# Sleeping too much?



## blahbyduh (Oct 4, 2014)

Hi all, I don't know anybody else who has rats so I don't really know how they behave normally. 

I find that my rats sleep quite often. They wake up occasionally throughout the day and night but they sleep an awful lot. 

Even when I take them out to play at night, they'll start sleeping (or trying to) after about half an hour. 

Is this normal? Should I be worried?

I've only had them for a week. They were far more active a few days ago but I'm not sure if this is how they are normally and they were just getting used to their new environment before.


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## Akarah (Sep 2, 2014)

How old are they?


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## blahbyduh (Oct 4, 2014)

Akarah said:


> How old are they?


They are about 5 months old. However I did notice that they were rather active this morning when I woke up for work at about 6.30 am


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## Cyrix (May 2, 2014)

Well, first, they're nocturnal, so they might be active while you're sleeping. At 5 months they should have a good amount of energy; if they're lethargic they might be sick, usually becoming less active in a short period is a very bad sign. But if they're new and they've been living a normal nocturnal sleep pattern their whole lives they might just need time to adjust to playtime during the day.

If you just got them, you should take them to a vet. _Always _take a new pet to a vet in case they have an illness that isn't obvious. Just like you should take a used car to a mechanic to get it checked out; you can't just judge things on the surface.


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## blahbyduh (Oct 4, 2014)

Cyrix said:


> Well, first, they're nocturnal, so they might be active while you're sleeping. At 5 months they should have a good amount of energy; if they're lethargic they might be sick, usually becoming less active in a short period is a very bad sign. But if they're new and they've been living a normal nocturnal sleep pattern their whole lives they might just need time to adjust to playtime during the day.
> 
> If you just got them, you should take them to a vet. _Always _take a new pet to a vet in case they have an illness that isn't obvious. Just like you should take a used car to a mechanic to get it checked out; you can't just judge things on the surface.


Thanks for your reply. They're a rather strange pair. They aren't sleeping per se but they'll just be scrambling around in a blanket, tunneling through. Then they'll stop and I'll have a little peek and they're just sitting/lying there. One of them will have her eyes closed and i'll give her ear scratches/nose rubs. Strangely, after I put them back in their cage, they'll start running all over the place and they'll climb all over the cage wires and latch onto the cage door. Perhaps they just find it comfortable resting outside?

I forgot to say, I live in Asia and rats are rarely kept as pets here. I only know of one other person and that's the girl I adopted these rats from. I asked her if she had a specific vet that she went to and she told me that vets here don't have any experience with rats so she doesn't have one for her rats. Nevertheless I have started sending out emails to small animal clinics to ask them if they take in rats.


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## Akarah (Sep 2, 2014)

blahbyduh said:


> They are about 5 months old. However I did notice that they were rather active this morning when I woke up for work at about 6.30 am


I also thought rats were more active when I first got mine. Mine are 3 months old now and they sleep quite abit. They mostly active in their cage around late afternoon and early morning - dusk and dawn. However if they played with and have their free range time (any time of the day or night), they are very active and play allot 😊 it's a good idea to have contacted a few animal clinics. It's always good to know where you can take your Ratties if they get sick, emergencies and general check ups. Send us some pics. Would love to see your babies 😊


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## blahbyduh (Oct 4, 2014)

Akarah said:


> I also thought rats were more active when I first got mine. Mine are 3 months old now and they sleep quite abit. They mostly active in their cage around late afternoon and early morning - dusk and dawn. However if they played with and have their free range time (any time of the day or night), they are very active and play allot  it's a good idea to have contacted a few animal clinics. It's always good to know where you can take your Ratties if they get sick, emergencies and general check ups. Send us some pics. Would love to see your babies 


They are active late at night sometimes. But is it considered being active if one of them is chasing the other one down to barber her?  I think that they're a rather skittish pair. They get startled very easily but recover from the shock just as fast. 

Here they are falling asleep to techno music (according to my sister).


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## Akarah (Sep 2, 2014)

Too gorgeous! One of my boys is still quite skittish, but he is much better than he used to be. It takes time, but they soon realise that we not here to hurt them. Sometimes it sounds like mine are having a huge party late at night! The barbering is normal. I read yesterday on another thread about trying tea tree cream on the barberd patches.


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## blahbyduh (Oct 4, 2014)

Akarah said:


> Too gorgeous! One of my boys is still quite skittish, but he is much better than he used to be. It takes time, but they soon realise that we not here to hurt them. Sometimes it sounds like mine are having a huge party late at night! The barbering is normal. I read yesterday on another thread about trying tea tree cream on the barberd patches.


Yes I think I'll look into the tea tree! I have a feeling that the one that sleeps often is just super lazy. I remember when I first met them a month before I adopted them, after wandering around for about 20 minutes, she went back into her carrier to sleep too. Hopefully it's just her personality. Or could it be a long lasting condition? I try to force her to play when she's outside. The other one is more typically 'rat-like' in that she's constantly exploring. Although if the other one is sleeping she does join her. Perhaps her barbering is due to her sister is so lazy and refuses to play with her, so she's like FINE I'm gonna chew all your hair off!


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