Odd Behavior.

[ratsby]

Good evening!
I have a 27month-old rat, SweetPea, who is exhibiting some odd behavior today. He is out on the couch, as usual, and he keeps rubbing his chin on the upholstery. He is also making clicking noises, but he always does when he is out of the cage. Should I be concerned? This is not a "choking" incident, we have had that happen before. He is just sitting in the corner of the couch clicking. He is not running or exploring as much as usual . He is currently eating mashed up Mazuri with a little applesauce, since we are out of his Oxbow (my local supplier closed with no notice!) but we should be back in supply tomorrow. He is also twitching his head a little. Is this a dental problem, or evidence of a respiratory infection? he is still chewing on his chewsticks and eating, but is not himself.

He has no history of respiratory problems. Had surgery 2 months ago for a tumor removal. He has been treated once for mites. He is recently experiencing some HED due to his age.

Do I need to rush him to the emergency vet , or can it wait until tomorrow?

Thanks everyone!

 

[jorats]

This sounds respiratory... I'd get him to a vet. It's an emergency if you see him become lethargic and if you see his sides heaving in and out, if not, then it can wait till tomorrow.
The chin rubbing... we see this a lot usually when rats ate something they really don't like, like meds but I have seen it in some rats with URIs.

 

[ratsby]

I called my vet late yesterday and talked to them, they didn't seem too concerned. My fiance took SweetPea to the vet this afternoon and it turns out one of his teeth was significantly overgrown. He has never had problems before, so I was a bit surprised. The vet recommends that we bring him in monthly for teeth trimming. Is this normal for older rats? I make sure he has an abundant supply of chew sticks and such. The vet gave him the once-over and said there was no other sign of infection so I am happy with the conclusion that he was just experiencing some discomfort.

But he seems happy tonight, and is munching on his food. He seems a bit tired-they had to sedate him a little to trim the tooth, since it had gotten so long. But no more clicking noises for now.

 

[Maple]

Good news, glad to hear he is feeling better.

 

[jorats]

That is definitely good news. In all the rats I've had, only 2 needed regular teeth trimming so I wouldn't say it's common in older rats. But it does happen.

 

[Chevalrose]

That's great news

 

[lilspaz68]

When a rat ages, the calcium leaches out of their bones, etc...this can cause that flexible mandible in their jaw to weaken and a malocclusion can develop. I have had it happen 3 times now. Monkey is the latest.

 

[mamarat]

That's great news for SweetPea. :joy:

 

[ratsby]

thanks everyone! I knew rat's teeth were continuously growing, but I didn't realize how fast they can grow! the vet said had it gotten any longer there could have been serious problems. I am happy to report that SweetPea is very active today and ate ALL of his food. Something he hasn't done in a while, probably due to his toothy situation. I will definitely keep an eye on it going forward.

For those of you who have or have had your rats' teeth trimmed, how much should I expect to pay? They had to sedate him lightly yesterday, is this routine? The total bill was $120! I cannot afford that every month. Or is that just due to the severity of his overgrowth and for routine maintenance they wont have to sedate him? Just a "recheck" is $55. I know my hospital is a bit pricey-but they ONLY treat exotics, so I am much more comfortable with them than any other local vet.

 

[jorats]

I paid $20 for mine but my vet doesn't sedate.
Another thing you could ask is to get them to trim close to the gum line and that will buy you more time before the next trim. But for the first little while, he'll have to be on soft foods.

 

[pscychopomp]

You can also try doing it yourself, we did that with a rat in the past. You can use one of those dog nail clippers, we used wire cutters though (never had a problem) and she had it done since she was little. There's instructions online, or maybe your vet is willing to teach you (in our case the vet tech did it). My vet also charged $20 but I had an employee discount.