# Someone please help - how do you tell if a rat is playing dead?



## kazine

My rat fell of the sofa and we think he broke his back and died. We just buried him in the garden and then found out that he could be playing dead.... But he went hard and cold... We waited at least an hour before burying him... Need someone to reassure me that we haven't just buried a 'playing dead' pet in the garden?

Kaz x


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## Keelyrawr

No, If he was completely stiff he'd passed on. I'm sorry for your loss.


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## kazine

Thank you. That is a bit of a relief... Wouldn't want my baby waking up underground.

Definitely learning our lesson about not paying enough attention when he's playing on the sofa.

Kaz x


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## PetoftheDay

With any mammal, big or small, holding a mirror close to the mouth and seeing if it is exhaling is a good test. But a rat will normally only play dead for a minute at most. It's a defensive technique in the wild, not a long-term strategy.


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## kazine

I did look very closely at his chest, and put his mouth against my face to see if he was breathing. Me and BF both agree he definitely wasn't breathing. Also, it wasn't as though he stopped moving the second he dropped, which would have been the case if he was panicking and playing dead. He just slowly died, movements slowing down and whatnot. Pretty sure now that he's not just going to sit up and start wondering "where am I?" out in my back garden,

Thanks for replying
Kaz x


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## kriminologie

If rigor mortis had set in, I don't think you need to worry yourself. I understand your concern though -- I had a teacher who tried to get me to bury still-living baby chickens, and it was pretty traumatizing. (I refused. She was mad.)


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## lilspaz68

If you want to make sure your rat is really passed, listen to their chest...there will be no heart beat. and a rat's heart is fast and loud. Its how I determine my babies are really gone when they pass in my arms. Rats do not play dead.


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