Calling All Rat Lovers/Owners!

[The Lost Gremlin]

Does anyone have experience dealing with abscessed teeth in rats? One of my girls has a nasty big abscess on her jaw that's been going back and fourth between golf ball sized to barely noticeable for the past week. My best guess would be a tooth issue due to its placement, and its not drainable from the outside so she would have to be put under to work on it from inside her mouth. Neither I nor my rat vet thought it fair to put such an old rat through dental surgery, but she isn't in pain either (thanks to some really nice pain-killers and her being a total champ about taking her meds) so its been hard trying to decide what to do. Her teeth have begun to misalign from the repeated swelling however, so I am starting to think her time is up if the abscess doesn't go away on its own with the antibiotics soon. I was thinking about getting some xrays at my local vet office but wanted to ask around and see if anyone had their own experiences to share, to see if it would be worth it. I do not have a great local vet when it comes to final decisions - he doesn't see small animals as being 'worth it' and mostly works on farm animals so he has that nasty 'just kill it' mentality (and this is who I would see about having her put down since my experienced rat vet that I use for surgeries and the like is about three hours away), so I wont be taking advice on that from him anytime soon and wanted to rather hear from other actual pet owners to see what others have dealt with in malocclusion.

I had a blue hooded rex named Teddy whom had to be put down from a mouth abscess that sprung up last autumn. He was about 2 years at the time and was also suffering from a pretty aggressive URI that wasn't getting better despite all the different meds and antibiotics that we tried to put him on. The abscess disfigured his teeth and made it nearly impossible for him to eat. The vet and I agreed that he was just too old and too weak to risk putting under anesthetic for surgery so we gave him a few days to say good bye to his new baby brothers before having him PTS. My veterinary practice treats all animals the same, big or small, so they were happy to try and do everything they could within reason to make Teddy as comfortable as possible.

The vet noted that the surgery would've been fairly risky had Teddy been strong enough for it anyways. In his particular case the abscess was right under the gum and meant that they would've had to pull both of his upper incisors so that they could access and drain the abscess. That also meant that he'd likely have to be on soft foods for the rest of his life and would needly fortnightly check-ups to get his bottom teeth trimmed, and to make sure that his abscess didn't return.

[ShadyBro]

Wanted to let everyone know that Basil didnt make it. I made the decision to put her down. I'm rather glad I did. Upon looking at the condition of her skull after death, which I cleaned and processed to create a memorial piece, I found that the abscess was literally so bad it had eaten away part of her eye socket and caused small fractures along the jaw. She passed away in my arms and knowing she was well loved though <3

On a brighter note, I finally updated my rat section, and added in some of my newbies. Due to leading a recent rescue operation in a hoarding case, I will probably have quite a few new girls joining the group once we learn their personalities and figure out who's going to which home. We decided we would simply adopt all the females that come in so we can focus on neutering and rehoming all the boys, since neuters are cheaper. Considering how many ratties I've lost recently to old age and such, this sounds good to me! Friendly reminder to encourage everyone you know to spay and neuter their animals - hoarders like this really make my blood boil..

Anyways - cute rat pic, and a link to their story <3

[Chaotic_Affection]

Hi! So I have a rat bean, he will be one years old in a few months from now. He is a black hooded boy, named Benny.. But he keeps himself very clean but he keeps getting a pinkish hue on his fur? We can wash it off, which we do, but it comes back within like a week or two. Do you have any ideas? He isn't the first rat I've owned he's actually the fifth, but none of the others had this happen

[September Rain]

Hi! So I have a rat bean, he will be one years old in a few months from now. He is a black hooded boy, named Benny.. But he keeps himself very clean but he keeps getting a pinkish hue on his fur? We can wash it off, which we do, but it comes back within like a week or two. Do you have any ideas? He isn't the first rat I've owned he's actually the fifth, but none of the others had this happen

Where is the pinkish hue? Is it beneath his nose or eyes? If so, it could be porphyrin, which is reddish discharge. It is totally normal, although if it is excessive or comes with other symptoms, I'd suggest seeing a vet. Here's some more information about it.
Also, do you have at least two rats? All rats need a buddy (Unless they are rat-aggressive), and if they don't have a buddy they are more likely to become stressed and are more prone to infection, which could be why your rat has more porphyrin.
Below I've included a post I found on Rat Forum answering a similar question about porphyrin (Link).

It is not good.

If every now and then you see a tiny bit that is fine but When you are seeing it often or in large amounts (more so if it is recurring) it is because it is in excess and signals a problem.

