Could my rat have allergies?

Question
We have 6 female rats that are approximately 3 months old.  We recently noticed one of our rats sneezing.  Initially we noticed it when she was playing with us, so we thought maybe it was a reaction to our perfume.  However, upon noticing sneezing in her cage, we immediately called and took her in to see a vet.  

The vet felt it was likely viral, but went ahead and prescribed a sulfa-based antibiotic, to help prevent it developing into pneumonia, partially based on the fact that we have 5 other rats in our home.  

We separated her from the other girls and began her antibiotics last week.  However, she's now been on the antibiotic for 4 days and seems to be sneezing more than ever.  Her appetite is great, she is playing nicely, and she doesn't seem to be wheezing.  We're starting to wonder if perhaps she has allergies.

We do not use any commercial bedding materials.  We use towels in their cage instead, as we found them to be less smelly.  

Can rats get allergies to other substances and, if so, is there a treatment we can give her?

Thank you for your help!

Answer
Be sure you clean the cage often -- ammonia can lead to sneezing.
If you can smell it, it's time to clean. Rats can be allergic to a LOAD of other things -- any scent, powder, spray, pollen, etc. -- but they normally appear as severe itching and skin irritation, not many respiratory symptoms.

Some antibiotics don't hit the root of the problem, especially if its a mycoplasmosis related bacteria. Myco has no cell wall, which makes it especially hard to take care of! The bad news is that myco is like the chicken pox -- it never goes away, it just gets worse every time you have an attack. It works much like tuberculosis does. Every time a rattie has a respiratory attack, scar tissue tubers build up in the lungs and fill with fluids. By taking early action and getting her started on a medicine that works against myco (I recommend baytril and doxcycline combo) as soon as she begins sneezing rapidly, you can limit the amount of scarring on the lungs and prolong severe damage. Some rats with really bad myco flare ups can live to be 3 years +.

The good news is if it IS myco, this sneezing jag isn't contagious and you don't have to worry about her passing it onto your other rats (by all likelyhood, by the time you realize a rat is sick, your others would be harboring the illness anyway; so quarantine is too late). Every rat has mycoplasmosis -- they're all born with it -- it's just a matter of when and why they'll show symptoms and begin having respiratory flare ups.

Of course, I'm NO VET! I could be dead wrong. But in my experience, sneezing rats normally have a myco-related illness.

Good luck!