Merlin , respiratory infection and need for him to be alone

[angieluv]

Hi,
My rat Merlin came into my shelter with a severe lice infestation. He had been found in a downtown apt building running loose and was brought in by animal control.
I began to love him the day the shelter allowed me to take him to the vet for his lice problem. I fell in love with him when we were in the car on the way there ( who knows when love will strike ) The vet is not really that knowledgeable ( I think) about rats but she thinks that she is . I cannot choose which vet the shelter sends an animal to but this vet knows more than the others here in La Crosse about rats. She began ivermectin ..aan injection and subsequent oral doses.
By that time I knew I was going to adopt him so when I did I applied Revolution after researching it and it worked great. The vet didn't mind but wouldn't order it herself as it is off- label for rats (works wonderfully on rabbits also)
I was so busy doing daiyl cage cleanings etc and treating his skin that I put the respiratory issue on the back burner until I got him home.
it was never severe...sneezing particularly when I handled him (anxious?) otherwise just a wet nose and a little bit of cleaning his face after sneezing.
he is still on ciprofloxicin and Doxycyline and that is the reason that I only have 1 rat.
if I knew that he could not infect a 2nd rat I would adopt either the male rat babies at the shelter or the new rat that we just got with head tilt. I am afraid of infecting another rat.
My vet says that these problems are usually chronic and since I don't think that Merlin is young i just feel that he may have some symptoms forever. he is 90% better with just a few sneezes a day and no other symptoms . he seems very happy is his new big cage which was really meant for more than one rat.
Any advice ?

 

[SQ]

He could be sneezing because he is exposed to an irritant. Any strong smells, perfume, air freshener, cig. smoke, cleaning products etc? Could he be sneezing because of his bedding?
If there is anything that could be bothering him, try getting rid of it for 3 - 7 days and see if that helps.

If that doesn't help, there are various combos of antibiotics you can try.
If antibiotics don't work, then he can be treated for an allergy to see if that helps.
If that doesn't work there are other things you can try.

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How long have you had Merlin?
Did he have any other symptoms besides sneezing?
How long has he been on antibiotics? Have they helped?

I would get him one or more friends but you would need to have had him (quarantine) for 4 to 6 weeks to make sure he doesn't have one of the terminal rat diseases. Any new rats would need to be quarantined for 4 to 6 weeks in a separate airspace to make sure they do not have any of the terminal rat diseases either.

If Merlin does have a secondary infection antibiotics should cure it, although he may need a different antibiotic. If he is having a myco flareup, all rats have myco, although there are different strains. No reason not to get more rats.

Hope the rat with the head tilt is being treated with a steroid and antibiotics.

Rats need to be gradually introduced. There are established steps you can follow.

 

[jorats]

Have you tried switching him to enroflaxocin? In most cases, it's much better than ciprofloxacin.
It's a tough call about adding new rats or not. I'd probably wait a while first. It could be with Enrofloxacin, he'll be completely treated in a 4 to 6 week treatment. By then you can start looking into getting him buddies.

BTW, kudos to you for adopting a shelter rat!!! :joy: