# Sudden Rat Death



## TheMustangRats

My 3 month old rat, Saleen, passed away yesterday from a respiratory infection. At least I believe that to be the cause. It happened very suddenly.
He was completely fine and showed no symptoms a few days before. (Saturday) The next day my boyfriend noticed he was sneezing and was making some sniffling sounds. My other boy had a similar problem when I first brought him home, and when I brought him to the vet she gave him an antibiotic. I called them and made Saleen an appointment for Wednesday at 9AM just to be safe. On Monday, I noticed that he seemed to be having some trouble breathing. He was still breathing through his nose, but he seemed like he was gasping for air. I called the vet and asked if I could give him the leftover antibiotics I gave to my other rat just to help him for the time being, and she told me it was fine. 
He perked right back up after that. His breathing was okay, he was eating and drinking fine, and he was playing with his brother like normal. 
The following night I came home from work to find him laying on the floor of the cage gasping for air with his mouth wide open. When I opened the cage he ran right to me and didn’t want to go back in. I held him on my lap and I immediately noticed that he felt cold. 
I gave gim some more of the antibiotic but it didn’t do anything. My boyfriend came over that night and we just took turns holding him and praying that he made it to the vet that morning at 9. 
He was very lethargic, didn’t really want to move, refused water and his favorite treats, and he really didn’t want to be in the cage- he wanted us. 
When we did put him back in the cage, he sat on one of the ledges and just hung on to the walls gasping for air. My boyfriend believed he was doing this to stretch his lungs and be able to breathe better, but I don’t know if that’s true. 
He hung on, and when we got to the vet she prescribed him Baytril and Doxy, and told me to make sure he stayed hydrated. We gave him the medicine in the car on the way home but he never showed any improvement. A few hours after the vet, he began to act really strange. I knew he was on his way out, and when I tried to get him out of the cage he bit both me and my boyfriend. (I heard rats tend to want to be alone when they pass) 
I tried to syringe him some water but he refused it. He seemed to want to fight so hard. He would start to get weaker, and then he’d get frantic and panic because he couldn’t breathe. It was like he was trying to wake himself up while fighting sleep. 
He laid on his side for a few minutes and then he seemed to start having a seizure. I picked him up, and he passed a few seconds later in my hands. It was very fast, and I don’t believe he suffered. 
Does this sound like a respiratory thing? The vet said she wasn’t sure what it was, but there were all the symptoms of mycoplasmic pneumonia. 
Is it normal for rats to show signs of seizure activity before death? Was there anything else I could have done? He passed so fast- with just four days between when he initially showed minor symptoms and his passing... I feel incredibly guilty as I wish there was something else I could have done. 
Also, can this spread to my other rat?


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## raqathta

I'm so sorry to hear this distressing story. I think you did everything you could; I guess the medicine just couldn't overwhelm the infection. You gave him love, care, and attention, and brought in the vet. You shouldn't feel guilty. It would be good to have your other rat checked. Maybe the vet would recommend using some of Saleen's leftover medicine as a prophylactic.
<3 <3


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## mvZD

I'm so sorry! Poor little guy. I just went through the same thing with my girl. I brought her to the vet on Thursday because her breathing had become very labored. Antibiotics weren't helping at all. On Monday she stopped eating and drinking. I tried to syringe water and baby food in her mouth but she wouldn't even swallow it. Tuesday was worse, she had lost 30 grams in those couple of days, was gasping for air, and we ended up putting her to sleep. It was horrible. Just like your boy, she did not want to be in her cage those last few days. As soon as she saw me she would want out and then she would just sit on my shoulder for hours. My vet thinks it was pneumonia. She had it once before but recovered, this time was much worse. I knew when she refused her favorite treats that things weren't looking good. I'm sorry you also had to go through this, it's so hard losing them


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