Help - health query

[Dinsley94]

Hi all.

Myself and my partner have just gotten our first rats, 2 females called Rogue and Artemis! My partner had a rat when she was younger but this is my first time.
We got them on Saturday 5th March and they are absolutely amazing! We were told to expect sneezing as it's a sign of stress and they are obviously going to be a bit stressed with the move and being in a new place and such.
One of them has been sneezing more and now has a snotty nose, You can hear in the sneezes that she has a bit of gunk in her nose with a tiny red spot one of her nostrils.

Her eyes are fine and her nose is still looking pink, She's also eating, drinking and acting normal.
It's probably just us being over protective but It's nice to get some opinions first

Thanks all!

 

[Kye]

Well the red you are seeing is just porphyrin, not blood, there's a thing called new home sneezes and it can take a few days to a week for some rats to acclimate so if they're acting perfectly fine(eating, drinking, going to the bathroom) I would just watch for now and give it some time. I do want to ask what bedding you use though!

 

[Dinsley94]

Hi Kye

Thanks for that, thought it was us just being overly cautious but it's nice to have that confirmed. We will keep an eye on her over the next couple of days.

The bedding is called back2nature small animal pellet bedding. Its the same bedding they were on from the place we got them from. We wanted to try and keep as much familiar to them as possible!

Thanks again!

 

[Kye]

Alright I'm glad it's not wood shavings! (if it was I was going to tell you to switch it as soon as possible) Another thing to think about is: are there any air fresheners in the area that could be causing the sneezes but it really doesn't sound like an issue right now so yep, just keep an eye on them!

Reaching out is highly encouraged even if you think you're being silly, no such thing as too cautious with our little friends!

 

[Dinsley94]

We did have an air fresher nearby but I've had that switched off since they moved in, plus I'm pretty sure it had been empty but still trying to fire for a couple of weeks

Appreciate your help Kye! Its put our minds at ease! Thanks again!