Hairless - sneezing

Question
QUESTION: Hey! I am new to owning rats, I have two female hairless rats that I got from PetSmart and they told me they were about 6 months old. I have had them for two weeks now.
I haven't had a ton of time to learn their personalities, but I notice one of them has been sneezing for about 10 days. I went to the vet, he told me about the Mycobacterium. I did notice on both rats the red mucous on the eyes of one, and the eyes and nose on the other. But it was only for a moment, they cleaned up right away and I haven't seen it on either one of them since. (I even sneak in the middle of a nap to see if maybe I can see any mucous but I haven't.) Both seem to be acting normally and eating, playing and drinking as usual. The vet told me to return them to PetSmart, something about a Lemon Law for pets. Well, I don't intend on returning them of course! I'm just wondering what I should do. I'm giving them the antibiotics that the Vet recommended twice a day for 3 weeks. Should I wait it out? If it really was Myco, should I be seeing more symptoms or be seeing the mucous much more often? Any insight would just be great! (I use carefresh bedding, they have a rather large wire cage, and a nice box with tons of fleece to sleep in - as our house is rather cool at 65 degrees. they eat a standard small animal mix while I wait for lab blocks to come, and we supplement with fresh fruits and vegetables- and sometimes a treat like a saltine or chicken)

Thank you!
Sarah

ANSWER: The good news is that your vet is up to par on myco and has them being treated for the proper duration, although I prefer a full month.  However, sneezing doesn't scare me much when dealing with new rats.  However, hairless rats are more fragile.  They lack the thymus gland which in turn means they have a weaker than normal immune system.  You need to keep them nice and toasty and draft free.  Try putting a heat lamp about 2 feet above one part of their cage, making sure of course its out of reach, including the cord.  A cozy fleece hammock will also help keep them warm.  I am glad your not returning them to the petstore, but I do need to let you know that ALL RATS carry the mycoplasmosis bacteria.  They are introduced to it during birth and it lies dormant until something triggers it.  Please check out my website, Sandyscrittercity.com and go to the section on mycoplasmosis to read more about it.  

Also, check out the proper diet section for info on how to feed these guys and keep their protein low.  

Last but not least, watch them carefully and should they stop eating or sound congested, contact the vet right away.  What are they taking? Hopefully you say baytril....please say baytril....

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for your response! I'm happy you mentioned the heat lamp, it was one thing I forgot to mention. I'll be sure to set that up. What percent protein do you suggest? I heard that the hairless have a faster metabolism because they have no hair and should have a little more protein than their cousins with hair. Is that true?
Also, they're not on Baytril, it's Cipro and Doxy: 10units of one, 5 of the other. (I liked the doctor, but he didn't really explain how to give it to them if they didnt like the taste or the syringe, not to mention, one says take with food, and the other says take without!)
Will I definitely be able to hear "congestion"? They seem to be making more noise than usual, chirping-style noises but not squeaks. Still acting normal... and I haven't seen more of the red mucous. I'm going to worry too much in having these cute little girls!! I just wanna make sure they're healthy. Not always be worried they're dying of a respiratory infection :D

Thanks for your time.


Answer
Cipro is human form of baytril and the doxy is good to use with it.  If they hate it, mix it with anything yummy like jelly, yogurt, even some melted chocolate ice cream. NEVEr peanut butter though.

As for the hairless rats....ALL rats have a fast metabolic rate. This is the main reason for their short life span, accelerated illnesses and the fact they can take high doses of medication without it hurting them.  A rat can handle MORE valium per dose than a human can before even getting woozy.  Hairless rats do not have any faster metabolic rate than furred rats.  What it is, as I said, is that they lack the thymus gland, giving them a weaker immune system.

Their protein should ideally be 14% as some experts say that furred rats should have between 12% and 14%.   Check out my page on proper diet too for more info.  Sandyscrittercity.com