Room Humidty & Temp

The average humidty for a rattie room should be 50%? & the average room temp should be 21 - 25 degrees?

A while ago I changed my room temp from 21 to 17 and my rat's seem to be doing alot better, they have more energy & better fur!
A few days ago I bought a humidfier and the humidty has changed from 50% to 72% and my rat Toby with ongoing resp issues since March is doing 110% better.

Has anyone found that there ratties do better at a higher humidy and lower room temp?

 

[jorats]

It's weird cause I know for me, I have a harder time to breath when it's more humid. Toby is on meds too though right?

 

He is but as soon as we put he humidfire on he started sounding better. He was only on the new meds 2 hours prior.
& when chiildren and sick moms usually put a humidfyer her the room to help them breath better.

 

[Sorraia]

Humidity... honestly it is ALWAYS low humidity here, and my rats don't seem bothered at all. The only time humidity is higher is during the winter, and that's when I've always seen the most breathing problems. I don't even bother with a humidifier because with the high temperatures we see, it isn't worth it. Humidity just makes it muggy and miserable. It could be my rats are just accustomed to this weather, I'm not sure.
(When I say low humidity, I mean single digit humidity, at least outside. I haven't bothered to measure humidity inside, but I doubt its much higher than that.)

As for temperatures, I find rats do better at lower temperatures. I try to keep the temperature around 18-21C in the rat room. During the summer that's a little more difficult, seeing that outside temperatures will exceed 38C. My rats do seem most comfortable at the 18-21C range though. Much more or less than that and they start to look uncomfortable. I see signs of being too hot appearing around 24-26C.

 

The way I look at it is:

- Sick children use humidfiers to help them breath better.
- Hot showers help ratties breath better (hot showers cause more humidty in the air)

The day I plugged the humidfyer is was the same day Toby started his new meds and at the same time. About 2 hours after plugging the humidfyer in Toby's breathing improved 100 percent.

I am going to unplug the humidfyer today to seee if his congestion comes back!

 

[Sorraia]

If it works by all means keep it up! When it comes to environmental factors vs. health, one factor doesn't always affect every individual the same way. Just think of the wide range of allergies and the degrees at which people suffer those allergies. I personally, when I'm sick, do not find that a humidifier helps me breath easier, but that doesn't mean someone else will be affected the same way. Just like I personally find my rats do best in dry cool/warm (but not cold or hot) temperatures. That doesn't mean other rats will be affected the same way.

 

[jorats]

That might be something I'll try too once I have my rat room. It would be interesting to see and wonderful if it does help my guys. I keep my place at 24.5 celsius. It sounds hot but it really is not, in fact, I have to wear slippers. But, I do find that in less warm temperatures, rats seem much livelier.

 

So I have noticed two things:

I unplugged the humidfier and Toby's congested sounds came back within an hour.
But I also noticed the 24 hour period when Toby was taking both Doxy and Azithromycin that he still seemed a little bit better. But my vet said that doxy and azithromycin should not be given together?

 

[jorats]

I don't know why your vet says that about the two meds. Unless there is some reported effects that we are still unaware of.

 

I just read on rat guide that apprently the two meds combined may cause a stroke.

 

[jorats]

I've also heard that Baytril and Zithro combos can do the same. As well as just Baytril alone can cause stroke or seizures according to my vet.

 

I am going down tomorrow after work to talk with him about it.

He did really well while taking both, he is still doing good, but not as good ..but I dont like how it could cause a stroke and maybe thats why he dont want him to be on both? (toby is also he favorite out of the bunch)

AZITHROMYCIN

BRAND: ZITHROMAX

PFIZER 4 to 8mg/lb BID-SID, PO

.1 to .2cc/lb BID for the first 14 days, then .1 to .2cc/lb SID for another 14 days, if needed Bacteriostatic, broad-spectrum antibiotic. Good for respiratory infections. Has been shown to have excellent results on younger rats, but is less effective on chronic, older rats. Use in combination with Doxycycline for better results in these cases. (Caution: there have been two reported cases of stroke using this combination, although they have not been definitively connected to use of either drug.) Does attack mycoplasma specifically. Cherry flavored — most rats love it. Expensive. Prescription needed.

 

[xxchelle]

If there's only been two cases and it hasn't even been proven then I doubt there's much validity to it.

 

Thats true, I am going to talk to him tomorrow to find out if there is another reason for it and if I can still use it.