Training with noises

 
Ronnie and Derek now associate a ‘clicking’ noise with food, as I’ve always made the noise when feeding them. Even if they’re dozy in their house and I click, they’ll now drag themselves out and over to the cage door as they know they’re going to get food (maybe a treat!). They also come over when I open the plastic boxes I store their food in, as they recognise the noise now.

They’re also now used to the noise of the front door being unlocked, so if they’re in their house when I come in, they’ll pop their heads out to see what’s going on. It’s a welcome sight to come back to!

This info about training and noises has been added to the Habits page.

Chicken bone and relaxing

 
Ronnie polished off the remains of chicken on a bone on Monday, while Derek slept in!

Click thumbnails to enlarge. More photos on the Photos page.

Mouthy Derek

 
Some photos of Derek looking silly while holding a rat treat in his mouth. He’s previously done the same with a pea (see here)!

Click thumbnails to enlarge. More photos on the Photos page.

Poorly Derek on the mend

 
UPDATE – 5 May 2019: I’m pleased to say that Derek seems back to normal now!

On Tuesday, Derek was clearly unwell as he had the usual symptoms of a rat being ill – unkempt fur, hunched back, lethargy and loss of appetite. His scrotum, containing his testicles, had a blue/grey/purple tinge too.

He was taken to an experienced local vet who established that Derek was healthy in other ways, with a normal heart rate (420bpm) and no breathing problems or lumps/growths present. However, his body temperature, taken via his rectum, measured 34.1C. This was two or three degrees lower than normal for a rat, meaning Derek had acute onset hypothermia, despite not being subjected to anything other than normal room temperature. Ronnie remained healthy.

The discolouration of Derek’s testicles was due to cyanosis – the bluish/purplish discolouration of skin due to low oxygen in the blood. This also affected his eyes and ears, which were lacking in colour.

The vet hadn’t seen such a young and otherwise healthy rat presented in this way before. To be safe, Derek had a heart scan to rule out the unlikely chance of cardiac disease. While this type of scan couldn’t be totally conclusive as a rat heart is only 1.5cm long, it confirmed there was no fluid present and the chambers were unlikely to be enlarged, so cardiac disease was very unlikely.

Nothing had changed in Derek’s lifestyle/diet and he’d been fine right up until the night before. Carbon monoxide poisoning was a possibility but was ruled out, as was anything neurological. It was agreed that before any further action, such as a referral to a specialist veterinary college, Derek should be warmed using a heat mat and his progress monitored.

Soon after, his body temperature increased to 35.8C and was then 37.8C – well within the normal range – by the time he came home a few hours later. A hand warmer was placed in their house to help him and he gradually improved after some rest. By Thursday morning, his activity level, appetite, ears and eyes were all back to normal, although his scrotum still remained a slightly blue colour.

The vet contacted me on Thursday and was pleased with Derek’s progress, but was still unable to confirm the diagnosis. He thinks it’s possible that a temporary blocking of Derek’s airway (I imagine a piece of awkwardly-chewed food which got slightly stuck in his throat could have been the culprit?) led to the lack of oxygen in the blood which caused the cyanosis and other symptoms.

Fingers crossed, Derek will remain well and won’t have any relapses. If he does become similarly ill again, providing extra warmth seems to be the key for a cure, although it’s likely he’d need further investigation to establish the diagnosis for certain.

If your rat has similar symptoms, ensure you take him/her to a vet as soon as you can so you can get them checked for any serious conditions.

Fat rat!

 
Yesterday I weighed Ronnie and Derek by getting them to stand on digital kitchen scales. It took a few attempts, plus ‘Diva’ Derek got spooked by a noise that the scales made when I moved them across the floor, so he zoomed up my body and shot down my top for ‘safety’!

Derek weighed about 330g when he visited the vet in April, but had increased to 450g when I weighed him yesterday. Ronnie, who’s always been slightly heavier than Derek, came in at 470g. This is at the upper limits of what male pet rats should weigh (apparently 270g to 450g).

When rats are in their infancy, it’s advised to feed them well. However, now Ronnie and Derek are six months old and have just about reached adulthood, it’s probably time for them to go on a mini-diet to ensure they don’t get too heavy. I’m always careful not to overfeed them, but it looks like fewer treats and smaller portions of their nuggets will be necessary!

World Rat Day

 
On World Rat Day, here are some photos of Ronnie and Derek from the last few days, including:

• Derek snoozing in the shell
• Ronnie using a sleeping Derek as a table to eat from
• Rat ‘bookends’ with them both in the shell

Click thumbnails to enlarge. More photos on the Photos page.