Does she have a cold?

[Sorbin]

I have a three ratty girls, all of them just about a year old. I also have horrible cold. My question: Is it possible that one of the girls has gotten this? Sharona, my baby :heart: , was fine this morning when I checked her, but this evening when I was holding her she seemed extra warm. (Fever?) She was also well behaved. (Highly unusual behavior from her) All she wanted to do was cuddle. She's acting really tired, and her nose is all stuffed up. I'm just not sure whether I should really be worried... The cold hit me exactly the same way, I went to sleep and I was fine, but I woke up sicker than a dead cat. Should I keep her away from my other girls? Any information you could share would be much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[handmeafish]

Is she sneezing? does she have red discharge coming out of her nose at all?

She probably did not catch it from you, but rats get whats called an Upper respiratory infection. These are quite common, and if she is acting different than usual, and is stuffed up you probably want to get her to the vet as soon as you can. Don't worry about her giving it to the other girls, its not contagious like our colds are.

 

[Sorbin]

She is sneezing a little, but mostly it just looks like her nose is clogged up, the discharge isn't red, it looks like.. well... snot. She's acting like she has a fever, staying close to the other girls for warmth, and just looking tired. Do rats get fevers?

 

[jorats]

It might be wise to bring her in to the vet. If you feel something is off then it might be worth a further look.
You can't give your cold to the rats but rats can have "off" days.

 

[Aida]

Although I didn't notice any temperature changes, my Matilda has an upper respiratory infection, and It started out with the clear snot and sneezing, too.
If it dosen't clear up tomorrow, I'd say set up an appointment. You'll probably just get some antibiotics to give her a few times a day.

Other than that, we can't usually pass anything on to our rats, and respiratory infections aren't contagious from rat to rat(but if it's something else, it could be). However, I did read somewhere that humans can pass strep throat(throat infection) onto ratties. But I cannot cite this as I don't remember where I read it, so don't believe me 100%.

Edit: She could be warm from snuggling the other ratties and sleeping curled up. Mine always is after I fish her out from under my pillows. She also has been sleeping a lot lately, so maybe it's just an ill-rat thing.

 

[Sorbin]

Good news!!!! She's all better today!! Y'all were right, I guess it was just a bad day. Her sneezing has cleared up, she's alert and cuter than a frog in a button-up vest. Thanks for the help!