Rat deaths?

[XxRachxX]

since alot of you guys breed rats, i figured you could help me
Both of my rats have died within a week of each other.
the first (baby) had a R.I. come on quite suddenly and couldnt breath. So we took her to the vets, who said it was like a type of rat pnemonia? we got medication she got an injection and we went back a week later, she wasnt any better, so she had a steroid injection and some special food.
She wouldnt eat, so i had to force feed her mushed up "special kitty food" with a syringe.
the last few days of her life, she was wobbling around , then she could hardly walk, if you put her in one posistion she would just stick there and not move. a few days later she died.

my other rat (ratty) was tilting her head, and she had the red stuff in her one eye. i cant remember what the red stuff is called?
apart from bieng a little bit wonky on her feet, she seemed ok! then two days ago, she couldnt walk well just like baby, she wasnt eating just like baby, you could put her in posistions and she'd stay there. she only died about an hour ago...

next part is gross:
i noticed baby had "crusty" green bits on her... to be safe i'll say "girly parts" i just thought she wasnt cleaning herself, i was going to bath her the next day, but she died.
Ratty also had this kind of like a plug of green stuff clogging her "bits" so i got some cotton wool and water and soaked it a bit and a kind of plug came away, then lots of green mucus came out, it was awful, my mother said it could have been her kidneys? or a really bad infection?

i always took good care of my rats, i loved them so much!
i dont understand how they can both die in the same way?
i really dont know what it is i was just wondering if anyone had any input? or information?
thank you

[Solid Snake]

i dont breed rats but maybe u should move them into a new enclosure, thats clean and fresh. See what happens then.

[XxRachxX]

one problem.. theyre dead :/
i dont breed rats either, they were pets, which is why im a bit miffed that theyre in the "food for thought" forum ..

[Slannesh]

Most of the people who raise rats here do it as a food source, not as a pet. Two very different things in the long run. I'm not sure why you would look for pet rat advice on a herp forum anyhow? Most people who post here use them as a food source. If you really want to know what killed your rats take them to a vet for a necroscopy (sp?)

[Dani33]

I am sooo sorry about your pets. I am sorry that I cannot help you identifying what happened to them. It is always hard to lose a pet.

[spazrats]

I want to help XxRachxX find out about why her pet rats died. I am an authority on pet rats.

You're all probably wondering why a pet rat lover found this Forum??????? Surfing the web, looking for info to update a page on my site.

XxRachxX please e-mail at spazrats@yahoo.com

Sandra Beasley and the Spazrats
http://spazrats.tripod.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/holistarat

[Lisa]

Odds are they had some sort of ear infection.

another source for rat info is www.goosemoose.com/rfc (don't mention if you have snakes)

[XxRachxX]

thanks and thanks for the sites and stuff guys

first off Slannesh: the general forum is for talking about all sorts of stuff! people post there about tires falling off their trucks or what kind of bands they like!! so asking a question about a subject that i know people on here are knowlegable about is totally acceptable in my books!
the people i know of who breed rats actually *care* about theyre breeders! theyre gonna get attatched, not just leave them in a cage with no attention what so ever! thats just not right IMO. If youre gonna breed rats you need to know about health problems, you need to know about diseases, infections, any sort of illness!! otherwise you're gonna have a hell of alot of sick rats on your hands.
and just to say i didnt come here "looking" for pet rat advice, i own reptiles i work with reptiles and i love reptiles, and im sorry for troubling you.... i asked a question.
sorry for ranting im feeling pissy..

[marisa]

I think that looking for pet rat advice or breeder rat advice is totally cool in this forum IMHO. In the long run, feeder breeders can learn a lot from pet breeders when it comes to rodent care and it works the other way around...feeder breeders have quite a lot of useful information that pet breeders don't often know. I have asked a few gerbil questions here and gotten great answers.

But I also think the post is perfect in the food for thought forum for this reason. You'll get better answers and it keeps everything in one place.

I would say some infection was definitly going on, its obvious with "green stuff" thats a little advanced for home treatment probably but look into GSE (grapefruit seed extract) for your next rats. Its a natural anti-fungal, anti-bacterial anti-biotic extract that is 100% safe for rodents, snakes and even humans. This can help clear up anything new rats come home with big time.

Info on it:
http://www.nutriteam.com/index2.html (scroll down a little)
http://www.pureliquidgold.com/index.htm

But like I said your rats probably would have needed vet assisstance for recover from something like that. sorry they died.

Marisa

[Jungle Jen]

Sounds like some kind of uterine infection. I lost 2 related female rats to endometreosis within a months time. Sorry for your loss.

[Slannesh]

since alot of you guys breed rats, i figured you could help me

If that's not "looking" for help I'm not sure what is.

I'm sorry your pet rats died. It's never fun to lose a pet. And this is in the "Food for thought" forum. Where you posted it I have no idea. That's where it was when I responded to it. You asked what might have killed them I suggested taking them to a vet for a necroscopy (sp) to find out.

Just because you don't play with your feeder rats doesn't mean you don't care about their health. I don't raise rats. I only have one herp that eats them so there's no point. I do raise crickets and Mealworms. I give them the best feed and conditions I can but I certainly don't get 'attached' to them.
In my opinion feeding one pet to another is a little borderline. It's either food or a pet, shouldn't be both.

Ask all the questions you want. Just don't get pissy at me when you don't like a perfectly valid answer.

[XxRachxX]

my post was in the general discussion forum and it was moved that is all.
but you made it sound like i come here just to ask about pet rat health, forget it, i dont care anymore.
rats and meal worms/crickets are COMPLETELY different.
and you dont usually feed your breeding rats to your snakes, its theyre offspring.

thanks for the help i will take a look at what you've suggested, thanks.