Sneezing for one rat, with a question about Rose.

[Riana]

I wanted to ask you all about rats sneezing. Freyr, one of the little boys I'd adopted from Holly, has begun sneezing some ever since I moved home. For the most part, I've only seen improvements in the boys since I've moved back, for the air quality in the house is much better than it was in my apartment. But Freyr's sneezing worries me a little. It's not at all chesty, it's very light, and it doesn't seem to take anything out of him, so I don't think it's bothering him, but it's clearly not a 'got dust in your nose' sneeze. He does it often, but not badly so. I was just wondering what I can look for to know if his sneezing is getting worse, if it's a bad sneeze or a good sneeze, and whether I should put him on any medication.

BTW, Rose is finished the 7 day round of medication the vet had given me, and he seems to be doing perfect! I no longer hear any noises from him at all! But I wonder if a week of treatment is enough, since I often hear people say that they have to treat their rats for something like 4-6 weeks! Any advice on this matter?

 

[jorats]

You really do need to do at least another week of treatment for Rose. It will just come back and come back harder next time.

As for the sneezes... some rats do this all the time. My parents had one rat do it and he was on meds, had been to the vets and tried all kinds of things but he always sneezed. Allergy elixir worked sometimes but not always. It had never affected Sven and he lived a good long time, to 33 months.
But you are wise in wanting to keep an eye on it and look for other symptoms like porphyrin, a wheeze when they sneeze, when the sneeze sounds more like a cough. You are becoming more and more experienced now with rats, soon, your gut instinct will tell you when something if off, always follow that gut instinct. Mom knows best. :wink:

 

[Fidget]

What do you mean by the air quality being better? What is different about it?

 

[SQ]

Is the air dry?
Most people with rats use humidifiers in the winter.
If you check the book I gave you, it will give you the humidity level that is good for rats.

 

[Fidget]

That's what I was wondering about...
For us who don't have humidifiers you can fill containers with water and leave them around, they will put some moisture in the air which will help the kid's breathing ...

 

[raindrop]

Holly what is the reading for humidity? I wasn't lucky enough to get the book :wink:

Ann

 

[Riana]

Thanks for everyone's replies! I will certainly call the vet to request another bit of meds for Rose (My vet is cool! I don't think he'd have a problem with it! He's the type who really values peoples' opinions on their animals' health)

And Holly, I will certainly read the book you gave me (thanks, btw!) but it got lost in the packing, which I'm not finished unpacking yet, so I'll find it eventually!

And I meant exactly that, the humidity in my old apartment was only about 10% (I bought a dinky little humidity/temperature gague at Canadian Tire), whereas here it's 50%. I assume that means the air quality here is better.

 

[SQ]

The optimum humidity level according to Debbie D. is 50%.
(see http://jorats.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2363 )

Is he stressed since the move?

I certainly understand trying to find things after moving :roll:
Every time I try to find something, I realise it is still in NB.

According to Debbie D. frequent sneezing can be caused by respiratory infection, respiratory irritation (toxins, dust), sensitivity to bedding, and nose injury.

Are any of the following in your home?
- cigarette smoke, air freshener, incense, scented candles, perfume, cleaning products that might irritate his airway, etc.
- if you use fleece, etc. are you using the same detergent?
- is the bedding or litter scented or dusty?

If you can think of any irritant such as above, remove it for 3 to 7 days and see if there is any improvement.

 

[Riana]

My mother does smoke, so that could be a factor. However, she only smokes downstairs in the basement, but that wouldn't make a difference in the long-run. Besides anything else, I was using the same products my parents use here. I'll definately keep an eye on him.

 

[SQ]

It could be the cig. smoke ... I am allergic to cig smoke and it would affect me if someone was smoking in the basement.

You might want to get a Honeywell Hepa air filter for the rat room. Walmart, Canadian Tire and the Super Store sell them. I have one and the added benefit is that it greatly reduces any odor.

If you are unable to find an irritant, the next suggested step is to try switching bedding to rabbit food for 3 - 7 days to see if he is sensitive to the bedding. (But if he has been on it and ok for a long time, I personally would assume it isn't that.)

Next step is to treat for a secondary infection (amoxicillin), then if no improvement to treat with doxy, if no improvement then try baytril.

There are quite a few more steps (p. 47 of the health care book)
Of course all antibiotics are given after consulting with your vet.

 

[Riana]

Thanks, Holly. I'll look into getting an air filter. Actually, we have one for downstairs in the family room, and it's made a marked difference in there. I just got my GST check *does little happy dance* so I can put that toward getting an air filter.

The vet wasn't working today, so I'm going to call him tomorrow morning about Rose, but I'll ask about Freyr then, too, to see what he thinks. As far as bedding, and anything like that, there haven't been any changes with that since I got him.

 

[LA]

I know when we first moved all three of my rats sneezed terribly. Then it subsided. They still sneezed and I changed from Aspen to YN. That's made a HUGE difference.

The two girls I got from Mumsy, who the day previous got from the owners were sneezing a lot. Olivia has stopped now but Pearl is still sneezing. I am pretty sure it's new home sneezies though.

If the air quality was better where you were visiting and now it's worse that could be it. Getting used to a familiar place even as a human is hard when you have been away.