Red Eyed Rat Swaying, Weaving Back and Forth?





Owners might walk up to their rats’ cage to find that one might be huddled in the back of the cage, swaying back and forth. The rat might appear drunk, with a “caught in the headlights” type of stare. The rat might also be easily spooked, especially with quick movements or loud noises. This is more common in red eyed rats, but why do rats exhibit this type of odd behavior? Let’s find out! Read more

The Bulging Rat Eye: Why Does One Eye Look Bigger than the Other?

healthy rat eyes

Normally, both eyes of a rat are relatively even, sitting on top of the head like small, delicate glass beads. Then, one day you wake up to find a terrifying, disturbing problem has occurred: one of your rat’s eyes is now bigger than the other and bulging, as if it was swollen and ready to pop! Is it possible that the rat has an infected eye? Is it cancer? This really is a creepy situation. Every time I see it, it STILL scares me. I always feel as if the eyeball could pop out, and the imagined visuals are enough to make you cringe. However, I don’t intend to make you hyperventilate and trip over your own two feet in an effort to grab the travel kennel and do 90 MPH on your way to the emergency vet. Let’s take a moment and look at what COULD be going on.


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Pet Rat Eye Infection

Eye infections are no fun to deal with. At all. Rats are much more susceptible to eye infections than we are, as they live in close quarters with their own waste. They don’t have quite as clean of environments as humans do. While a dirty environment can have a lot to do with any infection, an eye infection for a rat does not necessarily mean that the human owner is at fault. They do just happen sometimes, and all we can do is treat them properly! Read more

Are Rats Blind? Is My Pet Possibly Blind?

can rats see better at night in the dark

Rats cannot see quite as well as many animals, but they are not blind. Of course, there is always the possibility that they might go blind for various reasons throughout their lives. There are various ways to test for blindness in rats, but it is important to know that rats do not have perfectly clear vision as it is. On occasion owners might become worried that their rats are blind.  If a rat is taken care of properly, it is unlikely that the rat will go blind. However there are several factors at play in this particular situation.

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