We have a sick rat, hopefully she'll make it. About 80%of the time we can get them through this. Usually Batril 3 times a day will do it, as long as she's eating, if not it means shots 3 times a day.

Gms9810, I am always impressed at the love and affection you have towards your pets. I really hope that Delilah will have a quick and easy recovery.

do the rats get get the same virus?

There is a respiratory problem that all domestic rats are born with. It's not contagious to anything but rats, and to them it spreads like the black plague, it's the big concern of every rat owner, it's called Mycoplasma pulmonis. It acts a lot like pneumonia to us. Probably 95 to 100% of the rats that get it and don't get treatment will die. I've known it to kill 8 to 10 rats in two days. They get noisy congested lungs, red stuff that looks like blood but isn't around their eyes and nose. then they stop eating and it's usually only a matter of time. Fortunately, we've had close to 200 rats over time and have gotten pretty skillful about getting them over it although it's not a certainty.
The only way to have rat without it is to deliver the babies by cesarean under water and kill the mother but that's not even worth considering.
Right now she's laying in bed with us laying against the vent port of my laptop because it's warm. In the morning I'll give her another dose of Batril. Hopefully she'll get through it. THEN we have to watch for others breathing badly.
If you take your rat to a show or rat club you usually have to have a document from a vet stating they don't have MP. The next big problem and most insidious is a pituitary tumor. That's a very slow miserable death for them with almost no cure. Fortunately it's not that common.
We've become so proficient that the local pet store calls us for rat problems. My wife is very good at medical problems and I'm good at behavioral problems. But even then, sometimes we lose some.

Amendment, right now in addition to laying by the heat vent she's having a milk dud. A few minutes ago we heard a terrible commotion in the living room and thought it was the girls fighting. We went in and found that Sian, my favorite and prettiest rat had gotten out of the maternity cage and into the next door ferret cage. One of the ferrets had her by the neck and was about to kill her. I reached in and grabbed him and pulled him away from her, I got her to let me pick her up, she was terrified, to check the damages. I expected the worst, eyes missing or limbs gone. By divine providence (sorry, I know we're not supposed to mention that) the only damage was that she was degloved about half an inch. That means the end of her tail was stripped to the bone about half an inch. It breaks my heart but it's the best case scenario. It was the same as a person walking into a cave with 9 hungry wolves and living to get saved. at the moment she's under my pillow eating a milk dud, her favorite food is caramel. A little Bactine on her tail and she should be ok. I, however, am a nervous wreck and feel like throwing up.

Wow, Gms9810, sounds like you're going through a stressful time right now.

gms9810: heavens, what a thriller! does this happen a lot, having to rescue your rats from the ferrets?
it sounds so cute when you say they eat milk duds . are they a bit spoilt by any chance?

No, this is a first and hopefully a last. except for her tail being half an inch shorter she seems fine. She's my favorite one, the one I take with me wherever I go. If anything would have happened to her.....

wow, what a night ! I never knew rats had that lung problem. we had rats for a while when I was young, but none got sick that I can remember. We only had a few of them anyway. If a rat gets one of those tumors, I suppose it is the kindest thing to do to have them put down when they get to the miserable stage.

It depends on where it is and how big it is but sometimes, yes, you have to. It makes me mad because every one of those problems are man made.