My rat sneezing a lot in the mornings

[legacy-of-rat]

Hi, I have been the proud mommy of many rats over the years. Normally when we come across an issue we can take care of it ourselves, but I decided to sign up and ask here.

Right now we have two precious boys who are near 2 years old, but doing well.
The one we'll be talking about today is Dumplin, the rat with the cutest markings I have ever seen in my life, and who (along with our other babies) I rescued from being food for birds of prey. These boys are all very special to us

Dumplin sneezes a lot in the morning and makes squeaky noises when he does it (almost like he has mucous, but not enough to make his breathing sound weird). Every time I check his breathing and it sounds fine. He is eating and drinking well, not losing weight, and is very happy and alert. He isn't sick because we have two other rats who aren't affected. We think that he has allergies, and we have always done form the beginning things that will help with that (paper bedding changed every day, stuff like that). He might just be very sensitive. We're thinking that now he's gotten a bit older he's even more sensitive to things like the Tide we use for their towels and whatnot.

We are planning to get some perfume-free detergent, clean the house, and give him a bath. I am wondering if there is anything else we can do to help my baby Doomp feel as good as he possibly can, and stay healthy enough to enjoy his second Christmas to the fullest

Thanks!

 

[TheFatRatGirl]

Hiya, Dumplin sounds adorable. I definitely wouldn't give him a bath though, it's generally not needed as rats keep themselves extremely clean and the experience can be quite stressful for them. Which paper bedding are you using? Some have more dust than others.

Garlic and echinacea are good supplements to prevent respiratory issues, you could try sprinkling some in with his food and seeing if that makes a difference. You could try lining wherever he sleeps with a dust free bedding such as fleece; if he's at his worse when he first wakes up it could be the prolonged exposure to whatever bedding is in his sleeping area. Some rats are just more sensitive to these things than others.

 

[Evermore]

Also, any change in environment or routine (for some) can cause stress; which for some reason they express via mucus build-up and sneeziness. If his lungs sound good, though, I wouldn't worry too much at this point. As TheFatRatGirl said, garlic and echinacea work wonders on rats. I've tried only garlic personally, or a very, very small amount of dark chocolate - and they tend to perk up in a couple of days.

If you've been keeping windows open overnight, not cleaning the house as often, etc. even a little extra dust if Dumplin is sensitive already might be contributing.

 

[legacy-of-rat]

Hi guys. We stopped using dryer sheets and are switching to no fragrance detergent for their towels. We also dusted a bunch and this alone has helped, Dumplin is very happy.
We are going to give him a bath though because he is very messy, and my poor baby choked the other day so got some icky stuff on his chin : (
We make it super stress-free though, we put a towel down in the sink and make sure the water is nice and warm. The bath lasts only a couple seconds then he gets cookies. He's had one before when he needed it and was very brave, so he doesn't get too stressed out at all.

Here are some pictures of Dumplin for you guys to see, sorry about bad quality. He has the sweetest blue face and the most adorable little freckle on his back.

 

[Evermore]

I'm glad to hear there has been some improvement! Sounds to me like he's just a sensitive boy - he looks very healthy and soft in those pics. I'll keep my fingers crossed that the fragrance-free helps out as well.