New baby rats, are two sick?

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R

Rune

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Hi everyone, I have never used a thread before, I hope I do it right.

My partner and I got some baby rays yesterday. The two youngest sometimes make like a wet hiccup/snuffle noise. I have videos but it wont let me upload. The breeder said it's probably stress, feed them eggs and wait a couple of days. It's been years since I kept rats I am not sure.

Thank you.
 
If you upload the video to YouTube, then copy and paste the link on here, we can see it. He probably has the new home sneezes. You don't have to feed him eggs. Just try to keep stress to a minimum, and wait a couple of days. Keeping them on fleece instead of bedding (especially wood) can help as well. Welcome to the forum!
 
Hello, thank you.

The two youngest atr making similar noises and the oldest has been sneezing a bit. I put two videos on Youtube.


This is the hiccupy noise they are making.



This is one of the other noises they are making.
 
(A little sneezing for a few days is normal as rats get used to their new environment
Many say hiccups are normal, however, in my experience when my rats are hiccupping and I treat for a myco flareup, the hiccups stop)

A wet noise is not normal and may indicate illness
How is their breathing?
When you hold they up to your ear and listen to both sides of their chests do you hear any congestion etc?

Since rats become ill and die fast,
I strongly suggest taking them in to a good vet with the knowledge and experience to treat rats asap - like today!! - especially if a good rat vet is not available on weekends etc

I hope they are soon feeling much better

I will message Lilspaz68 as she knows much more then the rest of us

btw you may find the Reference Thread to be helpful https://www.ratshackforum.com/threads/reference-thread-read-only.35894/
 
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I have to agree, the first video is a very congested sneeze that is more than new home sneezes. How many babies did you bring home? Do you have any other rats besides these new babies?
 
I had a lovely female named Echo who got sick and required antibiotics for the rest of her life, they remind me of the noises she made.

We got four of varying ages. Three the breeder had rescued, one she had bred. They were all living together. The youngest two (she said maybe 6 weeks) are making the noises in the video, I think they're getting worse.

They are the only rats I have.

I sent the videos to the breeder and she is sending me some antibiotics for the water bottle.
 
Rune said:
I sent the videos to the breeder and she is sending me some antibiotics for the water bottle.
Click to expand...

Antibiotics must never be put into a water bottle:
1. the amount of antibiotics given is based on the weight of the rat and the strength of the med (mg/ml). Putting meds in a water bottle means that the rats do not receive the correct dose and may be given too much or too little
2. if rats do not like the taste they may stop drinking water and become dehydrated. Dehydration kills

Please take your rats to a good vet with the knowledge and experience to treat rats
Your breeder does not seem to know much about rats, and the meds may not even be the correct medication your rats require
 
Oh no, that's how I medicated Echo, based on vets advice.
But what you said makes sense. The 4 are different sizes.
I told her I used a Doxy something with Echo, she relied that she was sending something similar, a powdered form.
 
you need to know the name of the med, and the strength, and expiratory date if possible

btw, a digital scale with a tare function, that weighs accurately to 1 gram is an important piece of equipment for rat owners because weighing rats re figuring out med doses or to see if ill or elderly rats are losing weight is important.
 
Should be arriving today.
We have a good set of kitchen scales, thinking those would work?
 
They do. :)

It came today. The breeder says its Doxycycline/Psittavet, it needs to live in the the fridge and I give one gram per 100ml of water.

She says "majority of us breeders have been using this for years it’s called psittavet and much more effective when treating a colony you can’t overdose them so you can add a little more it doesn’t stay in their system they are too young for baytril"
 
Yep, crappy breeder. Real breeders know that each rat requires a specific dose dependent on weight, and the concentration used. Using it in water you will.gave no clue how much each rat got, if they are drinking at all from the "tainted" water supply, and it has to be changed daily .Plus the bottle must be scrubbed as you don't want bacteria to build up.
Doxycycline (along with baytril) is NOT pediatric friendly so she got that wrong too.

http://ratguide.com/breeding/basics/medications_and_breeding.php

If it's all you have them use it, but it's a highly inaccurate way to dose. Even if you weighed out 2 grams (100 mg) of doxy powder it's also inaccurate as your scale isn't sensitive enough.

BUT in your case you can weigh out 2 grams then mix with 2 ml of water til dissolved then add 3 ml of sweet syrup. This gives you 20 mg/ml doxy. If you give me weights of the sick babies I can give you doses.
 
I'm feeling a bit frustrated to be honest. We have 3 sick, 2 making the wet/clicky noises almost constantly now and the other has been sneezing a bit.

We have the babies

Fudge at 95g
Zephyr at 170g

And Sebastian at 300g

It was tricky to get a reading as no one wanted to stay still.

They all seem pretty content to have not much to do with us, save taking food from our hands (it has only been one week today) the biggest boy was bred by the breeder, the orhers were rescued feom a hoarder who let them all run around his house and breed. She told us she never handles her babies because she breeds for temperament so they shouldn't need to be handed, is that right?
 
Also the biggest boy will sometimes grab and drag the little ones around the cage. They dont like it. I hear them sqeaking in the box sometimes too. Is that normal domanance behaviour?
 
Yes. He is dragging them to the nest to cuddle, and groom. They squeak in protest. As long as there's no blood, and they aren't super stressed or frightened, they are fine. I'd definitely take all 3 to the vet. How old did you say the babies were? Azithromycin is baby friendly I think. Www.ratguide.com has more info. And only a week with you, give them time. They need to adjust and learn to trust you. Sometimes it may take a little work, and sometimes they are faster at warming up. Shadow the rat on YouTube has some good videos on how she tamed her newest 3 babies. Also, if we haven't already said it, www.joinrats.com has good info on socializing and such. :)
 
Just the littlest is hardly out and always cold. Zephyr gets up and boxes at him sometimes.

She said they range between 6 to 9 weeks (add a week now).
Thank you for the links, I appreciate it.
 
Rune said:
She told us she never handles her babies because she breeds for temperament so they shouldn't need to be handed, is that right?
Click to expand...

From what you have written, she does not know what she is doing and does not know much about rats or how to properly care for them
 

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