Buddy and Mo's Rat mummy here :)

[sammy martin]

Morning everyone!

We got Buddy and Mo just before X-mas and they are now three months old and better than I ever could have expected. They are friendly and sweet and greedy and so much more!

We are, however, having problems with Buddy, his breathing has always been loud but in the last week he has got louder and louder and is sneezing alot. He is fine in himself and still eats alot and is constantly playing around with Mo and us. He loves treats and his hammock and tube, but he's just so loud which makes me worried he has a respiratory disease and I don't know what to do! Is my only option to take him to the vets?

Thankyou in advance for your help!

 

[SQ]

Please take him in to see a good vet immediately - a good vet with the knowledge and experience to treat rats and hopefully a willingness to learn …. he may need to be put on antibiotics immediately (such as baytril + azithromycin (10 mg/Ib) orally, twice a day) …… breathing is not noisy unless there is a problem

It is essential that you have access to a good vet …. rats become ill and die fast without proper medical care
(ie seeing a vet and being put on the proper antibiotics, etc ….. if antibiotics to not start to help within a couple of days, then the vet needs to change the meds or add more meds ……. when antibiotics are helping then rats need to stay on the for at least 4 to 6 weeks in order to be well - I have found that at least 6 weeks is necessary)

Also please post some videos showing his breathing - post to youtube and then put the link on here

How does he sound when you hold him up to your ear and listen to each side of his chest?

btw Welcome to the forum
You may want to check out the reference thread https://www.ratshackforum.com/threads/reference-thread-read-only.35894/

 

[sammy martin]

Thankyou! I went to the vet with him yesterday and they were confused as he doesn't have a respiratory disease. They have said that if he did then Mo (His co-habitee) would have caught it as it is highly contagious plus he is eating just as much as normal if not more (as above mentioned - he is greedy) nothing has changed other than the noises. However, occasionally when you listen to him he doesnt make a sound atall and sometimes he does.
We've come to the conclusion that he has allergies, which is just fantastic. I had some pot pourri on the table in the kitchen fairly near their cage and I've moved that as a precaution which appears to have made a difference. I'm cleaning his cage of waste in the morning before I go to work and also when I get in. He's getting more and more friendly and more willing to come to us aswell as more willing to learn tricks for treats.

So all in all he's an enigma. The vet and nurse said that if he appears to be struggling for breath at any point or we see him taking really big deep breaths and his sides moving then to take him back asap.

I've got an eager eye on him but his breathing hasn't been silent since about three days after we got him and he's getting stronger and better. I can't say I'm not confused by him.

 

[SQ]

Thank you for the update

Glad that the problem was environmental and he is doing better now that you made some changes

Hopefully you misunderstood you vet or else you vet needs to learn a lot more about rats
There are many different respiratory infections and a rat can be very ill with some diseases without their cagemates becoming ill
- if they have something like a myco flare up
- also depending upon a rats immune system, some rats can become ill from a secondary infection while their cagemates are ok,
- there are also other medical issues such as heart problems that can cause breathing difficulties
rats can die from all of these if they do not receive prompt medical attention and appropriate medication

 

[jorats]

Welcome!

I agree with SQ. It seems your vet may not be very experienced with rats but hopefully that will change. That's how my vet got very good, from learning with mine. Be sure to rush back to the vet if you see any signs of respiratory infection.