# Older rat acting very strange...



## BlackBirdSeesYou (Nov 4, 2012)

Both of my two males Kurt and Eddie will be two years old soon.... These past 2 weeks Kurt has been acting very very strange. Instead of slowing down like you think an old rat would he's been like a monster. All this time I've had them their cage has sat on a coffee table leading up to a desk that they've always played around on. Every night when I couldn't let them free range around my room they'd play on the desk. Never once had they jumped off the desk and often times is left their cage door open 24/7 because they'd never jump off the desk. Now Kurt is jumping off it like a wild an. Not even a couple seconds that he's out he jumps off the coffee table. Not only that whenever I hold him he sometimes gets really antsy and starts squirming and squeaking anxiously to get out of my hands. His appetite hasn't been the best either. He's eating I'm sure but instead of running off with the piece of dog kibble like he usually would he ignored it. I'm really starting to worry about him..... I know he may just be getting old but I've never heard of an animal getting so much energy all of a sudden like this. He never even used to act like this when he was younger. What's even more weird is that he's been battling an ongoing respiratory infection (I'm currently giving him amoxicillin for it) yet he's still acting like he's got a ton of energy. I'm just so worried. I used to have to drag them out off their cage when they were younger they were so lazy now Kurt is constantly wanting to be let out which is really hard for me because I've got ferrets that need to be let out everyday plus my schoolwork. Plus every time he's out he goes straight to my trundle bed to pee and poo and the amoxicillins giving him the runs and he's got soft pools too and I don't want it getting everywhere when he's out. I know there's probably not much I can do but i just want to know does this sound the least bit normal has anyone ever experienced anything like this before?


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## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

Has Kurt got any health issues at the moment? You mention him being on amox? Are there any other smptoms or oddness that’s showing in him or the group as a whole

It sounds to me like he is a little distressed at staying in one place or in his cage I’ve seen this in the past myself with rats in 4 different scenarios, none are especially happy, but in all cases I could tell the rats were distressed, if he seems happy and content when out and running then ignore these (note bruxing in these cases does not always mean the rat is happy), a frantic rat rather than an explorative one though says it is distressed and this behaviour needs investigating.

In cage bullying – where a rat or rats were being picked on by a cage mate, they suddenly were desperate to get out and go somewhere safe / hidden and never stayed still for long

Respiratory distress (sometimes linked with heart issues) – where a rat is having difficulty breathing (useually fairly significant so they are gasping, but in some cases much more minor issues) they often want to get out of the cage and somewhere else, often hidden or low down, sometimes they prefer to hang there head over something to ease there breathing I suspect part of this is getting to somewhere away from the cage because they associate that with feeling ill and also because its natural for a prey animal to hide away from his pack when feeling ill. 

Feeling ill / grotty – as above really, I would expect him to also be doing a fair bit of sitting fluffed up. This can also be linked with heart issues specifically, in which case he is likely to have a short burst of almost frantic energy followed by a virtual collapse where he is very limp and floppy (extreme cases)

Neurological issues – an early sign of a neuro issue like a brain tumour or infection is often confusion and behaviour change, often linked again with distress. This is caused by either the rat forgetting where they are or even having mini panic attacks. Rats with neuro issues can also have tiny fits, not obvious to us other than a staring into space (which lets face it some rats do a lot anyway) but frantic movement can be linked to this too.

I would probably try a full helath check on him, also getting his urine checked for its protein levels as well as if theres the presence of any blood there. High protein levels says hes suffereing from a level of kidney failure, which can lead to almost neuro like symptoms (due to a level of urea posiening as the kidneys cant do there job fully) and blood would indicate a URI which may be causing him pain when he pees, making the cage associated with pain.


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