Watching out for a URI

[amity]

Hello everyone! I'm new here and at the moment only have one rat, Zephyr. I posted an introductory topic which some of you may have seen, but I figured this was a more appropriate area to post this question to. I had mentioned that Zephyr is a lone rat at the moment because he was housed by himself at the shelter, and because the staff were slightly concerned he may have a URI. Since he was dumped by someone who claimed he was a street rat that they found (grr) it's possible his sneezing was just related to stress and/or bad bedding he could possibly have been on in his previous home. I adopted him because I felt comfortable taking him to the vet and dealing with a respiratory infection if it came to that (thanks to the knowledge I have gained from the forum).

Anyway, he's been home since Thursday and is on aspen bedding until I can get the last of my liners sewn up. So far I've heard him sneeze twice (literally just two times, not continuous) and haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary. No lethargy, porphyrin, or anything that might raise alarms to me. We also played ratphone, and he sounded fine, but I don't really have any experience with sick rats so I don't want to miss anything or do anything wrong.

What I wanted to know is how long I should wait with him symptom-free (as he is right now) before I can get him a friend? Also - if the symptoms do come back, do I take him to the vet right away? I know Dr. Munn comes highly regarded by some Toronto area forum members (and my dog's vet doesn't see rats) but he's not exactly close and I would prefer to avoid a subway ride with my boy unless it is necessary.

Thanks guys :heart:

 

[jorats]

If your little guy is symptom free for a couple of weeks, I'd start looking for a buddy. How old is he?

Basically, what to look for, porphyrin and any kind of noise coming from either the nose or lungs. If you do hear a noise, I usually wait a day or two to see if it goes away on it's own and if it doesn't I put them on meds straight away.

 

[amity]

Thank you! He's only about 3 months, roughly guessing. I had the last week off university so I have been around and able to keep a close eye on symptoms. So far so good, which is what I was hoping for.