# drooling



## kksrats (Jul 25, 2014)

Just went to put my boys away for the night and found one of my older boys drooling excessively. His chin was completely saturated. I don't really think there's anything in the room that he could have gotten into since the room is dedicated to the rats. Has anyone seen this? He seems a little slow, but he's a big lazy boy in general, otherwise no other symptoms.


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## HuaTheRat (Mar 28, 2016)

Sounds like he is mildly choking. Don't worry he wont stop breathing or anything. It happens sometimes and they drool to unstuck what's stuck in there throat. You just gotta let him do what he has got to do. But just in case keep an eye on him, he should be fine in a few hours


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## kksrats (Jul 25, 2014)

Thank you for confirming that. I thought that might be it, but since I've never seen it I was a little freaked out. It was definitely a rough night. I was dead tired, but managed to check on him several times during the night. The drooling continued for a few hours and he somehow managed to get himself out of his cage I'm assuming because his cage mates were pestering him. There was a bit of blood or porphyrin coming from his nose at one point (I couldn't get an idea of which because he really didn't want me touching him). I'm not sure if that's common with choking or if whatever he was choking on tore up his esophagus. I left him out for the rest of the night and most of the day and then set him up in the hospital cage. He was a little lethargic this morning and just wanted to curl up into a ball and sleep but this afternoon he has perked up and is eating and drinking, so I'm assuming all is well again. Boy do they know how to give us a good scare >.<


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

With drooling I first look to see if a rat has been or is actively choking. As was said prior the drooling helps breakdown the stuck food item.

There is also heat, overheating can cause drooling

Tooth or mouth issues can cause drooling, smell and check the teeth and mouth just in case

Lastly drooling can also be an effect of seizures. The rat while seizing doesn't swallow, and the saliva drools out, once the seizure has stopped the rat will start swallowing. 

Normally if its choking they are fine the next day, maybe a little tired but often as not just fine. If their throat was sore from the incident I feed soft foods for a day or so.


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