Rat Health

Question
Hi There:

I sent a question to you a couple of weeks ago.  However, things have changed since then.  My rat, Neo, died yesterday of an upper respiratory infection.  And, it seems that my other rat, Strider (9 months old), also has it.  I took both rats to the vet on Friday.  The vet gave both of them shots of antibiotics and also sent me home with liquid antibiotics to administer.

The funny thing is that Neo didn't act sick until around Thursday.  He had some of the red poly... around his nose.  But, he's had that since I got him.  I got him from a lady that was moving out of state about a month and a half ago.  On Thursday he started acting really lethargic and wouldn't eat, etc.  He was also sneezing, but only just a bit.  (The vet thinks that he could have been sick when I adopted him and it just got progressively worse).

Strider on the other hand started sneezing on Tuesday of last week.  And, he sneezes quite a bit.  He's actually still sneezing.  And, I'm still giving him the antibiotics.  I'm supposed to give it to him twice a day for two weeks.

Strider and Neo had separate cages.  However, they were in the same room together.  

I have two other rats.  Ratty is about 3 months old.  He's not sneezing or acting sick at all.  I keep him in a separate cage in a different room.  And, I'm administering some of the antibiotics to him just in case he is sick and I don't know it.

Rex is a tiny baby.  I bought him from a pet store.  He's really small.  So, I'm assuming he's about 5 or 6 weeks old.  I don't know if Rex is sick or not...And, that's really my question:  He makes sounds like he's sneezing or something, but, it's really hard to tell.  Ratty made the same sounds when he was that small.  So, I'm having a really difficult time trying to figure it out.  How can you tell?  He doesn't have any of the red poly... stuff around his nose or eyes at all.  He sleeps a lot...But, I attribute that to him being a baby still.  When he is awake he seems fine.  I have been giving him a bit of the antibiotics as well.

Also, how can I tell when Strider is better?  He still sneezes, but he has lots of energy...In fact, he's tired of being cooped up in his cage all of the time.  He seems kind of jumpy.  He doesn't have any of the red poly... stuff around his nose at all and his eyes look clear.

Any advice you can give me would be appreciated it.  I just really want my rats to be well.  And, I know that Strider and Ratty miss each other.  So, I want to put them back together when I know all is okay.

To answer your questions:  Carefresh is their bedding and I feed them a mix of rat chunks and hamster-like food with some nuts, etc. thrown in.

Thanks so much for your time!

Kim

Answer
Hello Kim,

I'm sorry to hear that Neo died. Sometimes rats don't seem I'll but still died, this is when things are going on inside of them which we cannot see. I would agree with the vet that he was ill when you got him, then the breathing leads to heart problems, which the rat die's of.

To stop the spread of infection, feed, clean etc the well rats first then the ill ones last.

Don't aways think because the rat is small it's young, it's probably poorly bred.
If Rex is still sneezing after the anti's then it may just be him, as I have one who has been sneezing for the last 2 years!! Don't feed any dairy foods and I wouldn't feed hamster food or nuts. Try rabbit food as well as the rat mix if you want, but make sure it doesn't have too much grass in it. The nuts you can give as a treat are Brazil Nuts, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds as well.

If Rex seems any the more ill take him to the vets.

I'd say it sounds like Strider is on the mend, but some rats need to be on anti's for the rest of there life too be well. Give Strider about 2 weeks off of the anti's and if he seem ok add him back to Ratty, if not take him back to the vets.

I hope all goes well for you and your ratties.

Take Care
Jess
Nitros Fancy Rats