URI not going away?

My very handsome boy, Gordy has been having some BAD respiratory issues lately, hes pulsating and makes little, unusual noises, when I started noticing these problems months ago I contacted the breeder I got my boys from, she was very kind and simply gave me some baby cereal with meds mixed in and said to give them 1/4 a teaspoon mixed with warm water once a day for about a week, for awhile it went away. Recently, it has been acting up again so I started the treatment on them, it has been about five days and not much has changed, I have been treating both my boys, and my other rat, Ralsei seems to be doing great(the breeder told me to treat both, better safe than sorry). Any ideas as to what I can do and how to prevent it from getting worse?

Quick vid of him with his heavy breathing/pulsing:

How old is he? Treating him with an unknown dosage (in food or water, it's hard to measure dosage that needs to be BY WEIGHT for EACH RAT individually) is never a good idea. That is not a way to get guaranteed dose of what they need. What antibiotic did the breeder give? What is his weight? It's hard for me to tell from the video, but SQ and Lilspaz are pretty good at picking out the breathing sounds. Respiratory infections are usually treated with baytril, doxycycline, or erythromycin, or a combination of the two. Erythromycin is baby friendly I believe. And rats need to be treated for 4-6 weeks for the antibiotics to fully work right. Breeders do strange things as far as this goes, and I wouldn't recommend following their instructions as far as antibiotics go. Many are unethical, or simply just uneducated on the health care of rats. Go check out www.ratguide.com for health info. It's a vet approved site for medical stuff and has lots of good info on there.
Good luck, and I hope he gets to feeling better soon! Welcome to the forum!

Oh boy I had no idea, I just assumed that the breeder knew what they were talking about, they told me to treat them for about a week:/
I'm not sure what is in the medicine either
He is about 8 months old and I'll have to check his weight later but he is pretty small as he is a dwarf. Where would I go to get the antibiotics from?

Depending on what is wrong with him, you may need to go to the vet, or you may have meds in your own cabinet that may be used for him, or maybe a friend does. But you need to find out his weight, and for that you'll need a gram scale.

Awww what a sweet little guy ….

He needs to see a good vet with the knowledge and experience to treat rats … he needs to be put on the proper antibiotics. URIs will can cause lung damage and will eventually kill if untreated.

Clavamox is good for secondary infections …… but if that was what was wrong with him he would probably be dead as they kill fast. Good that he is able to eat and not struggling to breath.
Only ill rats are normally treated (unless you have a deadly disease going through your rats and then rats are treated to prevent them from catching it)
Baytril or doxy - orally twice a day (or baytril + doxy, or baytril + azithromycin) are good for myco fleareups

Rats need to be given antibiotics for at least 4 weeks when ill, but I have found that mine need antibiotics for at least 6 weeks. Amount given is based on the medication and the weight of the rat (a digital scale with a tare function is a good thing to have)

As for breeders, there are no good, ethical breeders and most do not know a lot about rats and proper care
btw, the Reference Thread has useful info, incl links re breathing problems https://www.ratshackforum.com/threads/reference-thread-read-only.35894/

I hope Gordy is feeling better soon

How much do you think it would be for the proper medications? I know a nearby exotics vet and just to get them in is about $80 each. Would I treat them with both of the medications?

You would only need to treat the symptomatic rat.

If you have Clavamox, amoxicillin, or azithromycin, ciprofloxacin or doxycycline in your cupboard, you could try those.

Have you held Gordy's side to your ear to listen to his breathing? It should be silent but my guess is there's wheezing or crackles going on.

Was this Rambling Rats you got your boys from? Or Pixie Pets?

I don’t believe I have those on hand, where could I find them?

And yes, I got them from Rambling Rats, I tried to contact them awhile ago for some more help and never got a reply :/