# constipated rat?



## Andrea57 (Oct 6, 2012)

Our rat (18m old) has twice in the past couple of weeks suddenly become very floppy and odd, just lying flat in her cage and barely moving when picked up. I really thought she was going to die,she looked so awful. Then both times, she suddenly pooed 4 or 5 big poos, and then perked up, so I'm thinking she might have a problem with constipation. We feed her (and her sister, who is fine) dry food during the day, then they have a little fresh food in the evening - veggies, fruit, beans, very occasionally a tiny bit of cheese. She seems to drink plenty, from what I can tell. I can't see why this diet would cause constipation but these are our first rats so I don't know if constipation is a common problem, if that's what it is. 

I should also add that a couple of weeks ago she had an episode of bleeding from her ?back passage? vagina - I took her to the vet who said she had cystitis and gave her antibiotics (baytril), which she finished about a week ago. She's had no more bleeding but hasn't been her normal happy self since then; I don't know if this is connected to the other problem or not.

Any ideas??


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## unlikelyfather (Sep 11, 2012)

Cheese and dry food can add up into a constipation issue. I have no idea if antibiotics should cause this issue or not but there are folks on here who would know better than I.

This is a pretty good guide that may help you: 

http://www.ratballs.com/RatTails/Tails093.html


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## ratchet (Sep 27, 2012)

it might be an issue with the antibiotics killing all the 'probiotics' in her stomach -- as you know, rats can't throw up, so it might just be that her stomach has been upset by this. you could try giving her some lowfat healthy yogurt (the prebiotic kind) or maybe some fresh papaya in addition to the fresh veggies and beans? also, garbanzo beans have been proven to help with digestion issues so if you have any lying around.. (garbanzo is chickpea).


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

If she had loose poop I would say she would need probiotics but this is different. The most important thing for you to tell us was the blood in her urine or was it from her vagina?


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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

Yogurt (Greek yogurt is best in my opinion) and Pumpkin will help with digestion.

It sounds like she has a genetial infection from Myco (this is actually considered rat in rats) in which case the Baytril was a good call from the vet. It could also be caused by cyst, tumors, or a ruptured uteris, but if it has stopped, Cyst or genetial infection is probably it was/is. http://ratguide.com/health/bacteria/mycoplasma_mycoplasmosis.php

I'm going to say it is the infection though as from What I've read it can cause similar symptoms to bloat. I don't know much about it though, reason I gave the link.


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## RedFraggle (Jun 4, 2012)

At that age it could be a uterine infection or sadly at worst a uterine tumour causing a blockage and making it difficult to pass faeces (I assume she's never been bred from and isn't spayed). I know that's not what you want to hear, sorry, but I think it's something worth exploring with your vet. I lost a rat (my very first rat) to a uterine infection aged nearly 3 but my friend had one who pulled through after a long course of antibiotics. My rat bled when she pooped.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

That was my thought as well, just wanted to figure out where the blockage was coming from.


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## Andrea57 (Oct 6, 2012)

thanks for all the advice. In terms of where the bleeding was coming from, well, I don't know really - I just turned her over to check for lice on her stomach (now treated) and saw bright red blood all around her anal/vaginal area - impossible to say which orifice it was coming from. I'll try giving her a bit of yogurt and some of the other suggested foods. I'd like to fatten her up a bit as she's become quite skinny recently - any suggestions for good, non-constipating foods to do this?


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## Flora (Aug 30, 2012)

antibiotics dont cause constipation. It causes the opposite. Yogurt will help with that problem. For the constipation I would feed her a little bit a pumpkin once a day and see it that helps. Make sure she is getting plenty of protein like some grain free dog food. You can also give her some avocado (not the rind or pit) and sunflower seeds (unsalted) that have good fats in them to help her put on a few oz. Hope she starts to feel better


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