1) scary symptom 2) RI questions

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Agy

Agy

Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2018
Messages
5
Location
West Sussex
I noticed the other day that when both my boys woke up from sleep, their bodies started sort of jumping, as if they had hiccups or something, it's difficult to explain. I was terrified. It stopped after about a minute. I think I have seen them do it before.

Both of them are still sneezing so a month on, it can't be new home sneezes anymore. It's not constant but it's frequent enough for me to notice. They don't have any other symptoms eg. their breathing is normal, they have appetite and energy. Although one of them occasionally makes strange sounds when he's sleeping and that does sound like RI I've seen people post on youtube. He never does it when awake tho. I want to go to the vet but I don't want him to send me home with nothing because he won't see symptoms there and then. Do you think he will give me medication to administer if I think they get worse? I don't want to find myself in a situation when I'm at work and they suddenly get worse and won't get to the vet in time.
 
If you describe what you see or even get a video, your vet may prescribe something. Also, your vet will listen to the lungs, if they are raspy, he will give you something but if they aren't, it's best not to treat them unless they really need it.
 
Is it possible they are sneezing but are not ill? I live in a cold, fairly damp flat by the sea. I have sinus infections here let alone them :( I do use a dehumidifier of course and heat. I've recently had a damp wall in my kitchen fixed as well
 
Yes, they could be just sneezy rats but they should not be making any noise during sleep. You could try children's benedryl to see if it clears up the sneezing.
 
Agy said:
Oh really...? Phew thank god for that. I thought they were having a seizure or something. I was terrified
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Some believe it’s linked to respiratory issues but in my experience my rats will hiccup when I’m petting them and they are relaxed or when they first wake up and it never sounds raspy or anything but if it sounds odd than I’d get them looked at :) and since they are sneezy it’s probably a good idea
 
Both myself and a person I know have found that when our rats are "hiccupping", if we treat for a myco flareup with antibiotics then the hiccups will go away. Usually treatment is only done when the "hiccupping" occurs frequently.
 
So on Monday night I got home and opened the cage for their playtime and Seymour didn't even move. He's normally much more chilled than George but still playful. But this was unwell-not moving rather than being lazy-not moving. I was terrified. I have to say I wash shocked that George kept stealing Seymour's banana even tho they both got a good chunk. I needed Seymour to eat it to keep his strength up. I thought rats care for each other :( I kept giving Seymour the banana back. At first he was eating it but eventually he started rejecting it; maybe George left his mark on it. By Tuesday morning I woke up and George was in sneezing fits tho still his active self. Seymour still not doing much. He doesn't sound unwell all the time but intermittently I can hear the wrong types of noise coming from him. I made a vet appointment for both of them. When I got home last night tho, all of a sudden, they were both completely fine. Loads of energy, running around when I let them out. I'm going to the vets tomorrow anyway but I don't know if they'll display any symptoms when he needs to see them. They don't have any eye or nose discharge. I have to say tho, Monday night I had a nightmare I found Seymour dead. It woke me in the middle of the night. Horrible :'(
 

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