack of fresh air circulating around the insides.
They love to climb and in a wire cage they will rarely if ever fall and I have never heard of one falling on the inside of a tank and hurting itself. My guess is your rat had either a hemorage or was born with heart or lung problems sad I know, but really no ones fault.


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## Predator (Aug 8, 2005)

Imegnixs_Cinder said:
			
		

> It could be any number of things, rats do suffer from several ailments inc bad lungs, tumours, brain hemorages etc.
> If you are going to get another I would suggest a cage rather than a tank to be honest with you. Tanks tend to mist up and there is nothing for the rat to grip hold off and there is also a lack of fresh air circulating around the insides.
> They love to climb and in a wire cage they will rarely if ever fall and I have never heard of one falling on the inside of a tank and hurting itself. My guess is your rat had either a hemorage or was born with heart or lung problems sad I know, but really no ones fault.



Like I said I have a 10 gallon tank with one of those cage toppers.  So its like 2 10 gallon tanks on top of each other with the top one being just wire.  Its supposed to help with the airflow.  I also have my ceiling fan on low to help circulate air in the room.  I tried feeling for anything broken so yea it may of been just something it was born with.


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## Melmoth (Aug 8, 2005)

Highly intelligent animals,rats and affectionate.Sorry for your loss.


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## Imegnixs_Cinder (Aug 8, 2005)

Predator said:
			
		

> Like I said I have a 10 gallon tank with one of those cage toppers.  So its like 2 10 gallon tanks on top of each other with the top one being just wire.  Its supposed to help with the airflow.  I also have my ceiling fan on low to help circulate air in the room.  I tried feeling for anything broken so yea it may of been just something it was born with.


They still like to climb up the bars tho, and sides of a glass tank have no bars for them to grip onto, they should also have a wooden shelf to help keep their claws trimmed down which is something else thats not easily possible in a glass tank. Rats naturally climb, in the wild they would be climbing over all sorts of things, while a glass tank is fine as a tempory measure or for housing sick rats or nursing mothers, long term its not as ideal as a cage. A 10 gallon tank is also far too small to house 2 rats long term, a cage calculator for sizes can be found at http://www.fancy-rats.co.uk/information/habitat/cagecalculator/index.php


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## Ishkabibble (Aug 9, 2005)

My condolensces, My G/F brought home a brown rat, and for some reason my BP will only hit white rats. So now it's a pet rat. I was surprized how easy it is to get attached to the fuzzy little bastard. Now it gets spoiled, acts just like a kid.


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## Lunatia (Aug 11, 2005)

Sorry to hear about your loss.

I had my adult male rat die on me about 3 weeks ago, and it was mostly my fault as i was misinformed on the importance of air circulation (shop keeper told me to keep em in some plastic enclosure which too make matters worse was way too small for an adult rat)

But yeah rats are indeed great pets and easy to get attached too, like my little fuzzy thing i've acquired recently, enjoying a nice large wire mesh cage (in my opinion the best pick). We've had some trust problems in the beginning (as he was abused in pet shop, picked up by it's tail by the shop owner and put in a small dark box where he could hardly turn around, before he was handed to me) but he's doing quite good now , finally accepting food from my hand and slowly but surely exploring my arms before running back to the safety of his little house


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