Just bought our babies today, I think one is sick.

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Amanda40

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Aug 4, 2014
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Hello everyone. I'm new :) Today I bought my 12 year old 2 male fancy rats and my 8 year old daughter 2 female fancy/dumbo rats. Don't worry, they are in separate rooms LOL

Anyway, the lady helping us today at Petsmart is really into rats, has a bunch of her own and recommended I check out a lady called the rat lady online.

Anyway, she seemed to know what she was talking about. My concern is this... One of the female rats we fell in love with began sneezing while we were holding it at the store. I asked the lady if it was sick, she said no, rats sneeze when they are excited. It seemed like an odd answer as none of the other rats were sneezing. She assured the rat was healthy. Well, we have had her home for 4 hours now and she is still sneezing. There is no discharge from what I can see and she is playing and eating fine. I owned a rat about 9 years ago, she was a feeder rat we got for free. I remember her being sick once with sneezing and giving her antibiotic drops. I don't want to take her back to Petsmart, I don't think she will get the care she needs if she really is sick. Can someone give me some advice? Also, the 2 boys we have are only 4-5 weeks old, and they smell very musty, is that normal? I have never owned a male rat.

Thanks in advance for any advice!
 
Where are you from? I only ask because I used to work at a Petsmart and I'm know around here as "the rat lady" and I had some rat savvy coworkers I mentored!

First off we LOVE pictures!

Also Those boys are too young to be away from their momma at 4-5 weeks. They should be at least 6weeks old to be away from her.
 
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I went to the Petsmart in Northville, MI

I don't know if their age is correct or not, that's just what they told me. I have 2 females as well, and I was told they are between 8-9 weeks. They are bigger than the boys, but not significantly. The boys are very skiddish, and really don't want to be held. The girls are fine and love to snuggle.
 
There is a thing called new home sneezes. Its possible the rat could of been reacting to a smell on your clothing or perfume if you were wearing it. You need to rat phone her, put her up to your ear like a phone receiver and listen to her lung sounds. If they don't sound clear you need to get her treated at an vet that treats exotic pets. She'll need a combo of antibiotics usually baytril/doxy and for about six weeks.

Having both sexes in our house is going to make the boys hormonal. Your going to need to consider neutering them or spaying the girls. It will cost a lot more to spay the girls, but its better for them since it will reduces their chance of getting mammary tumors and other female issues.

You also need to make sure the liter you use is low in dust and that you freeze it 48-72 hours before using to kill any mice, mites, or fleas that may be tagging along.

Welcome to rat ownership... :love2:
 
The Rat Lady is Debbie Ducommun but around here we usually tell people to NOT refer to her as she's a bit/lot of a quack, with questionable advice and methods.

around here the bible is the much more scientific and constantly updated with the newest information, the ratguide.com.

As for your wee's, sometimes rats get this thing called New Home Sneezies soon after they enter a new home as their very sensitive respiratory system adapts. They will have short sharp dry sneezes for up to a week as they acclimate. There will be no "wet" sneezes or sounds, no congestion, no excess porphryin (red discharge around eyes and nose), no crackly breathing (lift baby's side to your ear to listen to lungs, this is called rat phoning), no whines when sleeping.

The only problem with this is baby was sneezing AT the petstore, so you can hope for dusty bedding, etc but keep an eagle out for any of the symptoms above, but include lethargy, hunched posture, dull eyes, eating and pooping habits that change, and puffed up fur. This could easily mean a respiratory infection which rats are prone to.
 
:yeah:

If she sounds ok, but the sneezes do not resolve within several days or if the symptoms get worse, she will need to go to a good vet experienced in treating rats, in order to get antibiotics. (Rats become ill and die quickly.)
Usually baytril + doxy, or baytril + azithromycin (10 mg/Ib) twice a day for at least 6 weeks. If you start with the baytril + doxy combo and it does not start to help within 3 days or so, then you will need to try the baytril + azithromycin.
Azithromycin is available from pharmacies with a prescription from your vet and it is a pediatric medication so safe for babies.

I know you didn't ask but as dspch911 wrote, having two unaltered sexes in the same household is a very bad idea unless at least one sex is altered.
Rats go into heat every 3 or 4 days and this will greatly impact the behaviour of your boys.
Rats are very very smart, very motivated when someone is in heat, and people are not perfect 100% of the time. Having two unaltered sexes in the same home is an accident waiting to happen. I have known of rats that escaped from their cage in the basement and found the girls in a 3rd floor bedroom.

Plus as was mentioned, there are many health benefits to spaying girls. One health benefit is that the chances of developing mammary tumours drop from over 85% to 3 or 4%, if spayed by 4 months of age. But you need to have a vet with experience at successfully spaying rats as it is different from other animals. (There are threads in the ref section on vets and on questions to ask before surgery.)
 
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OMG I thought you said "12 year old male rats", as in, the RATS are 12 years old!
HA HA oh boy.

I agree with everything that has been said about the opposite sexes, and the breathing problems. :3
Thank you for choosing to share your life with ratties, soon you won't know how you ever lived without them. I'm also really glad that you came to our forum to find out what may be wrong, the rat shack is a great bunch.
 
I know you say they are in different rooms but I would consider getting the girls spayed. A girl in heat can get out of just about anything when she wants to. It takes literally one second for them to mate. It also has health benefits such as reducing the risk of tumors greatly.
 
WOW! Thank you all so much for the advice! I had just taken a shower and put perfume on before going to the store. I asked the girl, Erica was her name, if it was the perfume causing her to sneeze. She said no, they sneeze when they are excited.

As for litter, I'm using the same litter they had in the cages. It's kind of fluffy. We picked pink and blue bedding. I think it's recycled newspaper or something.

