Post-Mortum Question

[Exodog]

Sadly, one of my best friend's rats passed away last night. =[
She was found in her wheel this morning, and I was just wondering whether or not getting her tail stuck in the wheel while running would be bad enough to cause death.

 

[smilez_n_hugs]

Was there alot of blood? Rats' tails tend to bleed alot so I guess if the tail got cut by the wheel then it's possible.

 

[Exodog]

There was no blood, she was just in the wheel. I was thinking it could have been jarred if she was going quickly and possibly severed the spinal cord, which is grotesque, but it would have been almost instant and painless if it were that =[

 

[jorats]

I honestly don't know if that could have caused sudden death. I'm tempted to say no way.
Getting a necropsy done might reveal what happened.

 

[smilez_n_hugs]

Yeah I'm with Jo it seems very unlikely.

 

[Exodog]

I thought so too, but she has no idea what else it could have been. She was in good health and everything. Could it have been lonliness? I know she recently had to remove her sister from the cage because she was ill and didn't want it to spread.

 

[jorats]

Now that you mention the other had an illness, it's quite possible this one was sick as well.
Next time, tell your friend not to separate. By the time one rat is showing symptoms, it's already too late. All the rats in the colony have been exposed. That doesn't mean they will all get sick. Most rats with good strong immune system will overcome the illness.

 

[Exodog]

It wasn't an illness like a virus or anything, her sister (Dorothy) has had it for quite a while. I have a feeling the illness the Dorothy has may have to do with the fact that they came from an oopsie litter where the parents were brother and sister. None of her other rats have showed symptoms anything like hers over the few months she's been ill, including the recently passed ******.

 

[SQ]

As Jorats said, regardless of the illness, if it is contagious then the other rats have alreay been exposed by the time humans notice.
There is no reason to seperate ill rats and it can cause harm to all rats, especially any that are ill because it will increase their stress level.

Rats who lose their cagemates may grieve terribly and die if they are not introed in with one or more new friends.
But your friend would have noticed a change in her behaviour such as depression, loss of interest in food, etc.