Question
My little girl.
My rat has always had a sneeze from the day I got her, which was about two months ago. She is my whole world as of right now, just having moved to California. So the thought of her having a possible death sentince because of this worries me quite a bit. I am only 19 and she is my first rat and I've done loads of research but I think it's time for a vet to help. I would say she sneezes about a hundred maybe plus times a day. I've only noticed the poryphine around her nose a couple times.
Just within the past few days I've noticed a couple times what appear to be hiccups? No noise but her body kind of acting the way ours would with them. Which only lasted a minute maybe.
I am living in Palm Springs, and if you could help me find a vet within an hour or two even of me I would appreciate it so much. I'm reluctent to just take her to one that will spit out any ol' answer to make a buck.
AnswerHi Chelsea
She is precious. Thank you for her photo. What I did notice right off is her diet, or at least what I assume was her food dish in the photo. If this is what she is eating (looks like a seed mix from a pet store) you need to read up on my website about rat nutrition. The seed mix is probably the worst thing for her health than the sneezing she is doing. Rats need low protein and low fat diets and these seed mixes do not even contain a fraction of the vitamins they need daily and I bet she picks out her favorite pieces and leaves the rest of the food there. She probably goes for the sunflower seeds that are loaded with proteins and fats and if she is eating the hard kernel corn, this corn is found to contain a mold that is a known carcinogen. Some people are aware of this and will pick the corn out but this still doesnt make the diet even nearly complete. If a rat has high protein diet they end up with kidney disease later on in life that can cut their life short. Here is the URL about diet and it will give you ideas on what to feed your precious girl to keep her as healthy as you can.
http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/ratsandahealthydiet.htm
Now...about those hiccups! That is pretty much what they are, hiccups. Alot of folks get scared and think they are having some odd seizure but it really is just that, hiccups, so no worries there.
As for the sneezing, it could be the very start of mycoplasmosis and a good vet will know how to intervene. Your a great rat keeper by wanting to go to the best vet out there for your girl. I will happily find a vet for you but you did not specify if you live in Palm Springs CA or Palm Springs, Florida?
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