# A worried mommy here with some concerns. Is my rat sick or hurt?



## Haven Relis (Dec 26, 2013)

Hi again everyone! I've gotten such amazing help here before, and now my girls are worrying me yet again. I have two dumbo rats, Daiyu and Ming-Mei. Both girls, both the same age (they're sisters). Their personalities are very different. Daiyu is hyper and loves being held and kissed, while Mei is lazy and prefers to chirp to me rather than being picked up. Today I went to give them some chicken since it's what I had for lunch, and Daiyu wouldn't take it. I offered her a yogi too (which they love) and she wouldn't take that either. I noticed she was really calm compared to her usual hyper self. I picked her up and she just hugged up against me. Usually she runs laps around me, but this time she just laid there in my hand while I rubbed her. She started licking my hand and something darkish showed up where she licked. I thought it was blood, but it was really light, and I didn't see any blood on her anywhere. After changing their cage she was still acting really lethargic, almost sickly. I took another look at her, this time at her mouth. Her teeth looked chipped, maybe even broken off slightly. She's been cleaning herself constantly, especially her front paws. She's also been making those bruxing sounds a lot. Do you think she's okay? Is her mouth hurt? Also, I noticed that Mei was cleaning her little butt. Is that normal? I've never noticed them doing that before.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Any smell from her mouth? Any pictures of her teeth?


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## Haven Relis (Dec 26, 2013)

nanashi7 said:


> Any smell from her mouth? Any pictures of her teeth?
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


No smell at all. At least not that I can tell. I took a quick picture, but I'm having a bit of trouble getting it from my phone to my computer. >3> 
I'll post it as soon as I figure that out.


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## Hey-Fay (Jul 8, 2013)

Email it to yourself from your phone then save the photo to your computer


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## Haven Relis (Dec 26, 2013)

Hey-Fay said:


> Email it to yourself from your phone then save the photo to your computer


That's what I was trying to do, but the email just wouldn't come. I have it now though, posting it~


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## Haven Relis (Dec 26, 2013)

nanashi7 said:


> Any smell from her mouth? Any pictures of her teeth?





Hey-Fay said:


> Email it to yourself from your phone then save the photo to your computer


Okay, here's the photo. It's the best one I could get of her. The others all came out really blurry.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

They look fine to me. Is there any soreness if you poke around?


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## Haven Relis (Dec 26, 2013)

nanashi7 said:


> They look fine to me. Is there any soreness if you poke around?


I'm not sure. I did notice that it was only the hard food that she wouldn't eat. She would take it and look like she's eating it, then she'd just drop it. I didn't see any bites on it afterwards. I gave her some soft cheese and asian noodles and she's been eating those just fine. I also noticed that she grabbed my hand and finger more than she ever has. Like when I'm just holding her sometimes she'll bite me, but not hard enough to hurt. She just kind of barely grips me enough that I know what she's doing. She's never done that before unless she mistakes my finger for food. She's been drinking from her water bottle really softly too.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Can you get her to a vet?


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## Haven Relis (Dec 26, 2013)

nanashi7 said:


> Can you get her to a vet?


I might. The biggest problem is that I have a convention planned for this weekend and I'm leaving Friday morning. I won't be back until Sunday night. For me it's not just a fun weekend, I have a table set up where I sell at, and it's my only form of money making for the time being. So I can't just cancel it. As for the vet, I MIGHT be able to get her to one, but I really don't know. I don't believe the local vet accepts small animals like rats. And I don't think I could afford it right now either. She seems to be acting okay as time goes on, but still not herself. I'm more worried about leaving her alone for 3 days this weekend. There's no one to watch them. My dad will be here, but getting him to look after my rats will be like pulling teeth.


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## Hey-Fay (Jul 8, 2013)

I'm not sure what area you're in but here's two vets in Kentucky that specialize in rats.

Shively Animal Clinic & Hospital
2401 Dixie Highway
Louisville, KY 40216
Phone Number: 502-778-8317 
Fax Number: 502-778-3682

Pennyroyal Small and Exotic Animal Hospital
Dr Bianca Zaffarano, Dr Jennifer Walker 
247 Regency Circle
Lexington, KY. 40503
(859) 312-8559
http://www.pennyroyalvet.com/
info @ pennyroyalvet.com

Hope these help


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## Haven Relis (Dec 26, 2013)

Hey-Fay said:


> I'm not sure what area you're in but here's two vets in Kentucky that specialize in rats.
> 
> Shively Animal Clinic & Hospital
> 2401 Dixie Highway
> ...


Thank you! Sadly there's no way I could make it to either of those tomorrow. But if she's still acting like this when I get back then I'll definitely see about taking her in. And I'll keep those in mind too for the future. Thanks again!


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## Hey-Fay (Jul 8, 2013)

If you're able to, take her with you this weekend. As long as you keep her hydrated and fed she has a much higher chance to live to see a vet. I'd buy a bottle of Pedialyte and some jars of soft baby foods just incase she starts to refuse food and drink you can force these into her. Check for dehydration by pinching the skin on her back, if it takes a few seconds to snap back then she's needs fluids asap. If that's the case force at least 10 mm of Pedialyte into her every hour or until she's not dehydrated any longer. Offer the baby food a few times between each hydrating session. Try to get her to eat so she keeps her strength. If she's in pain some children's ibuprofen will help. If she's about grown or a large girl then give .05 mm of the children's ibuprofen every twelve hours. Sending best wishes, keep us notified on her condition


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## Haven Relis (Dec 26, 2013)

Daiyu is much better now! She's acting like her old hyper can't-keep-still-for-anything self. But now she has another problem that's come up, posted here: http://www.ratforum.com/showthread.php?204289-Daiyu-has-a-hurt-eye


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