# my rat passed away. need help :'(



## ratratrat (Aug 26, 2012)

my lovely loyal rat and my best friend died today in front of my eyes and i canoot had a way to help him. he was too young to die ( 1 year and half ) and i dont know the reason.
im totally broken he was my best friend and he died when he looks at me with a lovely face.

if u remember recently i talk with u about how to introduce my new rat to him...
so everything goes well after the help i get and yesteday they slept together in the same cage first time and todays morning thats what happened. :'(

i dont know now what to do with my little rat its hard to me to give him attantion and do somethings with him since my big buy died and i dont know why..
i tought about bring him a new guy in same age now but i think that i never can get rat like my big buy with this loyal and super friendly behavior and im not really
complete with myself about it..

i need some help of what to do in situations like this. im so sad and i feeling lost with this situation

R.I.P Schleim. ill never forget you.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Did your boy look like he died in his sleep? Is there any obvious physical symptoms you see on his body? Like blood from his ears/nose/mouth?
Was there any lumps in his abdomen, did he look different in any way?

You said you saw him die? Is there anything that you noticed while he was dying? Did he just stop breathing?? Some seizure activity is very normal as they are passing, they kick out and arch their back, their heart fibrillates, but these are just the last things their body goes through, your boy is already gone.

I am sorry for your loss.


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## ratratrat (Aug 26, 2012)

he didnt die in his sleep for sure.
the story is that i heard noise from the cage ang go fat to see whats going on and i saw him acting weird and breath deep deep breaths, it sounds like he really fight for air or something..
and then he just stop breath and died with eyes open looking at me...
and no, he doesnt had nlood or other things he look normal as allways

i notices in the past faw days that he somethins breath a bit noisy and fast but he does it for like 5 second and stop each time and this action didnt happend so often maybe twice a day.

its tottaly shocked me and i just dont know what could be the reason..


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## ratratrat (Aug 26, 2012)

know what.. know when i think about it theres a chance that he died in his sleep ( exept one thing that make it sounds weird is that his eyes was open )


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Rats can sleep and are often put under anesthesia and their eyes stay open.

It sounds like he may have possibly had pneumonia...its called the silent killer.  Did you rat phone him (put his side/lungs to your ear and hold him there to listen like you would a phone reciever?)?

The last things you saw were the very end, they often do agonal breathing just before passing.


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## ratratrat (Aug 26, 2012)

i didnt understand your question that much but if i think i understand so no i didnt "phone him" ( u talk about after death or before? )

and about this pneumonia, from what could it be happen?
you think that maybe the new rat gave it to him someway?

if u can also answer my other question it will be nice ( if u know..)


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Where are you located? This is important as some parts of the world don't have the same rat virus problems as other parts. If you are in the US you have to be very aware of Sendai virus and SDA and you should never just get another rat and put them together as the new rat could have a terrible virus that can kill all your rats if you aren't careful.

As for your young rat...how is he acting? Is he sick? Can you rat phone him for us and let us know if you hear any crackling/gurgling, popping or a whine from his lungs as he breathes?


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## ratratrat (Aug 26, 2012)

im living in israhell.. and just now i read about this pneumonia and about how to discover and find there some of things that my rat used to do in his last days that dont seems weird
but theyre consider in the pneumonia signs so im pretty sure that that was his killer 
and about the new rat, i phoned him now and he dont having one of this noises that you talk about i can hear only his heart beats.
and he dont act weird.

you may have clue what makes my rat getting sick in pneumonia?


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Rats are prone to respiratory issues and as soon as you see any its best to get to a rat vet (not that many vets will treat rats) and get antibiotics.


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## ratratrat (Aug 26, 2012)

ok thanx. i have a question, that pneumonia can happend from coldness also?
cause in israhell its really hot now and the air conidtioner is always working.. it could be a cause?


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## DustyRat (Jul 9, 2012)

Sad to hear of your loss.


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## ratratrat (Aug 26, 2012)

one more thing that i rally have to know, is pneumonia is an infectious disease?
should i clean all rat stuffs in the cage?
and how can i know from where he gots that disease? im afraid and want to be ready to all cases, i wont let it happen again.

and about the little new rat, he dont really want to be in the cage and im thinking that he deprressed a little bit.
should i bring him new friend really quick or should i do something before? (hes not completly trust me yet)


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## 1a1a (May 6, 2011)

Pneumonia is infectious, although like humans with colds, some rats' immune systems fight it off better than others. If you're ok with having more rats I would say definitely get your little guy a friend, especially as he doesn't trust you yet (so he can at least have a rat friend until he realises he has a human friend too).

Cleaning the cage sounds like a good idea.

Pneumonia is nasty stuff, I've lost a few rats too it too, sorry for your loss :-(


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## ratratrat (Aug 26, 2012)

thank you very much, buy im still wonder from where can he gets this disease?


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

It just happens. Pet rats have a bacteria in their body called Mycoplasmosis. Myco bombards the rat's immune system until there is a weakness in the immune (exposure to another sick rat, stress, injury) then it lets in secondary infections which are what we treat when a rat gets ill. Respiratory issues are common, and usually treatable with antibiotics from your vet. With rats being a prey animal they instinctively hide how ill they are until they are REALLY ill and sometimes then its too late to treat and cure. Pneumonia is a nasty fast one, and often surprises owners just like you.

I would imagine in Israel, there's not that much worry about viral rat outbreaks so I wouldn't worry too much about the infectious part of it. Scrub the cage well, get your little guy a new friend, and grieve your loss of Big Rat.


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## ratratrat (Aug 26, 2012)

thank you very much it was very helpfull to me.


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## Egween (Jul 9, 2012)

I'm very sorry for your loss. I understand that your big boy will never be replaced and his personality is unique to him and only him. Grieve for a few days, get your little boy a buddy, and learn their personalities. You'll be surprised when you really work on giving them a chance. They'll give you a chance, too, and although your boy will never be replaced, the new ones will make their way into your heart as well.


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## mistymornings18 (Aug 13, 2012)

I'm very sorry for the loss of your dear rat friend. Grieve for him, and then consider getting the new one a friend as he isn't good with humans yet and it would be good for him. I would def. clean the cage good with something that is antiviral and antibacterial. sun dry the cage and assecories as well to give it an extra boost. That way you will be sure to kill any and all that could cause another to get sick. I'd wait and watch the boy for a few days to ensure he shows no signs of illnesses before you add another baby. 
Did you quarentine the new boy before introductions?


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