Sneezing

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jorats said:
That's the scariest thing about our rats sneezing. Do I do something about it or wait and see. Have you tried an allergy elixir?
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No I have not. I have wondered if he is very sensitive to something or possibly allergic... atleast, that would be better then him being sick! lol He does seem to sneeze a bit more when he is wondering around the house and then I hear his stuffy nose more too. When he is just sitting around playing or on my bed(sometimes I play with him on the bed) he does not sneeze as much but in general he sneezes the most..
 
How much sneezing is "normal" for rats? A few sneezes a day? Is it only when your rats start sneezing repeatedly for a prolonged period of time that you should be worried? I had rats when I was a little girl but I can't remember how much they sneezed. My step sister, who has had rats more recently than myself, says that it's normal for them to sneeze quite a bit.

What is the likelyhood of all 3 of my rats getting sick at the same time from the same thing? I've noticed they've been sneezing more often and now I'm getting worried. Their behavior hasn't changed at all, they're still bright eyed and outgoing, and man do they eat a whole lot... but I'm just really afraid they're going to get sick on me. I'm a college student right now without a job, with no student loan money leftover, and I just know if they get sick I won't be able to take them to the vet. :/ I know a lot of people here will say to me, then why did I take them if I can't afford them, but it was come with me or go back to the pet store to most likely be feeders and I didn't want that for them.

Also I keep them next to my bed and there's a strange smell in that corner of the room that might be mold since the floor is damp (basement room) and my bed is right on top of it. Could that be making them sneeze? I've moved them to a different corner of the room already that is more dry and has better light anyway so I don't have to leave my lamp on for them all day long.

People here are saying carefresh is dusty, too? Could that be making them sneeze? Could it be all of these things together contributing to their nasal woes? I'm terrified my boys are sick. I know they probably aren't (everyone who knows me says I worry WAY too much, and they're right... if it's not this it's something else like my teeth maybe having cavities and I could get an abscess cause I can't afford the dentist, or my sudden penchant for ear infections meaning maybe I have some kind of auto-immune disorder, really, these are the things constantly going through my head all the time) but I'm still scared.

It's also very dry right now, it's been a super dry winter especially in my house. AND I'm temporarily housing a fourth boy who has no home yet, and the cage isn't big enough for all four of them. Can THAT make the rats sneeze? I'm sorry, I'm rambling, but I'm just very high strung. :shock:
 
Mold is definitely a bad thing... even for you! Try and get that checked out and cleaned out as well.
I really dislike Carefresh because of how dusty it is... and the change in the season can be a factor as well.
 
I moved them away from the mold at least, even if I can't get myself away from it yet, and I also covered their cage with towels because it's very cold down here in my room... they seem to not be sneezing now, which is a huge relief. :) It was probably the moldy basement smell in that corner that was bugging them. They're more protected from drafts now too, in the corner they're in.

I'm definitely going to litter train soon, since they already have chosen a corner for all their ratty business, then I'll only need to put down a little carefresh instead of covering the whole bottom of their cage with it.
 
..since I gave willy a bit of the amox that I have for them on hand.. his sneezing seems to have went down and his stuffy nose is almost gone.....but his breathing is still a bit faster then the rest.. maybe he was sick.... but hes had a stuffy nose since I've had him and that was about 6 weeks old and he's over a year now :scratch:
 
Our littlest boy, Gregory, has been a sneezer the whole time we have had him. We guess his age at about 16 months, although we have only had him for half that. We have pretty much ruled out URI, he was on baytril for several weeks following his neuter to prevent abscesses but it didn't really affect his symptoms. There is definitely Porph involved, he sneezed while drinking out of my water glass the other day and left spatters of red around the inside of the glass(yummy, I know). His lungs sound clear, I check them a couple times a week, and he only occasionally has a poppy sound just in his nose, but he sneezes ALL THE TIME. When he wakes up, chilling on the couch, eating labblock, it doesn't matter. They are on fleece bedding which is changed once a week, twice on the shelves which get icky faster(and there's only three of them in a double CN). We were using aspen pellets for the litter box, but they've never caught on to using it and when we ran out of the last bag, we just decided to not buy more and let them continue pooping on the bottom level as they do.

We're starting to wonder if poor Gregory is allergic to rats. :emb:

Jo, you mentioned using an allergy elixir - we have Children's Benadryl Allergy, cherry flavored alcohol free. The active drug is diphenhydramine HCl 12.5mg/5ml - is that something we could try, and can you point us in the direction of correct dosing? I'm always scared of messing up the math on things like this.
 
The only benadryl listed on the page you linked to is the sugarfree bubblegum, so I'm going to assume we're ok with what we have purchased. =)

.5 to 1 what? and based on weight? I know he's between a pound and a pound and a half, I can weigh him tomorrow...
 
