I know how u feel. I got my first rat named Mike, he wasn't the healthiest but I liked him & felt sorry for him. I took him home & 6 months later he started sneezing. I called the vet & they said its nothing to worry about all rats sneeze once & a while & the vet hungup on me. I did a bit of research & I foundout that having rats in a tank was a bad idea & their urin would slowly poison them. So I built him a huge wired cage. He never got better, he got worse, I called the vet 5 - 6 times & they all told me theres nothing u can do, its just a rat get over it. almost 1 yr after I had him, he could hardly move, wasn't eating too much & just plainly didn't seem happy. Thats when he started to sneeze blood. I kept him for a few months later & told my self to really look at him & look how sick & how unhappy he really was. Just out of the blue I told my mom I'm getting him put to sleep I can't stand him suffering anylonger. She took me there & a friend came with me. I told the vet I want him put to sleep ASAP & then wrapped in a blanket I had him in. The lady at the counter SCREEMED & ran off. The vet came rushing in & asked what happened. The vet ended up talking to me for 30 mins about how he could be treated with meds if I brought him in earlier & that hes just a rat & should go back home to die on his own, I was balling my eyes out the whole time & told her to stop talking & just do it, but on & on & on she went. I soon couldn't take anymore & ran out. My mom got mad & yelled at the vet & forced the vet to do her job. My mom took me home & 30 mins later we went back & she went in & got him for me. & we took him home & I burried him in a deep hole & I went to the bush & dug up a spikey bush/tree & planted that right on top of his grave.

I'd say to call the vet just before u go & make sure ur not gonna have to go through the same horror as me.

But I felt good after about putting him to sleep because he's not painfully suffering anymore.

A few days after his mate started to go crazy & stoped eating cause she was alone. So I bought her his brother who was still at the pet store & she loved him & was all better & then I had 10 rats & babies ALL over the place. I'm was so happy to kow that Mike got Rattus pregnant just before I put him to sleep & on of there babies look just like him, but was a female & I kept her & named her Rat.

Just take millions of pictures of ur rat & when its time u can make a website dedicated to ur rat, like I did.

& getting a new rat shortly after a rats death, helps releave the empty hole a bit & will put a HUGE smile back on ur face.

I hope all goes well for u & ur little rattie friend