he almost sounds like a pigeon making short quick cooing noises. otherwise he is acting normal. can someone shed some light on this for me? is it possible that he has a cold?
2007-05-13 10:54:23 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Rodents
Any vocalization that we humans can hear is cause for concern. Rats normally "talk" in a frequency that is beyond our hearing capacity.
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bclee/ratdet.html
The vocalizations that we can hear usually expresses fear (squeak), alarm (shriek), anger (hissing), or illness (moaning, cooing, wheezing, guinea pig grunting, clicking). Even bruxing (gnashing the teeth), akin to a cat's purr, and a sound that we like to hear when our rats are happy, can mean both contentment, or discontentment. Rats brux when they are ill to help themselves feel better.
http://www.ratbehavior.org/norway_rat_vocalizations.htm
Unfortunately rats do not get a simple cold. They get Mycoplasmosis
http://search.yahoo.com/search?search=Mycoplasmosis+in+rats&ei=UTF-8&fr=ks-ans&ico-yahoo-search-value=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.yahoo.com%2Fsearch&ico-wikipedia-search-value=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FSpecial%3ASearch&p=Mycoplasmosis+in+rats
Pet rats are born with the pathogen already in their nasel passage and lungs. Stress of any kind, even aging, or being lonely, will cause a flair-up and these flair-ups come and go for the rest of their lives.
If your rat is still acting normal, and a rat can live for a very long time with Myco, you have more then likely caught the disease in the early stage when it is still in the nasel passage and easier to control. Once it goes down into the lungs the rat will get pnuemonia which is much more difficult to treat.
Hope is not lost. It can be controlled with medication when the vet makes a definate diagnosis.
http://www.rmca.org/Articles/dchart.htm
And you can join Holistarat http://groups.yahoo.com/group/holistarat where expert rat keepers can help you with both conventional medicine and holistic alternatives.
spazrats
"my life has gone to the rats"
2007-05-13 13:42:44 · answer #1 · answered by spazrats 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Rat Vocalizations
2016-12-18 15:45:33 · answer #2 · answered by matheis 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Rats are very prone to respiratory infections, characterized by making strange noises - this is their wheezy breathing. It can also sound squeaky or like little chicken noises.
Do get the rat to a vet. Respiratory infections never fully go away, they tend to reappear if the rat ever gets at all stressed, or when the rat is old. The flare-ups can be controlled with courses of antibiotics, so get the rat to the vet for some help. Sorry your rat's got this problem, but it is common. If you're using and cedar or pine bedding, get rid of it as it doesn't help any rodent's health.
Chalice
2007-05-13 11:40:15 · answer #3 · answered by Chalice 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Don't worry because it is normal for the rat to be sneezing constantly because you just got her a week ago. They need to get used to the air in your house because it is different from the air from where you got her. I'm thinking she's squeeking to get your attention. Since there isn't another rat in the cage to play with and sleep with she wants you guys to play with her. I really suggest that you get another rat for her. If you don't get another one, your rat could get depression, lonely, and could stay shy. If you got another rat, then it wouldn't get lonely or depressed and the other rat could "teach" it to socialize. To get her to be less shy do not grab for her immediatly when you open the cage. Put a hand in and just let it sit there. She might not come at first, but just keep your hand there. Eventually she will explore it. Good luck!
2016-03-19 04:39:19 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like a respiratory problem, which are quite common in rats. You should get him in to a vet, it can and should be treated. Good luck.
http://www.ratz.co.uk/ailments.html#Respiratory%20Problems
http://www.ratlovers.org/articles/Myco.html
2007-05-13 11:01:31 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
souds like a lung problem... check what bedding you are using, if its wood shavings- get them out! give your ratties (shame shame its a single rat) ripped up toilet paper to use as bedding, and call the 'ask-a-vet' line soon. Better safe than sorry
*good luck with your little rattie
2007-05-13 13:07:39 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
my rat died a view weeks ago pleas look after yours you need to take her/him to the vet,mine made the exact same noises.
2007-05-13 10:59:17 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Go see a vet if this continues.
2007-05-13 13:39:19 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Maybe he's just tired of living in the ghetto with you, and that's his way of telling you..
2007-05-13 11:52:31 · answer #9 · answered by Dirk Johnson 5 · 0⤊ 5⤋
Its a rat.....
2007-05-13 10:58:45 · answer #10 · answered by Ha! Invisible! 3 · 0⤊ 5⤋