female sick?

[neil01]

I have two females (Sprague-Dawley) that are approximately 5-months old. One of my females seems to be doing fine. However, her sister has not been gaining weight as much as I would like. Over the last little while the fur on the side of her left cheek has started thinning (she is not bald though). She has slight porphryin stains on the fur along her neck but it isn't significant. She grooms regularly. She is in general little more quiet then her sister, but i have noticed her resting more in their *house* (not sure how to describe it) or sitting in the corner of her cage. I have not noticed any indicators of a respiratory infection (such as wheezing or coughing).

She does eat although not very much. However, both of my girls hardly eat their chow anyway (which is available ad lib). They will eat food we give them such as frozen peas (their favorite!) etc. I have noticed when I have the girls out of their cage, the smaller one will often urinate and it is a fairly large puddle. (This is not the typical scent trail markings that I am accustomed too). This made me wonder whether for whatever reason she has stopped (or reduced) urinating in her home cage. I have tried increasing the frequency of cage cleaning and I cannot detect any noticeable difference. She does not fight often with her sister, but it is clear that her sister is the dominant female.

Has anyone noticed similar problems? Any suggestions are welcomed. I am not sure what the thinning fur on her side of her cheek means or whether this is a separate issue. I am looking to find a good vet in the CT. area.
Thanks

Neil

 

[lilspaz68]

Watch them carefully when they are together, it sound like the dominant girl is barbering her friend's cheek which is nothing to worry about.

How old are your girls?

 

[jorats]

I agree with lilspaz, it looks like barbaring. And from your description, it sounds like you've got two girls with opposite personalities and behaviour which is very normal.
But if you do find a good exotic vet, I'd bring both girls in for a full checkup. Sometimes it's worth listening to your gut instinct.

 

[neil01]

Thank you for your response. They are both about 5 months old. I will try and take a picture and post later tonight. But it could be barbering as you suggested. It certainly is not painful to her at least when I touch the area. Strangely, I work with rodents on a daily basis and have never seen this type of behavior.

 

[*Rebel_Angel*]

Sound's like one of my girl's Aili, she's quiet, thin and fragile...one of my names for her is prom queen..she is also beautiful as hell. She prefers sitting in a corner and watching her sister's then joining in, she also sleep's alot...miss need's her beauty sleep *lol*
I was worried about her weight cause her sister's are chubbier but vet said she was healthy just prefer's being on the thin side, she told me rat's have very different personalities like that.

Sound's like you have royalty on ur hand's too *lol*
But get her checked out tho!