Sneezing

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How long have Ricky and Ralphy lived together at this time? Bedding of t-shirts is okay, but you will need to change it very often. If you are worried about allergies you can try white paper towels or white shredded paper instead, because those shirts may have been washed with scented laundry detergent causing him to sneeze.

Btw they are gorgeous boys!
 
lilspaz68 said:
How long have Ricky and Ralphy lived together at this time?
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Got Ralph mid-September at 3 weeks old. I introduced them fully after 3 days or so of multiple introductions. So getting on 2 months.
 
Hi there, just to offer my personal experience on eliminating sneezing, often a rat's system is so sensitive it can pick up smells. What I thought was a problem on my part was actually an external factor. As my mum cleans the rest of the house with a cleaning agent known as Dettol, this has a relatively strong smell to it, when I was wiping down a table near the cage it brought about a sneezing fit. After changing cleaning agents the sneezing has greatly reduced. Also, if the t-shirt scraps were laundered with strong detergents and softeners, this could be a reason for sneezing too.
 
I brought home two new girls yesterday and one of them is sneezing like nonstop (she is four months There is no porphyrin discharge or anything and other than like almost-constant sneezes she is fine. Her companion (who is one) is not sneezing whatsoever. My boys sneeze on the occasion but this little girl is going nonstop. I know I am probably overreacting since she wasn't sneezing at my boyfriend's yesterday, but should I be concerned? She is so tiny haha.
 
AHA the sneezing thread! Just what I have been looking for!!

About 4 weeks ago I noticed one of my boys (Wembley) having a little sneezing fit while he was grooming himself. Just sneezing and cleaning! About a dozen little quick (dry sounding) sneezes. But that was it. Since then, I have noticed the odd sneezing fit (as I am calling them) and the occasional single sneeze from both Wembley and his brother Gobo.

It happens infrequently, but has been ongoing randomly for about 4 weeks. Other then that the boys seem in perfect health. There have been no changes in their bedding, or anything else about their environment. I did the rat phone thing, and listened to their breathing, and both boys sound normal (I have been checking them every couple of days).

Am I just a paranoid mom? Or are these early signs of a URI? Is the odd sneeze here and there normal?
 
I would just keep an eye on him. I don't think I'd be much worried unless there were other symptoms like porphyrin, a change in appetite or activity level.
 
Good question Mairead! I actually havent a clue... which is why I was listening every couple days. But I didnt hear anything strange, or squeaky... which I know if a hint that something is up.
 
Normal rat lung flow, you shouldn't hear anything. In fact you should just hear the heart beat. But older rats you will hear a swoosh with each breath. My vet calls that loud lungs, it's not that bad and might not need medication either. Bad lungs, you will hear crackling, gurgling, congested sounds. And sometimes you hear wheezing too. Those you need to rush for meds.
 
Hi! I just got two baby guy rats, Petyr and Varys, about 10 days ago. They are 9 weeks old now, were healthy when I took them home, and seemed to adjust to their cage very well. I was using carefresh to start with, but after reading about it, decided to go with towels/fleece for their cage. I'm feeding them rice krispies, lab blocks, and fruit every day, and the occasional yogie.

I had them at home for a week, and then took them on vacation with me to visit family, on a 12 hour drive. They handled the drive like champs, got treats and water breaks along the way, and seemed fine the first night. Yesterday and last night they both started sneezing, and today Varys has been sneezing and facewashing like crazy.

They are both very comfortable with me handling them, climbing on my shoulder (underneath a sweater for now, until they're big enough to hold on) and so on, so they don't act stressed. There is a cat in this house, and dust, and its drier than where I'm from.

Varys has sneezing attacks about every 30-45 minutes, and I noticed a little porphyrin starting tonight. I used a small piece of tissue and he sprayed two miniscule drops onto it, smaller than the dot a pencil would make. He makes a little sneeze squeak or 3, and then its followed by a couple "pfsh pfsh" mini-sneezes.

Petyr sneezes occasionally, 2-3 times a day. I now have a cool humidifier in the room they're staying in, gave them a clean shoebox and tshirt to nest in, and took Varys into the bathroom, steamy from the shower being run. It seems to have helped for the last 40 minutes, but I wanted to see if there's anything I should be watching for or concerned about.

I've played rat phone with both for about 60 seconds, no sound other than the heartbeats. They both are eating normally, have fresh water and are drinking regularly.

This is an awesome forum - what I've read so far is encouraging, and I have a hunch its probably the dust, so the humidifier and fresh bedding should do the trick. I just want to make sure I start a vet run when necessary.

A quick update: He's started to develop more around his left eye, but he's active and using the wheel, and seems to be eating like normal.
 
Is there any smoke around the rats or fragrances? It sounds like something is irritating them, if it keeps up, another few days it might be worth a vet visit, get some doxy for them.
 
No smoke or fragrance -overnight it seems to have subsided quite a bit, and I'm not seeing any more porphyrin. If he keeps sneezing, I'll take him to a vet tomorrow. We have a trip back home on Tuesday, which I don't want to be a pain for them. Neither of them seem to be uncomfortable - they're wrestling and running around, and Varys, the potentially sick one, is running in the wheel like normal. I'm almost certain now it was the new dry dusty house. Still sounds clear when I listen to them breathe, and they're starting to get used to it, and cuddle up to my ear.
 
So they had a much better trip home, and they've both gotten over sneezing. The only sneezes they get now is when I wash my hands (some sort of scented handsoap, I'll be getting some unscented/hypoallergenic stuff.)

I really appreciate the information, it definitely alleviated my worries.
 
jrowe47 said:
So they had a much better trip home, and they've both gotten over sneezing. The only sneezes they get now is when I wash my hands (some sort of scented handsoap, I'll be getting some unscented/hypoallergenic stuff.)

I really appreciate the information, it definitely alleviated my worries.
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That's great!
 
So I got 2 new rats, about 7 weeks old now. One of them has been sneezing a lot the last few days. I noticed it as it was rather constant. The other one isn't sneezing at all, so I know it's not an irritant in the air. I have been using carefresh bedding- I haven't heard anything about that, but is there something bad about that stuff? Should I change to something else then? I have fleece in the reg large cage, but not the small temp cage where the babies are (and the fleece would have nothing to tie to cuz there is no removable base or anything.

Also, the nearest vet that specializes in rats is gone for another week. I went and got my rat weighed though as I have some suspension meds I'm using for my older rat. Could I use that for him? He's 205 grams as it said on the weigher (little guy)- but I'm not sure what amount I would give him for that small. I'm guessing it would be a very small amount, like 0.1 or 0.2, or should I wait to get some doxy and have him properly looked at? I didn't think the suspension would hurt him since it's meant for respiratory issues, and it sounds like it, cuz when he sneezes, sometimes it's congested and since the other one isn't doing it, I didn't think it was due to the bedding.

Thanks for any help you can offer.
 
I have used carefresh in the past and found it very dusty. Since your little one is already sneezing, I'd probably take it out and use something else for now.
What type of med is the suspension? A suspension means a powder needing liquid.
 

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