Anything over 500 grams, you can give up to 1ml. Start with 0.5 and see how he takes it and how he reacts to it. Some rats don't like it or makes them very sleepy. I've found that mine did well with 0.7 ml It helped calm the sneezes for a few hours and wasn't so bad for the day. I only did this on the very bad days when the sneezes won't stop and making him congested as well.
 
Well, we've had Greg on the benadryl for a couple of weeks now, and I'm not sure where to go from here. We started him at the .5 daily for a week, with minimal success, and upped him to .8 last week. .8 is working well, he gets it in the morning when i notice him sneezing, and takes about a half hour to kick in. He's still bouncy, not sleepy drugged or anything like that. 11-12 hours later, the dam breaks and it's like every sneeze that it held off for the last half a day comes out. When he's not on the meds(and not asleep) he sneezes constantly. As in, 40-50 sneezes a minute, when he has a fit, but a couple a minute consistently. More when he gets agitated, less when he is sleepy. Lots when he wakes up. Rarely there is popping in the nose, but its not even a daily thing. The white wall behind their cage is literally covered with little red splatters from him. They live on fleece. We wash it with hypoallergenic detergent. I don't wear perfume. I don't know what else to do.

Should we be giving it twice daily? Is he going to be on it for the rest of his life? I know I would be miserable sneezing as much as he does without it, but it seems odd to me to be medicating him for life(I used to medicate myself daily for allergies, and probably still would be if we hadn't moved cities, but it still seems odd for a pet) - can we keep him on it that long, or is it going to be harmful/useless after time?
 
You can give it to him twice a day. And I know what you mean about doing this for life, it does seem weird. But when you think about it, humans are on their allergy pills for life.
You stop it and see how he is with it or give it to him every few days to give him a break from the sneezes. If I remember correctly, my mom did it for a short while with Sven and then decided to just let him be with his sneezes. They weren't as severe but he still had them every day.
 
I adopted my girls a week and a half ago after they were treated for two weeks with doxy and baytril at the spca for possible respiratory infections (pretty much constant sneezing and discharge)
The adoption counselor said to bring them in if their sneezing got worse...I was expecting it to get better because they were still sneezing at least 10 times an hour. It never got better, and then today I came home and Mackenzie sounded congested and was making weird hiccupy or wheezing noises. I brought them both to the spca and they said I could get an appointment next wednesday! I refused that option so they gave me some more doxy and baytril and kept the appointment for next Wednesday. I don't know what to do because if those drugs didn't work the first time, why would they this time...it's obviously the same illness.

She hasn't made any more of those noises since this afternoon and even sounds less congested...could it have just been a one day thing? Should I still give the drugs?

edit: there is no porphyrin at all and they look relatively healthy, although Mackenzie has just been hiding out in the house pretty much the entire day for the past two days.
 
Prob. taking Aili in to the vet tonight she sound's so congested poor thing but is still happy as a clam and moving around way to much wich baffles me!
Am I supposed to hear stuff in her lungs when I rat phone her? Cause I hear nothing.
Could it be just a harmless cold or something? Could I treat her at home instead?

And who has it? She has been in contact with my two other's, Kaina seems fine, Jade is chirping a bit but she is new so not too worried for her yet.

I'd prefer to save my money if I can!
Thankx
 
*Rebel_Angel* said:
Prob. taking Aili in to the vet tonight she sound's so congested poor thing but is still happy as a clam and moving around way to much wich baffles me!
Am I supposed to hear stuff in her lungs when I rat phone her? Cause I hear nothing.
Could it be just a harmless cold or something? Could I treat her at home instead?

And who has it? She has been in contact with my two other's, Kaina seems fine, Jade is chirping a bit but she is new so not too worried for her yet.

I'd prefer to save my money if I can!
Thankx
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They start out still acting normal but it will progress if untreated.

If there is no lung involvement it is probably an upper respiratory infection instead. Chirping is never normal, if you don't get her treated with antibiotics it will get worse, so no there isn't any home treatment you can use. Good luck.
 
I never bring a buddy with my gang but a lot of people do. Who is the most stable and relaxed rat in your crew? That's who you should bring.
 
Yes, my girl Missy is usually who I bring when only one needs a visit, as it doesn't bother her at all. I'd just bring one rat though if my choices of vet buddies would get really stressed about it though.
 
O sorry my question was more along the line's of if URI's are transmitable, she has been in contact with the Kaina and Jade...althought those two seem fine.

And as for a vet buddy I was planning on just taking Aili, Kaina is too freaked and well I can't stuff Jade with Aili in the carrier..Aili bite's her.
 

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