Causes can be:

Poor nutrition
Deprivation of water
Pain
Illness (e.g., respiratory disease bacterial or viral)
Environmental stressors (e.g., aggressive cage-mates, handling, over-crowded cages)
Environment and airborne irritants (e.g., aromatic bedding, scented detergent in washed bedding, smoking by owners, candles fragrances)
Blocked tear duct
Eye infection or other conditions affecting the eye (including injury)

Link

I would just go through and check if there may be an issue, such as:
is she getting lots of access to water - sometimes bottles won't work well so having multiple bottles is a good idea and giving fresh water daily & not adding stuff to the water.
What type of diet are u feeding her? Is she getting veggies & healthy nums?
How large is her cage? Is it being cleaned often enough?
Environmental stuff like listed above- smoking around the rats, strong scents/fragrances, etc..
And lastly illness. Is she sneezing or showing other signs?

I'd also check for anything in her cage or play area that could injure her eye. Or what type of bedding u r using as sometimes it can get in the eye and bother it. I have heard it happen with stuff like hay & sometimes wood chips.

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AHHH!! I really want a pet rat, but my parents won't let meeee ;w;

[Chaotic_Affection]

Hi! So I have a rat bean, he will be one years old in a few months from now. He is a black hooded boy, named Benny.. But he keeps himself very clean but he keeps getting a pinkish hue on his fur? We can wash it off, which we do, but it comes back within like a week or two. Do you have any ideas? He isn't the first rat I've owned he's actually the fifth, but none of the others had this happen

Where is the pinkish hue? Is it beneath his nose or eyes? If so, it could be porphyrin, which is reddish discharge. It is totally normal, although if it is excessive or comes with other symptoms, I'd suggest seeing a vet. Here's some more information about it.
Also, do you have at least two rats? All rats need a buddy (Unless they are rat-aggressive), and if they don't have a buddy they are more likely to become stressed and are more prone to infection, which could be why your rat has more porphyrin.
Below I've included a post I found on Rat Forum answering a similar question about porphyrin (Link).

It is not good.

If every now and then you see a tiny bit that is fine but When you are seeing it often or in large amounts (more so if it is recurring) it is because it is in excess and signals a problem.

Causes can be:

Poor nutrition
Deprivation of water
Pain
Illness (e.g., respiratory disease bacterial or viral)
Environmental stressors (e.g., aggressive cage-mates, handling, over-crowded cages)
Environment and airborne irritants (e.g., aromatic bedding, scented detergent in washed bedding, smoking by owners, candles fragrances)
Blocked tear duct
Eye infection or other conditions affecting the eye (including injury)

Link

I would just go through and check if there may be an issue, such as:
is she getting lots of access to water - sometimes bottles won't work well so having multiple bottles is a good idea and giving fresh water daily & not adding stuff to the water.
What type of diet are u feeding her? Is she getting veggies & healthy nums?
How large is her cage? Is it being cleaned often enough?
Environmental stuff like listed above- smoking around the rats, strong scents/fragrances, etc..
And lastly illness. Is she sneezing or showing other signs?

I'd also check for anything in her cage or play area that could injure her eye. Or what type of bedding u r using as sometimes it can get in the eye and bother it. I have heard it happen with stuff like hay & sometimes wood chips.

This is helpful, but, it's in the center of his back. He has a hammock with white fluff inside, and it has been rubbing off in there as well. And, no, we only have a single rat, we also have a dachshund, but, my rat is aggressive towards her, so we're afraid that'd he'd be mean to a second rat.

[September Rain]

This is helpful, but, it's in the center of his back. He has a hammock with white fluff inside, and it has been rubbing off in there as well. And, no, we only have a single rat, we also have a dachshund, but, my rat is aggressive towards her, so we're afraid that'd he'd be mean to a second rat.

It is still possible it could be porphyrin - while grooming, your rat could have rubbed the porphyrin onto his fur. Below is another post from Rat Forum I found that seems to address a similar question (Link).

It's porphyrin. It comes from their eyes and nose and is usually produced in excess when a rat is ill or stressed. I have a white boy and sometimes after his treatments for his medical condition, he looks like a pink hooded rat because he rubs the porphyrin off his nose, then cleans his head with his hands and rubs it into his fur, resulting in pinkish tinged fur around his face/head/neck, and sometimes on his body when he licks his fur and has a porphyriny nose.

Is your girl snuffly, sneezy, or wheezy at all? she could be developing an upper respiratory infection and is starting to show signs of it. Has something been stressing her out possibly? Has the weather changed drastically recently? Is her litter dusty and irritating her nose, or is a bad litter (pine or cedar) and damaging her respiratory tract? There are a lot of reasons why a rat could be producing more porphyrin with fur staining, but it's best to rule out the most dangerous issues first (like if she's getting sick) just to be safe.

The best way I found to get it off fur easily is pet the rat with a wet hand so the surface of their fur is all wet where the porphyrin is, and then wipe it off with dry toilet paper. Bathing seems to not get it off, but the toilet paper trick seems to work best!

I hope your girl isn't getting sick and it's just a change of weather of something!

(It might just be the lighting but it looks like she might be a very light beige hooded that also has some porphyrin stains?)

