Oh, that’s sad. 
Rats live far, far, too short lives for such amazing pets.
Pearl, I’m so sorry for your loss. All anipals are precious.
Update: Been worried about my current rat, Jack (I got him back in August before Tris died, I thought I had posted about him when I got him, but I guess not!) Anyway, He’s been sick with the same respiratory crap that killed Tristan. HOWEVER… He seems to be getting a little better! Just wanted to share!
I’ll keep my fingers crossed for him. I’ve never had a rat, but they look cute. The link in your OP doesn’t work now, do you have a picture of Jack?
The way the eyes shine that’s a spooky rat!
I’m glad he’s doing better.
Sunny Daze I am, too! He took his meds tonight like a champ!
**
Baker** LOL It’s just because it’s so close up, I’ll try to get some better pics.
I always hated giving rats antibiotics. I felt like such a heel having to jam a syringe into their wee little mouths. I have since developed two much less unpleasant techniques for medicating rodents.
Method 1: You may have noticed that rats groom a LOT. They are pernickety about the state of their fur. If they get something sticky on themselves, they have to stop and lick it off. Veterinary medications are often compounded in a sticky sweet syrup. You probably see where I’m going with this – pick up the rat, cuddle him briefly, flip him over, and get his meds all over his belly. He will give you the dirtiest look for getting his fur messy, but he will then waddle off to lick his coat until it’s all purdy again.
Method 2: Rats will drink anything if you mix it with Ensure (protein/nutrition shake). ANYTHING. Even Baytril, which apparently tastes super caustic and nasty. If you have more than one rattie, you’ll still need the syringe, but it’s less so you get the whole dose into one rat, and more because it’s the only way to get ONE dose into ONE rat. They fight over it. I had four of them all getting meds at one point, and they all started waking up to my alarm in the morning, because they knew that when Mommy gets out of bed, it’s CHOCOLATE TIME.
Antibiotics can sometimes give them tummy trouble, just like humans. And just like humans, you can help alleviate it by feeding the little wankers some Activia or similar yogurt. You should probably ask the vet first just to make sure, but they can also have some Benadryl if the sneezing or runny nose seems to bother them (use an eyedropper to put just a tiny droplet on your fingertip and let him lick it off), and while they are too small to get human decongestant, they can have the mild bronchodilators caffeine and theophylline, which are present in semi-sweet chocolate chips.
Do be careful about that last one. Rats can and will pick up pretty much any trick that gets them food and attention. This includes learning how to make the wheezy honking stuffy nose sound on purpose whenever they think they’re suffering from a dire lack of chocolate.
(Yes, my rats are all incredibly spoiled, why do you ask? 
)
I missed this thread the first time around! Belated condolences on Tristan. I’m so glad Jack seems to be recovering. My cousin had two rats and they were the sweetest little guys! I loved playing with and cuddling them.
Arabella… Yeah Jack made a full recovery, but I think he has been making the wheezy sound to get more choclate ( he only meakes it when I’m around, and then, only sometimes) I mixed a pinch of pure choclate powder ( the “medicine” I referred to) in some applesauce and he loved it! I did give him a dose this week, just in case he’s not playacting, because, what are ratties for if not to spoil!?
Helena, you should totally get some rats… they really are awesome pets.
My evil ( but beautiful ) Siamese overlords would take offense if I were to bring a pet Rat home. I love playing with them at the pet shop. My daughter used to keep guinea pigs, too smelly. I understand Rats don’t smell.
At this moment I am considering a pet bird. I have been wanting a blackbird/crow. I think maybe that is gonna be hard to come by. So maybe I’ll look into Rats again, they sound fun!! I will have to convince the bosses though.
Beck,
They are very fun!! My cat pays very little attention to mine… so they co exsist ok. And yes, unless you really neglect their habitat, rats do not smell… they groom themselves (and you!) as cats do.
Beck, you might want to Google images of Siamese rats. They’re quite pretty! Perhaps your feline overlords would be less disapproving of these lil cuties?
Rats are seriously awesome pets, like tiny dogs that you don’t have to take for potty walks in the cold rain. Their one and only downside is the 2, maybe 3 year lifespan. Just when you really get to know each other & become attached …
And illegal. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act makes personal ownership of native bird species a difficult/expensive/impossible? proposition.
If you take your pets with you when you travel, be sure you don’t go through Alberta, Canada. Alberta is the world’s only rat-free territory, and you can be fined $5K or 60 days in jail for taking one there.
Holy crap them things are just too cute!
They are adorable, but I couldn’t bear the sorrow of so short a life. That’s why cats rule my life.
My cat was terribly jealous, and would sit outside the door meowing. If the door was left open, she’d come in and rub her scent all over the place just to be obnoxious.
The one time she did come nose to nose with a loose rat, though, she ran away.