Recent Feedback
My daughter's 8 month old pet rat has diarrhea. I went away for the weekend and she and the rat stayed at my sister's house. The rat was placed in a tank (not her normal big 3 level cage). She and her two cousins handled the rat but it never roamed. It was not fed anything other than its store bought rat pellets. The rat came home last night after 3 1/2 days in the tank at my sister's house (mesh top). Today it had diarrhea and it smells very bad. Since this does not seem to be diet related, I am concerned. The rat is drinking and very active as normal. Should I attribute this to nerves? I would've thought that would have occurred when away in the tank, not now if it were from being scared. Also, could my daughter become ill from the rat since it has diarrhea?
Optional Information: Type of Animal: rat Pet's Gender: Female Pet's Age: <1 Already Tried: nothing...just keeping the water bottle filled and window cracked because it smells pretty bad.
Hello,
Most likely that rat has diarrhea because somebody has fed something improper or something may have been wrong with the food. Kaytee has just had a recall on some of their pet diets, so you may want to check on the name of the food you have been feeding. http://www.petproductnews.com/headlines/2012/04/30/kaytee-recalls-batch-of-mouse-rat-and-hamster-food-due-to-salmonella.aspx
For now I suggest the Brat diet to help with the diarrhea: banana baby food, rice baby creal, apple sauce and toast. You can also feed a little canned pumpkin (not pie filling) which is a high fiber food that may help with the diarrhea. I would add some Plain Pedialyte for hydration.
If it does not start clearing or it seems to get worse a Rat savy Vet visit may be needed. You can locate rat Vets here: Put member in both blanks: http://www.rmca.org/Resources/vets.htm/
Joan
As stated in my post...nothing was fed to the rat other than it's food which is from the same bag we've been feeding from for weeks. Nothing wrong with it. Also, you did not answer my question regarding my daughter picking up something from the rat.
If the Rat has a parasite or a zoonotic issue it can be transfered to your daughter, so I would be cautious with her handling the rat. It would be wise to have a fecal check done on the Rat to rule out any of those issues. I would start the Brat diet for the rat and hopefully that will help resolve the issue. Joan
Experience: Vet Tech for 30+yrs. Small Animals and Fish