All rats need a buddy. Just because he acts aggressive towards your dog, who he most likely sees as a predator, does not guarantee he will be aggressive towards another rat. If your rat does not have a buddy (and is not rat-aggressive), he will most likely be lonely which can result in a higher chance of developing an illness (Video).

[Chaotic_Affection]

This is helpful, but, it's in the center of his back. He has a hammock with white fluff inside, and it has been rubbing off in there as well. And, no, we only have a single rat, we also have a dachshund, but, my rat is aggressive towards her, so we're afraid that'd he'd be mean to a second rat.

It is still possible it could be porphyrin - while grooming, your rat could have rubbed the porphyrin onto his fur. Below is another post from Rat Forum I found that seems to address a similar question (Link).

It's porphyrin. It comes from their eyes and nose and is usually produced in excess when a rat is ill or stressed. I have a white boy and sometimes after his treatments for his medical condition, he looks like a pink hooded rat because he rubs the porphyrin off his nose, then cleans his head with his hands and rubs it into his fur, resulting in pinkish tinged fur around his face/head/neck, and sometimes on his body when he licks his fur and has a porphyriny nose.

Is your girl snuffly, sneezy, or wheezy at all? she could be developing an upper respiratory infection and is starting to show signs of it. Has something been stressing her out possibly? Has the weather changed drastically recently? Is her litter dusty and irritating her nose, or is a bad litter (pine or cedar) and damaging her respiratory tract? There are a lot of reasons why a rat could be producing more porphyrin with fur staining, but it's best to rule out the most dangerous issues first (like if she's getting sick) just to be safe.

The best way I found to get it off fur easily is pet the rat with a wet hand so the surface of their fur is all wet where the porphyrin is, and then wipe it off with dry toilet paper. Bathing seems to not get it off, but the toilet paper trick seems to work best!

I hope your girl isn't getting sick and it's just a change of weather of something!

(It might just be the lighting but it looks like she might be a very light beige hooded that also has some porphyrin stains?)

All rats need a buddy. Just because he acts aggressive towards your dog, who he most likely sees as a predator, does not guarantee he will be aggressive towards another rat. If your rat does not have a buddy (and is not rat-aggressive), he will most likely be lonely which can result in a higher chance of developing an illness (Video).

Thanks! I'll have him checked out, and possibly get him a little friend, I'll let you know what happens. Thank you again.

[September Rain]

This is helpful, but, it's in the center of his back. He has a hammock with white fluff inside, and it has been rubbing off in there as well. And, no, we only have a single rat, we also have a dachshund, but, my rat is aggressive towards her, so we're afraid that'd he'd be mean to a second rat.

It is still possible it could be porphyrin - while grooming, your rat could have rubbed the porphyrin onto his fur. Below is another post from Rat Forum I found that seems to address a similar question (Link).

It's porphyrin. It comes from their eyes and nose and is usually produced in excess when a rat is ill or stressed. I have a white boy and sometimes after his treatments for his medical condition, he looks like a pink hooded rat because he rubs the porphyrin off his nose, then cleans his head with his hands and rubs it into his fur, resulting in pinkish tinged fur around his face/head/neck, and sometimes on his body when he licks his fur and has a porphyriny nose.

Is your girl snuffly, sneezy, or wheezy at all? she could be developing an upper respiratory infection and is starting to show signs of it. Has something been stressing her out possibly? Has the weather changed drastically recently? Is her litter dusty and irritating her nose, or is a bad litter (pine or cedar) and damaging her respiratory tract? There are a lot of reasons why a rat could be producing more porphyrin with fur staining, but it's best to rule out the most dangerous issues first (like if she's getting sick) just to be safe.

The best way I found to get it off fur easily is pet the rat with a wet hand so the surface of their fur is all wet where the porphyrin is, and then wipe it off with dry toilet paper. Bathing seems to not get it off, but the toilet paper trick seems to work best!

I hope your girl isn't getting sick and it's just a change of weather of something!

(It might just be the lighting but it looks like she might be a very light beige hooded that also has some porphyrin stains?)

All rats need a buddy. Just because he acts aggressive towards your dog, who he most likely sees as a predator, does not guarantee he will be aggressive towards another rat. If your rat does not have a buddy (and is not rat-aggressive), he will most likely be lonely which can result in a higher chance of developing an illness (Video).

Thanks! I'll have him checked out, and possibly get him a little friend, I'll let you know what happens. Thank you again.

Sure thing! Good luck c:

[BunnyBeam]

Omg, I just stumbled across this topic and Omg.
I love rats so much.

Since recently I finally got myself 2 rats. (I have them for I think 5 weeks now)
2 males, Benji and Rico.

Benji is a black dumbo rat and he is sooo cute. He loves to climb on my shoulder or head. He is a very active little boy.

Rico is a black hooded rat and he is very beautifull and cute. He is kinda lazy and a bit scared of my hand, but slowly he is starting to trust me.

Click for a picture, At this photo they were still very young and I just got them home. Benji was around 6 weeks and Rico about 7 weeks old.