We have only had the boys 1 day, and boy do they smell! They don't like being picked up. I think they were pulled from their mom too young and not properly socialized with people from the breeder. I'm going to talk to my daughter about returning the boys and getting 2 more girls.

Yes, Debbie is the name of the "rat Lady" she told me to follow. Boy, you guys nailed it LOL

Why do I need to freeze the litter to get rid of mice? That confuses me. I never did that with any of my rodents before.

If I neuter the boys, will their smell go away?
 
You need to freeze the bedding for 48 to 72 hours after purchasing it in order to kill any parasites that may be in it - such as mites (not mice LOL)

The musty smell sounds like it might be related to male hormones but they are a bit young for that.
The babies may smell because of the conditions they were kept in or the food they were fed. Rats also have "fear poop" that is looser and very very smelly.
Living in good clean conditions, in well ventilated cages and being fed a good diet should resolve any smell issue over time.

However, if the smell is hormonal, then yes, neuters will get rid of it. As they get older boys develop a bit of an odor related to hormonal secretions such as "buck grease". Some people have described it as similar to the smell of corn chips. I believe that the odor and its strength is genetic so it can vary. Neutering boys gets rid of the odor and gets rid of the buck grease. There are also health benefits to neutering boys but they are not as serious as the health benefits girls experience by being spayed.

There are some threads in the reference section of this forum that you will want to read before any rat surgery re finding a vet and questions to ask before surgery.

Recommended diet is:
80% good quality lab block (Harlan Teklad 2014, Oxbow Regal Rat, or Living World hamster extrusion blocks) available at all times
20% daily vegs and occasional healthy treats such as a small piece of fruit, cooked oatmeal, cooked quinea, organic pumpkin seeds, a piece of organic cereal, etc Watch out for any added salt or sugar. Stay away from GMOs especially GMO corn as it can kill rats.
The forbidden foods list can be found here http://www.ratshackforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=590

You also need to have at least 2 or 3 sources of water (fluoride and chlorine are toxic) for each cage. Rats die every year when their water bottle becomes clogged.
At least one water source should be a water dish that can not be tipped over - I use water dishes that attach to the side of the cage. Baby rats often look like they are getting water out of their water bottles but are not able to get any water because their tiny tongues are not strong enough to move the ball bearing.

You may want to give them a few days to adjust to their new home. Offering them treats from your hand and talking to them gently will help them to become used to you. After they are feeling a bit safer in their new home, you can try the rats down the shirt exercise but I would save that for a week or two.
 
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Thank you so much for all the information! I bought the block food, it looks like the kind they give lab rats. I gave them a grape today, they loved it! Last night they had a carrot stick. I'm all about the fresh veggies and fruit! We have well water, so it's completely natural. I did add vitamin drops to the water though. But it is Mouse/rat vitamins drops.

I'm on the fence with what to do with the boys. We really do love them and they are getting used to us a little. The one boy LOVES his wheel! I took his wheel out for about 5 minutes to add some vegetable oil to it because it was making an awful racket, and when I took out the wheel he went nuts looking for it! When I put the wheel back in he immediately jumped back in it LOL I kind of hate to get rid of them. But on the other hand, I really can't afford 2 neuters either. I'm also worried about them becoming aggressive if they can smell the females in the next room.
 
I just read the forbidden food link, thank you for posting that btw, and I"m shocked to see raw peanuts are bad! I buy raw peanuts in 50# bags for the squirrels, chipmunks, birds etc. How can a natural, raw product be more toxic than a processed or cooked one? That blows my mind!
 
Neutering is less expensive then spaying although spaying has many health benefits.
Where do you live ie state or province or large city if in north America. Otherwise country.
Others may know of a good rat vet near you. Prices for care vary from place to place and vet to vet.

You will want to check the type of blocks as the ones I mentioned are good but there are many unhealthy ones on the market.
The blocks should provide all the vitamins and minerals they need.

Hope this info helps
 
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Sometimes raw peanuts and legumes may have specific enzymes or toxins in them that are broken down when cooking.

As for the boys smell, I am wondering if that may be due to fear poops. I remember my Matilda smelled something horrid when I first got her, because she fear pooped. Do they often use the bathroom when you pick them up or play with them? Are the stools soft, and not solid and dark brown/black?
 
If they are babies they smell worse. The babies we had here always smelled far worse than any other rat. It will reduce marking in the males and any anger issues but it is much better to spay the girls tumors are horrible to deal with.
 
Amanda40 said:
Why do I need to freeze the litter to get rid of mice? That confuses me. I never did that with any of my rodents before.
Click to expand...

Oops, I usually proofread... lice not mice!! I give my boys peanuts, but there are some nuts they cannot have like brazilian nuts. Also they need to be unsalted.
 
Awesome! Thank you all so much!!!! No, I couldn't see any fear poops. The boys just smell like urine. I would love to bathe them, but way too skiddish right now!
 
What a great idea! Unscented wipes! Now, can I do this without them freaking completely out?????

The girls are soooo much more relaxed!
 
What I recommend doing and this will help in odour reduction... have your boys neutered, your girls spayed and have them all living together as a colony in a huge cage in the main living area of the home. Having rats in an enclosed bedroom will smell no matter what, it would be the same if you enclosed a cat and its litter box in a bedroom. But out in the open, a family room, living room, dining room, the smell is not concentrated.
What type of cage are they in now? Rats require lots of space and hamster cages are definitely not enough. Also a good quality rat block like Oxbow Regal rat will help with the odour. Use a bedding like Yesterday's news, it's absorbent and controls odour very well.
If you can't afford both spays and neuters, I highly recommend spays since it's so beneficial to the females health wise.

And... CONGRATS! on the new additions!
 

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