# Rat not eating and getting skinny?



## kindhearted (Aug 4, 2011)

My female rat seems to not be eating as much as she used to. She has lost a little bit of weight. What could possibly be wrong? It's been a week now.???


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## alliepenguin (May 6, 2011)

Check her teeth, they may be overgrown and she might not be able to eat at all.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

How old is she? Has she been sick recently? how is she acting beyond not eating as much?


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## kindhearted (Aug 4, 2011)

Are the bottom teeth supposed to be longer than the front? She is a year and a half old, she hasn't been sick however she always had breathing problems as she was a little baby because she was a "feeder" and was bred in cedar chips. I think that permanently damaged her lungs  She is acting very aloof than normal, she seems to want to be alone and not handled.


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## TheHermit (Nov 15, 2011)

Take her to a vet to get her lungs checked. All three of my boys had breathing problems since they were bred as feeders and they all got very sick suddenly, and these were the early symptoms (not eating, not socializing, etc). Are there 'fresh' feces in her cage and has she been drinking water? If not, you need to take her in immediately. Her body may be giving in to a lung infection or disease, but it's not necessarily too late - at a year and a half I doubt she doesn't have in her the ability to fight it, she just needs proper help.

Unless she's recently lost a cagemate or a person that handles her frequently has stopped handling her, I don't know what else could be keeping her from eating (one of my rats stopped eating as soon as his brother died). The bottom teeth is longer on two of my rats, so I do think that's normal.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

As long as her teeth line up and are straight across then its fine, no matter if they seem long or not, and the bottom incisors are definitely longer.

Has your girl ever seen a vet for her breathing issues? I have a ton of "feeder" rats here and they are healthy. I treated them when they came to me sick, and they got better. She may have a respiratory infection flaring up and will need antibiotics.


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## kindhearted (Aug 4, 2011)

Her poops have been some what small and a little hard, she is drinking but not AS much as she could be. She hasn't lost any of her pals or anything like that. I have a neutered male that is in love with her so they have been staying together. She's never seen the vet before for the breathing issues because she always seemed healthy and was eating great. Has anyone heard of VetRX Rabbit remedy? Could I use this for her? It says it relieves: "can help relieve *snuffles, pneumonia*, ear mites & ear cankers" It is all natural. I have 2 bottles on hand because I have pet bunnies as well.


http://www.jefferspet.com/product.asp?pn=VT-R1&crcat=Direct&crsource=GBase&crkw=VetRx+Rabbit+Remedy


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## smesyna (Nov 22, 2010)

The only thing that will help a respiratory infection is antibiotics.

For the future, rats hide illness very well so they will seem fine despite sounding congested, etc, until they are incredibly sick.


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## kindhearted (Aug 4, 2011)

Are there any good over the counter meds that work well for rats? I want to thank everyone for replying back to me, there's not that many rat lovers like us in the world unfortunately!


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## smesyna (Nov 22, 2010)

No the only antibiotics that will help are prescription.


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