Sneezy Rat, No Signs of Distress

[ratbabylady]

Hey Yall!

I have an 8 month old rat who has struggled in the past with upper respiratory infections in the past. Last time she was on antibiotics (in September) my vet said that she did not hear anything in her lungs or airways when I took her in for appointment but put her on antibiotics anyway. She did seem to get better over time (as well as my sweet older girls who were also affected). Today however she seems to be sneezing a lot again. She has no signs of distress, moving around, chatting (she is the loudest, most dramatic rat I have ever owned), eating and drinking all the same. The weather where I live has changed rapidly in the last few days as well & I have had some of the windows in my house open. Could she be experiencing allergies rather than myco flares? I don't want to keep medicating her if she doesn't need antibiotics. I will leave a message for her vet tomorrow but wanted to see if anyone has experienced anything similar. For additional context, her sneezes do not sound wet and when I do rat phone I hear nothing in her lungs or any coughing. Nothing but cute (albeit scary) little sneezes.

Thanks in advance for your comments!

 

[Big Schpog]

Yep. I have 3 sneezy rats. Otherwise, they are normal in every other respect. The weather has changed but more importantly, the radiator heat is so drying that they get congested. I have to keep my window slightly open to get the humidity as well as using a portable stove with a pot of hot steaming water on it to humidify my place. It sucks. I'm going to invest in a humidifier soon. I'm taking one of my rats to the rat specialist tomorrow. I fully suspect that their sneezing is totally environmental and has no underlying disease.

 

[Dena]

I had a rat who was very sneezy, and lived to 3.5 years. She never had any respiratory issues until the very last two days of her life (I recently had her put to sleep). She sneezed every day, multiple times a day. I also have another rat who is about 6-7 months old who is VERY sneezy. Just little back to back dry sneezes. He also cleans his nose as soon as he sneezes, so I NEVER see porpherine (sp?) on him. BUT, I'd definitely keep an eye on it.

 

[karelkees]

I have read that a humidifier can become a problem because of mold spores in it, not sure if this is true, and maybe it depends on how it can be cleaned, but if it is true, the mold spores will be spread troughthe air, so it is something to keep in mind.