Can I give my rat Benadryl?

Question
QUESTION: My rat has a little URI and shes breathing a bit funny but the vet said if shes acting fine and has no red discharge then I souldnt worry too much. Can I give her a little Benadryl to clear her sinases up a bit?

ANSWER:
You need another vet to be honest.  The absence of the red discharge means absolutely nothing.  I have had rats drop dead in front of me that had not a trace of porphyrin discharge.  Porphyrin is simply a secretion from the gland behind the rats eyes that they tend to produce more when stressed. Not all rats do this and some rats do it when they are not even sick. I have a 3 year old rat that has red porphryin around his nose all the time and sometimes his eyes and he is not sick. Again, dont let the fact that she doesnt have porphyrin think she is ok.  Rats decline in a split second. Any unusual breathing or congestion is unacceptable and possibly the start of mycoplasmosis which needs treated right away and treated correctly or the rat will end up with lung disease and scarring.

If you need a vet that knows about rats I will be happy to give you some names. I would hate to see your rat get worse because the vet thinks since there is no porphyrin that she is ok despite breathing funny.


Also, its a good idea to check out my site about mycoplasmosis and URIs so you can know exactly what to expect from your vet and proper treatment.  

Thanks for writing and caring about your rat!

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

QUESTION: thank you. I have an apponitment at the vet for her Friday Morning. What can I do until then to help her breathing? Take her in the bathroom while there is steam? What else? thank you!!

Answer
The same vet? If the vet told you nothing is wrong I would not go to the same vet again. Check out this site and you will find names of exotic vets in your area that you can take her to see.

As for helping her breathe, you can try the steamy bathroom trick,yes, this helps very well. If you can just put her cage in there that would help rather than holding her etc... this way she can sleep or just be in her regular surroundings while she is getting a steam treatment.
If you know anyone with a nebulizer that would be great to use....if you do, let me know.  

As for the congestion, you can use different medications to loosen up congestion or to dry up runny nose.   
Benadryl is one of them (childrens elixir) but  you need to know the rats weight in order to safely dose her.