# Cold and Lethargic Rat



## cryptozoologist (Aug 21, 2017)

One of my rats feels very cold to the touch and is acting strange. Everyone else in the cage is acting fine.His sides are pinched, he's breathing weird, his eyes are squinted, he won't move and when he does its slow and clumsy. Normally he is very active and this seemed sudden; this morning he was breathing weird but I assumed it was from sleeping as sometimes he'll wake up, be funky, then completely fine.He's on my lap with a warm rag to try and warm him up (its summer and he feels like he's been refrigerated). Eyes are still squinted and still breathing odd, he was making weird noises a few minutes ago. I don't know if he got into anything he shouldn't have or what but he was fine a while ago and all his cagemates are currently fine too. He has no lumps or anything and he won't eat. He actually just lept off my lap and is crawling around a little bit though not the way he normally does.I have no idea what's happened. He's fed oxbow, he lives in a double critter nation with fleece liners and paper litter in their litter box, he's probably around 9 months old. I can't think of any reason he's acting like this or anything we've given him that'd hurt him. Im trying to get him to the vet by tomorrow because they're closed for today, but is there any reason I'm forgetting that could cause him to act this way?


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## morsel (Feb 10, 2017)

So something similar happen to one of my little guys, but hopefully not the same thing. My little guy developed a heart condition where his heart became weak and wasn't pumping as strong thus not circulating blood, which will make your rat sleepy and cold. Another thing to look for is darkening of the end of the tail, that's a sure sign as well. Eventually my rats tail turned black about an inch and a half long...Hope this isn't it and he's just sick, or something else. Good luck and my thoughts are with you and your little man...Jason


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## cryptozoologist (Aug 21, 2017)

That's one of my biggest concerns. I've been looking a lot at other people w rats w the same symptoms and many of them have been hairless like my boy & died overnight or on the way to vet. One of them mentioned blue feet, and it made my heart drop because his feet were blue earlier (im about to check him again now but it was going away earlier). My other concern is pneumonia because I'm hoping since he's not even a year old its not heart problems, but I'm still terrified. He seemed a little better earlier, I put him back in the cage so he could eat or drink if he wanted (though he wouldnt even eat peanut butter when i offered it to him) and he's been moving around a little bit from boxes to hammocks to just the platforms. He seems a little less shaky and no weird noises but still pretty lethargic, pinched side, squinty. I'm calling the vet tomorrow as soon as possible, I just hope he's still alive by that time.


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## Synchro246 (Jun 10, 2018)

How is it going with him? I would love to see an update. Heart, unfortunately, does make sense, but it still could be something else. I really hope he'll be ok


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## cryptozoologist (Aug 21, 2017)

He went to the vet this morning! Different vet than normal because our normal one only had an opening in a week (and the receptionist was really rude to me for crying on the phone which was disappointing because I've never had a bad experience there and you should understand if you work at a vet clinic that people need sympathy and compassion when their pets are sick???). But they said it's most likely pneumonia and that his breathing was so bad that he could barely get any air at all. I'm still nervous about heart issues even though I'm sure they would've said something, but hes on doxy and baytril now and he ate a decent amount today (not his oxbow unfortunately but better than nothing) and seems a little more active even though his breathing is still pretty bad. He'll probably be okay now hopefully even if heart issues come up later because at least he'll be able to breathe. I just have no idea where it came from because as far as I know usually it develops over time and not suddenly pop up within a day...


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## Lunchy (Aug 28, 2017)

The thing is with rats is that they are amazing at hiding illness because in the wild, they're prey and showing weakness normally means they get picked off. Because of that it's really common for illnesses to suddenly 'appear' but really it's been there a while and they've just been hiding it. I hope he's continuing to get better!


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## cryptozoologist (Aug 21, 2017)

Icarus died. A few minutes ago. He was out for an hour with us and he suddenly started twitching and died. I don't know what happened. He wasn't even a year old.


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## Lunchy (Aug 28, 2017)

Oh my gosh, I'm so so sorry. All the best to you and RIP wee Icarus, enjoy all the yogies up there. <3


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## rottingmartian (Jun 1, 2018)

I'm so so sorry this happened to you! This happened a few weeks ago with my boy Moby. He fell ill and died in a span of just 24 hours. We took him to the vet and he had no URI, internal bleeding, or anything. Just cold and lethargic. He was only 7 months old. I brought him home from the vet, gave him his first dose of medicine, but he died 4 hours later. He twitched one last time, kind of like he kicked his back feet, then passed away. I really hope there's not some sort of new disease that's infecting rats? There haven't been any bugs or anything in my room that could get them sick. I really hope these are just fluke cases and nobody else has to go through this. Best wishes to you and your babies. 💕


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## Synchro246 (Jun 10, 2018)

Oh no! I'm so sorry. Poor baby. I'm glad he was with you when he passed.


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## morsel (Feb 10, 2017)

That really sucks, I'm so sorry. RIP little Icarus


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## MotherOfRats9 (Aug 7, 2020)

My nakie boy is going through this right now, his normal pink has a purple tinge, his back feet have purple. His breathing is labored, can barely walk..he keeps falling over and od restless, he is also cold..an no vet open til..morning..


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## Roberto (Aug 6, 2021)

I am also having this same problem with my boy athos, he is very cold, feets purple, he has a lot of blood in his head, the vet said that something hit him and all the blood got stuck in his head, but i have no money to take him back, i gave him a warm bath and some milk to hopefully give him some strenght but i feel like he is not gonna make it, he is sleeping in my hand now, he is 2 and a half years old so i was counting on something like this would happen to him but not this bad, i don't think he will make it by tomorrow


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## ratbusters (Aug 28, 2020)

Hi. How is your boy doing? We are so sorry that we can't offer any practical help, but hope that he is OK.


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## Designabay (7 mo ago)

Any new info on this? We are going through a similar issue with our albino. He was ice cold, barely moving and falling around if he tried, barely breathing. We tried to go to ER vet but none had a rat vet on call. A nurse suggested we make him as comfortable as possible. I put a blanket in front of the space heater and he immediately hopped out of his box and into the blanket. We locked him in a room with a space heater set at 77 All night. This morning he is eating, drinking, and climbing again. Could we be out of the woods?


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