Hiccups and sneezing

[mia9_28]

I got Smokey from the pet store many months ago, and he had respiratory problems. I brought him to the vet, gave him meds (banana flavored, that's all I remember) and all went fine. Although, lately.. there has been many sneezes and hiccups. He has that red liquid around his nose sometimes but the vet had said previously that it is normal.
Him and Charlie both sneeze but Smokey seems to have it worse.
Should I bring them to the vet?

Oh, and I use Living World Fresh and Comfy bedding.
I've been using it for a long time and it never made them sneeze before.
And I have a 50L bag, unopened, so I'll be using it for quite a while.. hopefully it's not the problem.

 

[Roo]

I'm paranoid nowadays. At the slightest sneeze I'll bring my ratties to the vet.

I've never heard a rat have hiccups so I have nothing to say about that. Any luck listening to the breathing?

 

[mia9_28]

I'm paranoid nowadays. At the slightest sneeze I'll bring my ratties to the vet.

I've never heard a rat have hiccups so I have nothing to say about that. Any luck listening to the breathing?

The breathing seems fine.. they seem healthy apart from the sneezing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC4VqABlq2w
"Hiccups" look like this.

 

[Roo]

So. Those are kinda adorable. :giggle:

And unfortunately, I'm weak on advice as I am weak on experience.

 

[missnikki]

Take em to vet just to be sure.

 

[Dazzle87]

I'm bad at telling by videos, but sometimes difficulty breathing is mistaken for hiccups. Are there any clicky, gurgling, grunting, etc sounds being made by her?

 

[mia9_28]

I'm bad at telling by videos, but sometimes difficulty breathing is mistaken for hiccups. Are there any clicky, gurgling, grunting, etc sounds being made by her?

No, it is very silent.. he pretty much has little spasm attacks and it only lasts a few seconds.. it happens mostly when he's on my shoulder for some reason.

 

[jorats]

You could try a sort of test. Don't use the bedding for a week. If he improves, it's the bedding but watch to be sure he doesn't get worse. If he does he'll need a vet.

 

[mia9_28]

I haven't had the chance to change his bedding... but he has gotten quite a bit better since I last posted. The sneezing is almost fully gone and the hiccups are not as frequent..
Should I still get him checked in case or only if it becomes bad again?

 

[jorats]

If you can afford, it doesn't hurt to get him checked out.

 

[MooLlama]

I'm not an expert by any means but I do know that in my experience when a rat starts 'hiccuping' like that its not a good thing. When I first got rats and had no idea what to look for when they were sick, one of them developed a pretty bad URI. She showed symptoms very similar to the ones you're describing in your rat. I have had one other rat make those same noises as well, she also had an URI. In both cases a round of antibiotics cleared up the problem.