Caused By: usually caused when a wound gets infected.
Treatment: veterinary care is required in this situation. The vet will have to drain the abscess and the rat may have to remain in the hospital, depending on the severity. For prevention of abscesses, check the rat for cuts after it gets into a fight and every time you pick it up. These cuts can be helped to heal with a vet's care before they turn into abscesses.
Caused By: bacteria which have entered a small wound in the foot, usually caused by walking on wire flooring.
Treatment: take your rat to a veterinarian. He or she will prescribe some antibiotics and show you how to wash the wound. If your rat's cage has a wire floor or wire levels, remove them and replace them with hammocks or plastic levels. Make sure the cage is kept clean and the levels are washed, with dirty hammocks being washed or discarded.
Caused By: trauma to the tail, usually by pulling on it.
Treatment: stop the bleeding with pressure using a styptic powder or cornstarch on a gauze or clean towel. Once bleeding has stopped clean the wound very gently with saline or a surgical antibacterial soap. If only the tip is affected, it will likely fall off on its own. If a larger portion is affected, veterinary intervention is needed to amputate the dead part of the tail. Care must be taken to prevent infection; keep the cage clean and clean the wound again if necessary.
Photo courtesy of Erin.
Caused By: tiny blood-sucking parasites.
Treatment: a single drop of flea killer solution like Advantage or Revolution, applied to the back of the neck and absorbed through the skin, or an injection of Ivermectin will kill the parasites. The treatment should be repeated in two weeks to ensure all of the parasites are gone. Do not use Ivermectin on pregnant rats, but Advantage are Revolution are safe for pregnant, nursing, and weanling rats. Do not use the no-name brand flea control products found in stores like Wal-Mart, as they are not safe for rats.
Caused By: a genetic disorder that disables the colon’s muscles from contracting, so feces do not get pushed out and waste material buildes up in the colon, swelling the abdomen immensely until death occurs.
Treatment: none. In almost all cases, rats with megacolon will die. There are some drugs that may extend the life of the rat slightly, but in most cases the best option is to euthanize any affected babies before they begin to suffer.
Click here to view a necropsy photo of severe, moderate, and mild megacolon (Warning, picture is graphic)
Caused By: an overgrowth of the mycoplasma pulmonis bacteria, a bacteria which all rats carry and is harmless when the population is under control. Other factors like stress, bad bedding, and a poor diet can all contribute to a mycoplasma (myco) infection.
Treatment: none. You can lessen the symptoms with antibiotics, but unless you completely remove anything causing it, the infection will only return. Some strains of myco are more resilient, and will not react to antibiotics. Others can be brought under control with antibiotics, and will not return for several months. To increase the chances that the infection will not reccur, keep the cage very clean and well-ventilated and do not use pine and cedar beddings.
Caused By: too many high-fat, high-protein food, not enough exercise, genetics.
Treatment: cut down on the treats! Don't feed fatty things like peanut butter, doughnuts, seeds, nuts, etc. The best kinds of healthy treats are whole wheat bread, crackers, fruits, low-fat cereals, etc. Also, an exercise program will help get the rats into shape again. If it doesn't already have a wheel, put one in the cage. Perhaps the rat is not motivated and wants a friend to play with. Some bored critters just eat and eat. Spend more time with it. Just make sure you only feed its regular food and healthy treats.
Caused By: the rat's natural ability to have its teeth grow continuously unless worn down. Rats usually grind their teeth together to keep them at a manageable length in a process called bruxing, but if they are malformed so that they do not meet properly it is hard or impossible for the rat to wear them down.
Treatment: if the teeth are badly misaligned, the only option is to get a veterinarian to clip them for you. It is a simple procedure, but an ongoing one. The teeth will probably need to be trimmed every two weeks or so to keep them at a manageable level. If left untreated, the rat will be unable to eat and will starve to death, or worse, the teeth will grow into the rat’s nasal cavity or skull.
Caused By: a cancerous cell that causes the cells around it to grow to immense proportions.
Treatment: if you find it early, the outlook is usually good. Take the rat to the vet where he or she can determine exactly what it is and if it can be removed. Some tumors start inside the rat's body, so once they are detected it is too late and they cannot be removed without killing the rat. The vet will tell you if it is malignant (will spread, even if treated) or benign (can be removed and won't come back). It can then be removed, or if the situation is too severe, the animal can be put to sleep. There's nothing you can do to prevent tumors. In fact, they're very common in rats, especially in older rats.
Caused By: a rat carrying a virus.
Treatment: none. The only hope is to isolate every rat that could have come into contact with the virus and keep each rat quarantined until the virus has run its course. Some treatments are available to ease the symptoms of rats, but it is up to the rat’s immune system whether it will survive the virus or not. After the rats have stopped showing symptoms, all cages should be sterilized and all rats should be kept in quarantine (no new rats in your house, no rats leaving the house) for at least 4 months to make sure nothing is left of the disease.