Behind Every Healthy Rat is a Great Veterinarian

Establishing a relationship with your rat’s vet is an invaluable part of keeping your rat healthy and happy. Because rats are prone to developing so many ailments, it’s particularly crucial to find a vet who’s qualified to care for rats and who thoroughly enjoys doing so. Once you find a great pet rat veterinarian, you’ll understand completely how crucial it is to work with someone who wants to help keep your rats as healthy as you do. Each time a new problem arises, my rats’ veterinarians have been instrumental in researching new options for treatments and making sure we’re doing everything possible.

How do you choose a great pet rat veterinarian?

Ask other rat lovers in your area where they take their rats for veterinary care. Word of mouth is the best way to find a qualified rat vet. If you can’t find anyone to ask, find out if there’s a nearby rat club or meetup or even a Facebook group and ask the members what rat vets they recommend. If you have other types of pets, ask the veterinary staff where you take your dog(s) and/or cat(s) if they know of good rat vets. In the event your veterinary hospital doesn’t have an exotics vet, they should have a list of nearby veterinarians who see rats.

There are also many online resources: Rat forums and rat veterinarian directories can help you find a good pet rat veterinarian. Keep in mind, however, the directories don’t always list all the vets who see rats in your area. They’re also not always kept up to date. Word of mouth is best but, if that’s not possible, here are some online directories.

One other way online in which I often help people find a good vet in their area is to open Google Maps and type in your address. Then type in “veterinarian”. Once the veterinary hospitals pop up on the map you can click on the hospitals that are close by. From there you can go to that hospital’s website and find out if they see exotics. It takes a little longer to look for a vet using this method, but sometimes it’s very helpful. Sometimes you will end up having to travel a little farther than you’d like. Great pet rat veterinarians are not as common as dog and cat vets. Even so, driving an hour each way for appointments may be well worth it.

If you’re absolutely unable to find a pet rat veterinarian within driving distance, see if your rat can be seen by a doctor who’s willing to consult with an exotics vet in another town. Some veterinarians welcome the opportunity to learn. They will be excited about working with you while consulting with a more knowledgeable, exotics-focused veterinarian.

More than one vet is preferable

I believe it’s extremely important to have a relationship with more than one pet rat veterinarian. This will come in handy when one of your vets is on vacation or has the day off. It is also important to find out what emergency clinics in your area see rats. Once you establish a relationship with your rats’ veterinarian, be sure to ask what emergency vets in your area they recommend for your pet rats.

How do you know when you’ve found an excellent pet rat veterinarian?

You’ll know you’re working with someone great when they do a thorough exam on your rat while at the same time expressing their love and enjoyment of rats, especially your rat. A thorough exam consists of listening to your rat’s heart and lungs using a small stethoscope (smaller than the size that’s used for dogs and cats), palpating your rat’s body to check for swollen lymph nodes and to feel internal organs, checking your rat’s teeth for proper length and alignment, examining your rat’s eyes, ears, fur and skin. If you’re not convinced you’ve found your rat’s best possible vet, try a different one. The comparison between the two doctors will help you decide.

When should you take your rat to the vet?

As soon as you bring a new rat home, an exam by a qualified veterinarian is crucial in assessing and recording each of your rat’s base-line levels of health. This should be done within the first 1-2 weeks of bringing your new rat(s) home. When examining your new rat, your vet can often spot things you may not have even noticed. Your rat’s first wellness visit is also a great way to establish going to the vet as being a routine event. Your rat will think it’s normal to be examined and won’t be fearful if they’re used to going to the vet. In fact, I take my rats to the vet for an exam at least every six months and even more often when they grow older—whether or not I observe any symptoms or signs of illness.

Besides initial and regular wellness exams, here are some symptoms which indicate your rat must be seen by a veterinarian:

• Any increase or decrease in appetite, thirst, urination or activity level (Is your rat sleeping more than normal? Not wanting to play?)
• Diarrhea or constipation
• Puffed up fur
• Sneezing
• Any breathing problems – Does your rat sound congested or make wheezing sounds? A healthy rat’s breathing is silent. Does your rat’s breathing seem labored? (i.e. does his/her body heave in and out while breathing?)
• Porphyrin – Porphyrin is a red secretion around the eyes and nostrils that looks just like blood. It’s produced by the Harderian glands, located behind each eye. Porphyrin is a sign that the rat could have an infection or be experiencing stress
  
• Any eye problem – Squinting, cloudiness, scratching, redness
• Any wounds – many rat owners insist that rat lacerations heal quickly and on their own. However, there’s always a chance of infection. I would never neglect taking my rat to the vet when they have a laceration. Veterinarians will often prescribe an antibiotic for a rat with wounds to ward off or get rid of infection. In addition, the last time one of my rats was wounded, the emergency room veterinarian found the gashes were far more significant than what I’d initially observed. If I hadn’t taken him to the vet, my rat’s wounds could have become infected and may not have been able to heal on their own.
• Abscesses, lumps or bumps – Small lumps can be abscesses filled with pus or a tumor (cancerous or benign). In my opinion any lump found on your rat should be examined by a veterinarian within 24 hours if possible.
• Excessive scratching/itching
• Scabs

In short, if you see anything out of the ordinary, any significant changes in your rat’s behavior and/or health, take him or her to a qualified veterinarian. I would much rather have the vet say “everything’s fine” than not take my rat in and find out I could’ve caught a problem early and prevented a worse condition from developing or even an unnecessarily early death.

Your rat’s vet is on your team

I like my rats’ veterinarians so much I look forward to taking my rats in for their exams. There are massive advantages to having an established relationship with your rats’ vet. Because they already know my rats, I can often call or email to get information without needing an appointment. I can also usually get an appointment a lot sooner since they know my rats. This isn’t something you can do if you don’t already have an established relationship with your rat’s vet. Remember your veterinarian is on your team. They make significant contributions toward keeping your rat happy and healthy for as long as possible.