sneezing attacks

[lindsayfawn]

I was wondering why Gloria, my oldest rat at 1 yr 6 months, is having sneezing fits? She'll be fine for days at a time then all of a sudden she'll get these sneezing fits for a little while then they'll go away. We just moved into the place a month ago so I'm not sure if this could really qualify as new house smells. She's never been sick or had anything wrong with her a day in her life even with her first cage mate having extremely bad myco and passed away from it.
So I'm wondering if maybe the sneezing is the signs of myco coming around because she's getting a little older? She seems to sleep quite a bit and when the girls have out time and they free range most times she'll stay in the cage.

 

[Fidget]

What does her sneezing sound like? Does it sound like chirps and her body moves when she does it? Cause I'm still wondering if that's what Summer did & Sumone does...
Sorry lindsayfawn, I'm seeking answers instead of providing them, but I'm still uncertain if Sumone is sneezing or what....
Hers have come and gone mildly and infrequently and seemed like not a big concern, then they get more frequent as time passes and she eventually is doing it quite a bit and even showing some porphyrin, so I put her on baytril and that fixes her up for a while til it starts again.

I would think sneezing in reaction to an environment change would pass in a few days. I'm sure you've hunted for any nearby cause and haven't been using anything you didn't before. You don't have some kind of tree or plant close to a window that is open to them now that the weather is nicer?

 

[lindsayfawn]

Her sneezes are a bunch of short sneezes all together. It lasts for a few minutes then goes away. Nothing has changed for things I use around the house and the only plant in the house is in the kitchen. I've only opened the windows twice because it's still crappy weather here, rainy and cold. She did this a few times when I was in fredericton too. She has no proph though so that's good at least.
When she sneezes she always keep her paws up to her nose kind of as if she would when grooming herself. Maybe to get something out of her nose? There was the one time last july, after templeton had died, that she had this mucus type of thing that came out of her nose after a sneezing fit. Scared me half to death seeing that. But never had anything like that again, so I have no idea what that was.

 

[Fidget]

Thankyou, that doesn't sound like what my girls are doing. Mine sit normally still and chirp. Never anything coming from the nose like air or wet spray or the mucous - that must have freaked you out, I'm glad it was one-time thing.
If its something she's done before with no acceleration of problems (you didn't mention her progressing to need medication in July?) then it sounds more like a reaction to some internal or other stress than something in the environment I would think. You're sure there's no porphyrin coming from her nose when she sneezes that she cleans up right away?

Will she sit still with you for a massage periodically? I don't know if that would be any benefit but easy enough to try and no harm done if it doesn't help (just thinking in case it's emotional). Have you checked her over for bumps or bad teeth or little owies that might signal something else going on? I'm sure you've thought of all of this and done it, but I can tell you, when I have a sick kid I can be so focused on doing what I think to do that I've missed some considerations and thank goodness for people tossing out ideas - right or wrong - here.

I'll throw in some more useless thought if I come up with any :wink2: In the meantime Good Hopes for Gloria.

 

[lindsayfawn]

nope she didn't need meds, has never had meds expect recently for revolution they all had lice. Willow and Alice brought it in from the evil pet store. so maybe that could have caused the sneezing 'cause she was stressed over that?

 

[jorats]

A couple of my rats have done this but it not common. Some rats do have allergies and that's what it reminds me of too.
I'd keep an eye on her. The fact that she's sleeping more could be due to her age. I've noticed once a rat reaches 18 months, they slow down.

 

[lindsayfawn]

she hasn't had a sneezing fit for a few days, so weird how it comes and goes so it must be allergies. Yeah I can tell she's getting old 'cause she kinda looks older and she doesn't have patience with the rest of the group if they're annoying her lol my grumpy girl, I'm sure she still has many months and hopefully years to go, she's extremely healthy minus these random sneezing attacks.
All of the girls are doing great especially where they don't have that pesky lice anymore. Raina's done amazing too with having that tumor removed the hair still hasn't fully grown in though in one little spot. Will it ever grow in?

 

[Pauley]

We have had a few over the years who seemed particularly sneezy. Our oldest boy, Uncle Lester has it. He doesn't have a runny nose when he does it, and he is normal and healthy. It has only been occasional, and seems to have subsided now that pollen season is over. He is a big, (not fat) strong boy. You definitely don't want to be near the cage when he sneezes!

 

[mamarat]

I too have a girl and she's had sneezing fits ever since she's little. I did try a run of Baytril but it didn't help. She is now 20 months old and the sneezing is less frequent now.

 

[Dahlas]

My little Piper sneezes...cute little achoos......she has been on a dose of Baytril....never made any diference....She never has any discharge from her eyes or nose....her lungs are nice and clear...but she sneezes......sometimes more then others....seems to be more when she is excited.....

 

[rattikins]

I too have a girl and she's had sneezing fits ever since she's little. I did try a run of Baytril but it didn't help. She is now 20 months old and the sneezing is less frequent now.

This sounds so much like what I'm going through. My little baby (6 weeks) sneezes a lot but is not "sick" otherwise. We're running a course of amoxicillin with her, but she does not show any signs of being ill, just the sneezes. I wonder if it's just a behavioral thing....

 

[jorats]

It is good to try a course of meds though... amoxi probably won't do anything at all, I'd at least try the Doxy and see how she is on that.

 

[rattikins]

It is good to try a course of meds though... amoxi probably won't do anything at all, I'd at least try the Doxy and see how she is on that.

Why would the vet give her amoxi then? What a waste... Could I give her 2 doses a day of the amoxi? .1 ml twice daily? It just seems odd that she only on once daily....