Sneezing and itching

[bige]

Hello,

I just adopted two male rats from the local pet store a month ago. Both are 11 mos old and were originally purchased by someone that decided they were afraid of the rats. They did not get taken out and played with at all. I have no idea what they were eating. These are my first rats and I have to say that I am quite smitten with them. What great little animals. I have worked with both of my boys and they are now hand tame again and love to hang out with the family.

So on to my problem. I have one of my boys that has scabs on his skin and is itching furiously. As of this morning both rats have places where they are scratching themselves till they bleed. I thought they may have been fighting, but from my reading I gather that it may be a food issue. The general consensus seems to be too much protein in the diet. I am currently feeding my rats an over the counter rat mix (as I was advised by the pet store). They both seem to pick out what they want and leave the rest of the food in the bowl. I feel like I am buying food for nothing. I do feed them other foods as well. Fresh fruit, raw pasta and they love yogurt.

I want to get them on a good diet that is corn free so I am now transitioning them to Oxbow Fancy Rat pellets. I have done a lot of reading and I feel that this will be a good switch. They really don’t seem too happy about the change though.

Both rats are also sneezing. One is worse than the other but both seem pretty bad. I checked with the pet store and they gave me some fish antibiotics and said to add it to Gatorade and it should help. I was also given this to give to the rats when I took them home. I made sure all meds were finished and all seemed well. These folks at the PS have owned many rats, but I'm not too confident.

I have tried corn cob bedding, carefresh and I am now using aspen pellets which work really well. I did not see the change of bedding make any difference when it came to the sneezing. I was hoping I would identify a cause.

I was told I could treat what may be mites myself by giving the rats Ivermectin paste that is used to deworm horses. I picked some up yesterday, but I am not too sure about that one either.

I don’t mind taking my ratties to the vet, I have already located one that specializes in exotics and owns rats as well. I just am not too excited about paying a $50 min office visit fee if I don’t have to. I have a feeling the money is going to start to add up for something that may be easy to fix myself.

It's funny, I thought rats would be a tough robust little animal. After all they live in every condition imaginable from farms to cities and seem to thrive. I have been surprised to find out exactly how sensitive they are. I guess you can afford to be less robust when you breed like crazy.


Any help would be appreciated.

BigE

 

[hopefloats]

sneezing can mean a URI of some sort, which will need medicine. The skin, could be mites or lice, you can see lice but not the mites, which required revolution for kittens, and that requires a vet get it for you. There is also some skin disorders it could be as well. If changing bedding hasnt helped, it is probably something that needs looked at if it continues.

I dont use any bedding, I use fleece only because mine are kinda sensitive to that stuff.
Good luck with them

 

[ametropia]

It could be a lot of things.. it could be simple, or it could be complex and/or severe. Problem is, by the time you figure it out via trial and error, you could essentially put the rats health in jeopardy if it turns out to be the latter (complex and/or severe).

The only way to know for sure is to take your crew to a vet who specializes in exotics and has experience with rats (which you've already located, which is great!). The fees add up quickly (my vet is $57, and that's per-rat for a full exam) but it is far better to shell it out now, get the boys some veterinary care, and know for sure what is wrong with them. Rather than just guessing.

Having come from a pet-store, you should be getting them all a full-exam anyway. I know all about not wanting to shell out the money for the visit.. I have four girls that were not far removed from a pet-store when they came to me on the weekend and the dollar signs are not attractive :lol: But I have a preliminary vet-visit set up tonight for mine because one is presenting with sneezing which is a classic sign of respiratory infection, and so we really need all four to be checked out as well (having been raised in an improper cage with improper food and bedding probably led to the problem).

RIs can progress fast and hard and jeopardize the life of your rats. What seems "fixable" today may be very detrimental to them tomorrow. And the problem is that if the rats have an RI, nothing you change in their diet is going to get rid of the infection. They will need medication.. it isn't really something you want to try to "home remedy".

So please see a vet. It may not seem worth it.. but it is.

 

[bige]

Thanks for the replies. I just booked an appointment for today. I'm leaving work early and taking the boys into the Docs. I was leaning that way anyway, just needed a push. Hopefully nothing terribly wrong with them.

 

[lilspaz68]

the mites/lice you could treat at home, but the respiratory issues need a vet's help.

Sadly our pet rat has been bred so carelessly by so many people that with physical injurys (wounds, surgeries, etc) they are tough and fast healers, but viruses and germs, etc can lay them low and terribly fast.

Glad you hear you got a vet appointment :mrgreen:

 

[Kimber]

Glad you're bringing them into the vets to get them checked out You seem like you care a lot about them and are a good ratty parent...you have two great things I've seen: a willingness to research and the ability to take advice

 

[bige]

Glad you're bringing them into the vets to get them checked out You seem like you care a lot about them and are a good ratty parent...you have two great things I've seen: a willingness to research and the ability to take advice

I can research and trouble shoot like no other. Its what I do for a living. Unfortunately I am not a Vet and don't play one on TV. Wish I had the salary though.

I haven't had the boys for long and haven't ever owned rats, but I am really enjoying these little guys. What a great little animal they are. We are still working on some issues , but that will sort itself out with time and patience. I am learning and they are along for the ride. Wish they lived longer. I just got them at 10mos old, wish I could have rescued them sooner.

I'll post the results of the docs visit.

 

[jorats]

Keep us posted and we'll need pics of your sweeties of course.

 

[bige]

OK, good news! No RI. Not even a hint. My ratties were raspy but there was no sign of anything else. Both of my little guys did have mites though. I consider that good news because it points directly to the itching problem and has a definitive solution. So the office visit went well, we were sent home with some meds and a page of info on mites. My wallet is now 110 bucks lighter, but the rats have what they need and my mind is at ease. The visit may have paid off in another way too. My son really enjoyed the visit to the "animal doctor" and even mentioned that he may want to do that someday when he gets bigger. I like that idea.

Thanks for all the advice and the warm welcome. I'm sure I will need more in the future.

As requested, here are some pics.

 

[MissGuardian]

They are adorable!
I´m glad it was "just" mites!

 

[mamarat]

Aww two well loved ratties. Glad it was only mites.

 

[jorats]

Cute little ratties!!