Rats!

Posted on July 13, 2012 by Shangzhe Xie, DVM

A very popular cartoon depicted a rat with unprecedented culinary skills sharing a small apartment in Paris with a human, and eventually impressing a food critic enough to become a real chef. In real life, rats don’t live in glamorous apartments or have high profile jobs, but most pet rats in America do live in a nicely-sized enclosure with abundant toys and have food served to them daily. But despite this easy living, there are still some health problems that can affect rats, the most common of which are summarized below:

  1. Porphyrin (red-tears) staining
    Rats are frequently brought to the veterinarian for what looks like bleeding around the eyes and nose. Although this is possible, most of the time the ‘blood’ is actually porphyrin, a red pigment that is an indicator of stress or illness.  Although porphyrin staining by itself may not be a problem, it warrants further investigation into the health/welfare of the rat.
  2. Sneezing
    Rats may sneeze once or twice a day when there is irritation to their nasal passages, but there are infections that can make them sneeze much more frequently. Mycoplasma is an organism that can commonly cause such infections. It’s a very difficult disease to eradicate, but with careful medical management and husbandry, rats with the disease can still lead a happy life.
  3. Hair loss
    Losing hair is never a pleasant experience, and rats frequently have this problem. If there is more than one rat in the enclosure, sometimes they groom each other too much, which results in hair loss. Husbandry changes to provide more enrichment may be effective in solving the problem. However, there are skin infections caused by mites, bacteria and fungus that can also cause similar signs so, when in doubt, bring the rat(s) to a veterinarian for a check-up and tests to rule out these infections.

Rats make great pets because of their natural affection and curiosity. Their natural lifespan, unfortunately, is only about 2-3 years, so if you are fortunate enough to have a rat as a companion, it’s important to learn as much about them as you can so you can help them lead a happy, healthy life.

About Shangzhe Xie, DVM

Shangzhe Xie, DVM, graduated in 2008 from Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia, and completed a Master of Veterinary Studies in Conservation Medicine from Murdoch University in 2010. Dr. Xie worked at Banfield Pet Hospital of Burbank, Ill., from July 2010 to June 2012 and expanded the clientele to include exotic species. He also served on the Banfield Exotic Pets Care Guidelines Committee in 2011. He is currently working relief at veterinary facilities in and around Singapore and Australia while waiting to begin a PhD program. View all posts by Shangzhe Xie, DVM →


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