Sneezes

Question
QUESTION: Hi . I bought a 1 1/2 month baby dumbo rattie . She came from a well known breeder and has a big family with no illnesses or anything . When she went home to me she appeared to sneezing a lot ! Her breathing seemed a little raspy but nothing loud I had to put my ear up to her body to hear . I thought it might of been the cage so I cleaned it with a cleaner I bought at the pet store that is non-toxic to animals . She seemed fine but I went to work and when I came back her nose appeared red and she was sneezing again . She has been with rats since she was born so I made the mistake by thinking it would be okay to put her with my 8 month rat . They get along great , but sometimes my older rat gets a little annoyed since the baby follows her everywhere ! I did have some remains of newspaper in the cage because my older rat likes to play in it and it didn't affect her so thats why I cleaned the cage . Anyways when I came back from work she was sneezing again so I picked her up and she seemed constipated since there was some stuck in her so I held her until she released herself and she seemed great for 20 minutes , no sneezing at all ! And then I put her in her cage and the sneezing came up again . I use carefresh for bedding , arrowhead water , and food that the breeder gave me and I just mix it with what I use so she gets used to the stuff I feed them . She shows no sign of pain or irritation at all , she is very active ! She is friendly and happy . But it seems whenever she is in her cage the sneezing will come up . I have no idea what it is !

ANSWER: Rats usually only have problems with constipation when they're not hydrated enough. Are you positive she's drinking? What food is it that she's on?

The sneezing may be because of the bedding... what bedding did the breeder have her on, and what bedding have you had her on? Remember that the best for rats is hemp, aspen, or recycled newspaper bedding - No Pine or Cedar!



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

QUESTION: When she first came home she didn't seem to drink a lot but after about 2 hours she was drinking normally and I put a water dish in the cage to make sure she was drinking she doesn't really like the dish as much as the bottle . I use carefresh and the breeder used carefresh as well . And I use what the breeder gave me for food it is a mixture of a bunch of things and I mix it with what I have .

ANSWER: what types of food is "bunches of things"? can you give me a list?

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

QUESTION: There is some pasta noodles , M&M s but she said they were okay and they each ate one and seemed fine , a lot of nut and peanut looking things , sorry I'm not quite sure ]: I know what's in my food . In mine there is corn , sunflowers , shelled peanuts , corn flakes , dried bananas , dehydrated carrots , pumpkin seed , raisins that's mostly what it has in it , I use nutriphase rat formula .

Answer
Nutriphase is not a quality food. All those green pellets in it are usually alfalfa or timothy hay - rats can't even digest alfalfa. I recommend switching your rat into a lab block/pet block diet and supplementing with fresh fruits and veggies as well as a dry grain mix -- you can make your own and it's actually VERY affordable! I recommend googling Suebee's Rat Diet for ideas. You don't have to follow her mix exactly, but I use a similar mix, however I've 'dumbed it down' a lot -- I use cheap brands and knock offs, and I have gotten rid of a lot of the stuff my rats simply don't/won't eat. Nutriphase itself isn't a horrible brand; but their mixes leave a lot wanting. Peanuts are very fatty, as are sunflower seeds, and dried corn can harbor harmful bacterium. I would use sunflower seeds as a treat and be sure to keep peanuts few and far between in your food mix. I would also get rid of the corn altogether and just feed fresh corn or corn on the cob when you want to give your rats a treat.

Try switching her off of carefresh and use either a pelleted newspaper bedding or go with aspen - or even paper towels, for awhile. That way you can tell if the sneezing is due to dust from the bedding. Carefresh is extremely dusty, despite it's claims of being dust free.. I myself have issues working with/around it, I'm even allergic to it! Rats can have a similar problem.

Good luck.