🐀Rat Health

Rat Health Guides

10 guides on rat health, cited to the veterinary literature — symptoms, conditions, and when to see a vet.

Pet rats are bright and social but prone to respiratory disease — most carry Mycoplasma, so sneezing, labored breathing, or red-tinged 'tears' (porphyrin) warrant prompt attention. These guides cover the respiratory infections, tumors, and lumps most common in rats, and the signs that mean an exotics vet rather than watchful waiting.

🐀Rat HealthAug 12, 2026

🦴Mobility

Rat Hind-Leg Weakness: Sudden Injury or Age-Related Decline?

Back-leg weakness in a rat is a sign, not a diagnosis. Sudden, one-sided, painful weakness needs urgent assessment, while a gradual decline in both hind legs may fit an age-related nerve disorder only after other causes are considered.

🐀Rat HealthAug 7, 2026

👁️Eyes & Ears

Rat Head Tilt: What It Means and What to Do

A head tilt in a pet rat points first to middle- or inner-ear infection — the branch that responds to treatment, though a case series in companion rats found intracranial spread was not rare. A pituitary tumour is the other differential, and it can cause balance signs too. The two are separated at the vet with an ear exam and imaging, not by watching your rat at home.

🐀Rat HealthAug 6, 2026

🩺Chronic & Systemic

Pituitary Tumor in Rats: Signs, Causes, and What Treatment Can Do

An older pet rat that suddenly tilts her head, wobbles, or cannot hold food in her front paws often has a pituitary tumor, but an ear infection can look identical and is treatable, so it has to be ruled out first. What treatment can and cannot do, and how to judge quality of life.

🐀Rat HealthAug 4, 2026

🐛Parasites

Rat Mites: Signs, Treatment, and Whether You Can Catch Them

Intense scratching and scabs over your rat's shoulders usually mean mites. How the three rat mites differ, how a vet confirms it, what treatment involves, and an honest answer on whether you can catch them.

🐀Rat HealthJul 25, 2026

Rat Abscesses: When That Lump Is a Pocket of Pus, Not a Tumor

Abscesses are one of the most common lumps pet rats get, usually from a cagemate bite or scratch. Here's how to tell an abscess from a tumor, why you should never pop it at home, and when your rat needs a vet.

🐀Rat HealthJul 21, 2026

🦷Dental

Rat Overgrown Teeth: Understanding Incisor Malocclusion

Overgrown teeth in pet rats are almost always a front-tooth (incisor) problem, not a molar problem. Here is what causes it, why chew toys will not fix it, and what treatment actually looks like.

🐀Rat HealthJul 20, 2026

Rat Porphyrin (Red Tears): Is It Blood, Stress, or Illness?

The red-brown crust around your rat's eyes or nose is almost always porphyrin, not blood. Here's what red tears mean, how to tell them from real bleeding, and when they signal a problem.

🐀Rat HealthJul 18, 2026

Rat Bumblefoot: Why Those Red Sores Appear on the Feet and What Actually Helps

Bumblefoot (ulcerative pododermatitis) is a pressure-driven foot infection in pet rats. Here's how it starts, how to fix the cage, what a vet can do, and what recovery realistically looks like.

🐀Rat HealthJul 17, 2026

🩺Chronic & Systemic

Rat Mammary Tumors: The Lump Many Owners Find, and What to Do About It

The lump many rat owners find is often a mammary tumor: very common, usually a benign fibroadenoma, and found anywhere from chin to tail in both females and males. Here's why benign doesn't mean wait, how surgery and spaying help, and when to see an exotics vet.

🐀Rat HealthJul 15, 2026

💨Respiratory

Rat Respiratory Infection: Signs, Causes, and Treatment for Pet Rats

Respiratory infection is the #1 health problem in pet rats, driven by Mycoplasma pulmonis that nearly every rat carries. Learn the signs—including porphyrin "red tears"—the husbandry causes, and when breathing trouble is an emergency.

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