Male Rat sneezing and bloody nose discharge

Question
QUESTION: Hi Sandra,

I bought a male rat for my son just after Christmas.  He is about 12 weeks old now.  When we brought him home, I noticed he was sneezing alot.  The pet store (I tried to find a rat breeder in my area and there weren't any) had pine bedding so I thought the sneezing was likely due to the bedding.  Anyway, We've had him about 6 weeks now and he still continues to sneeze all the time.  I noticed the other day that his hair looked a big coarse, but know that's common  in male rats as they get older.  Well today when he woke up, he had dried blood around his nose and his eyes were squinty and a bit crusty in the corners.  I called my vet, but they don't know how to treat rats (country vet). I read your site on Myco.  Does it sound like he has this?  Should I find a vet that treats rats or print your page and take it to my vet to show him what to prescribe?  Also, typically how much is the medication?  Thank you!

ANSWER: http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/bloodynoseandeyes.htm


Please refer to this site and see if the red discharge you see is what your rat has.  Its not really blood, but rather, a discharge produced by an excretory gland called the harderian gland. When the rat is stressed it produces more than normal porphyrin and it comes out when sneezing, forms a crust around the nose and eyes and makes rat owners worry their rat has a bloody nose or bleeding eyes.

As for his fur turning coarse, this should not occur at this age. Usually around 6 months the fine fur starts to get more wirey, or coarse, but not at 12 weeks.  When the rat is sick they take on a hunched position sometimes and their fur puffs out more.

It sounds like he may have myco, so going to a vet that is willing to understand how myco works and how it is vital it is treated properly the first time it is treated (for at least a month and no less) and using the right medication is vital.  You can allow me to find a vet for you that is an exotic vet but sometimes its hard esp if you live out in no mans land.  If your current vet is willing to take outside advice, that is also great, but having a vet that already is aware of things or in case there needs to be surgery in the future etc...is why its good to secure a vet that has a clue.  LOL  

We can try to find a good vet for you and if all else fails, print my page on myco out for the vet and hope he or she is willing to take outside advice.

The medication which should be baytril and amoxil should not run more than $25 give or take a few bucks.

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

QUESTION: Hi again!  Well, I thought he seemed to be improving on the Baytril...definitely less sneezing.  However I noticed yesterday that when he did sneeze, he had the porphyrin drips around his nose.  So now I'm not so sure it's working.  I had read that doxy and Baytril are a good mix, but you've mentioned the amoxil.  Would you suggest one over the other?  Doxy says you can't take it with milk and that's the only way I've been able to get him to take the Baytril, so that would worry me a bit.  But the amoxil says it doesn't work directly on the myco..just secondary infections..which I'm not sure that he has.  He still has lots of energy, is eating, and drinking well.  What would you recommend I try?  Or should I find a vet that knows how to treat them?  You mentioned you may be able to suggest some in my area?  I live in Wellesley, Ontario. Closest big city would be Waterloo, Ontario.  Thank you for your help!

Answer
Yes I like to use amoxil as a back up with the baytril. There is often a secondary infection and sometimes baytril just is not strong enough to kill it off. That is why amoxil comes in. Together they work to compliment each other and destroy the bad bacteria.

As for vets, check out this link and see if you can find anyone from the list nearest you:

http://www.aemv.org/