u/Drysmath

Hello!

I’m dealing with a situation that’s been worrying me, and before going to a vet, I’d really like to get some advice or insight.

I adopted two female rats about 10 months ago, and they’re now around 1 year old: Donna (furred) and Rose (hairless).

Normally, Rose sometimes squeaks when Donna grooms her or bothers her a bit too much, which I know is normal — she’s just being a bit of a diva ^^.

For the past 4–5 days, I’ve noticed that Donna has a bit of porphyrin around one eye, mostly when she wakes up. It’s not a large amount (just a small line), and it goes away afterward. I’ve been monitoring it. There have also been renovations in my home for the past few months (not constant, but frequent), so I thought it could be stress-related. The two rats have also been “bickering” a bit more than usual, but nothing aggressive.

However, since yesterday, I’ve noticed something new:
Donna has started making small squeaking sounds, slightly louder than what Rose usually makes — more like little screams. At first, I thought it was Rose, but it’s definitely Donna (she never made any sounds at all before this).

These sounds don’t always seem linked to interaction. For example, she does it:

• while moving around
• while in the nest
• without Rose bothering her

When it happens, she sometimes startles and looks agitated. A few times, right after squeaking, she started grooming her tail quite frantically.

Yesterday, both rats were also much more cuddled together than usual in their nest, and Donna was grooming Rose a lot more than normal.

During the night, Donna showed a behavior I’ve never seen before:
she went under the fabric at the bottom of the cage (she never goes there normally), was running around underneath, and making these squeaking sounds. She stayed there for a long time (until the afternoon), then seemed calmer.

These episodes seem to happen at night, in the morning, and in the evening so far. It’s only been about 30 hours, so I’m still trying to understand the pattern.

Otherwise:

• she is eating normally (including treats)
• she is moving around as usual
• no obvious respiratory issues
• she allows me to touch her head/neck, but seems more sensitive or defensive around her body or when in the nest - her coat looks normal (not puffed up / not fluffed) - posture looks normal (not hunched)
• her coat looks normal (not puffed up / not fluffed)
• posture looks normal (not hunched)

I managed to capture part of this on video and will include it (with sound). (for some reason i don't know the video is not uploading here so I put it there: https://streamable.com/bpg12x )

Since this behavior is completely new for her, I’m quite concerned. I’m still observing her and trying to identify any triggers (so far I haven’t noticed anything specific).

Her behavior with Rose is mostly the same as usual except for increased grooming. Rose doesn’t seem bothered by Donna’s behavior.

Thank you very much for your time, and feel free to ask if I missed anything.