Super sleepy rats!

[chrid515]

I just got two fancy rats about two weeks ago (both girls). At first, they were very active and playful. I even made the a giant rat playground that they LOVED. They ran around exploring, picking up treats, and finding new ways to sneak out. But about two days ago they started getting super lethargic. Though they would come and get treats from me, they slept most of the time. Even when I put them in their rat playground, they just go straight into the tunnels and sleep.

I know that rats are nocturnal and are expected to behave this way during the day, but this is happening even at night. I'm a night owl and stay up until 1:00 to 2:00 in the morning, and they still are super sleepy even then.

I feed them oxbow rat blocks and other little bits of food (bananas, cherries, cucumbers, strawberries, watermelons, broccoli, etc). They have plenty of water and do drink it regularly. I know they are not pregnant because I bought them in a store that only kept and sold female rats. Please help! I don't know what to do!

 

[hopefloats]

My rat are wide awake at 3 to 4 am. I get up for work at that time and it sounds like a circus of rat wheels. It is also the same at dusk so about 7 to 8pm.

How old are the girls? Have you rat phoned them to see if their lungs sound funny? Are they sneezing? do they have staining around their paws or on their coat anywhere? Has it been hot? Hot weather will stop a rat dead in his tracks. It was to hot in our rat room the other day and every rat just laid around and didnt even try to cuddle.

 

[Petunia]

how old are they? are they getting at least 8 hours of darkness each day? any changes in the past few days that might have stressed them out? (new people, new routine, new pets, anything that is different that might stress them out)

and as mentioned above,
rats will not move around a lot of it's too hot.

 

[jorats]

Rats are not nocturnal, they are crepuscular but adjust very well to our schedule.
How old are the rats, is it very hot in your area, is their water from a bottle and if so, make sure it's working really well. Second, check their respiratory system. Sick rats will be lethargic.
It might be worth a trip to the vet for a full check up.

 

[chrid515]

The girls are about 8 months old. I do live in southern Louisiana and it's getting quite hot. My air conditioning is also broken.

I'm not sure what a rat phone is, but their breathing appears to be normal. Do you think I should take them to a vet. Or perhaps what I really need to do is get my air conditioning fixed?

 

[chrid515]

They are new (I only got them two weeks ago), so it may be stress. Also, when should their 8 hours of darkness be? During the day? I'm not sure if I should leave the light on or not when I'm at work. I don't want them to feel all sad and lonely in the dark, but then again, since they're supposed to be sleeping during the day, perhaps light will disrupt their sleep? I always leave the light on between 7:00 p.m. and 1:00-2:00 A.M., whenever I go to bed. What would you recommend in terms of when to leave the light on/off?

 

[Aida]

I don't really monitor the 8hrs of darkness a day, because the cage is in my bedroom. I generally sleep from around 12am to 5am, and the sun rises around like 6, so they get their 6 hours... eh, it depends.

Rats as mentioned aren't nocturnal or day-turnal(is that a word?), they sleep in intervals during the day-- think cats! Some are more active at night, others not.
I would associate their sleepyness to the heat, and maybe to just their personalities. You did just get them, after all. As long as they aren't losing weight, don't seem to be in pain, don't have red staining around the eyes or nose, and as long as the "rat phone" doesn't make any noises, I think they are fine.
((A "rat phone" is when you take the rat, and hold their body/chest/back to your ear, to make sure they aren't making wheezing, rasping, or squeaking noises when breathing.))

Do get that AC up and running, however. Rats don't like too much heat. If you can't get it fixed quickly and it gets very hot, cool them down a bit by placing a damp towel over their cage and aiming a fan at it, placing ice packs in their cage(ones they can't eat, try icecubes in a coffee can or rag), or giving them frozen fruits to eat.

 

[jorats]

The heat could definitely do it. At 8 months old, they are fully matured. Give them some time to adjust, they are still new to their home.

 

[chrid515]

Thank you! I'm new at this whole rat thing...

I will get the air conditioning fixed!