Respiratory Infection???

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anaccrestabu

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Hi, I'm new to the forum so I apologize for anythin I may do wrong. Lol
So, one of my rats was sneezing continuously when he was awake, however he is fine in every other aspect, he's active as always, playful, drinking and eating perfectly fine, etc. So I removed everything from the cages that could be giving him an alergy (some cloth and wood stuff and the litter box) and put the cages somewhere in the house where there's no people smokin around. He has no red fluids coming out from his eyes (very rarely he has, but it's only a small bit and it dissapears after he cleans himself), however a few days ago when he was on my shoulder and got very close to my ear I could hear him purring, exactly like cat when they're happy. I realized that was not normal, he wasn't supposed to be doing any noises as far as I knew. He doesn't do that all the time, but every time I got his chest near my ear to inspect his lungs I couldn't hear anything.

He also does, sometimes, wheezing and chirping sounds, so I took him to the vet today (sadly, not a specialized in exotic animals vet, because I moved out from the city I got them and now live in a small town, so there's not a lot of options here). The vet said he couldn't hear anything coming from his lungs, said it was probably allergy and gave him Cephalexin - 0,51ml orally every 12h for 7 days and Dexamethasone (0,5 mg/pill) - 1/2 pill every 24 hours for 7 days, but I'm not entirely convinced by his diagnosic...

So, doing a little research about these meds on rats I found the following:
Cephalexin: Used for treating deep skin (pyodermas), soft tissue, and urinary tract infections. Also good for use prophylactically following surgery to prevent infection. It, however, does not directly attack mycoplasma, but is useful in secondary infections.

Dexamethasone: Used as a quick agent to reduce inflammation in ear infections causing wry neck/head tilt.
Can be used as support therapy in respiratory infections unresponsive to antimicrobials alone, or in serious to advanced lung infections (e.g.,pneumonia) to reduce allergic response (especially where pathogen suspected to be mycoplasma).
Recommended for single injection or for short duration.
Sudden withdrawal of drug may be fatal if given over an extended period of time, check with veterinarian prior to stopping or to gradually reduce dosage.

So, about Cephalexin, I'm worried it won't be that effective if my rat has something serious, and Dexamethasone sounds a good option for his sneezing, but I'm worried about the "gradually reduce dosage" thing, as the vet didn't mention anything about it and I'm not sure how much "extended period of time" is.
I didn't start the Dexamethasone yet, only the antibiotics. I hope someone can help or reassure me. Maybe I should try another vet. I hope if someone can tell me if 7 days is ok without reducing the dosage slowly.

He is 8 months old.


I'm not saying I know more than the vet, I hope I don't offend anyone, I'm just very worried about my little boy. I don't want this condition to progress.
 
You should bring your rat to a vet and the best meds are enrofloxacin and doxycycline. Your rat should be on it for at least 4 weeks for a full treatment.
 
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