possible illness

Question
My roommate and I just bought our first pet rat, Frankie (We know you are supposed to buy more than one, but we want her to be attached to us and cannot house more than one at this time). We've had her for about a week and she sneezed a few times on the way home from the pet store. Now she's sneezing more frequently and seems to be twitchy in concurrence with her breathing. She isn't open mouth breathing, and she's eating and still relatively playful. Is she sick? What can we watch for?

Answer
Normally rats adjusting to new surroundings may be a little sneezy and its no big deal; but if its been over a week and she seems to have adjusted ok, I'd bet she has the beginnings of a little upper respiratory. Don't worry, you've caught it early enough. I suggest finding a vet that treats rats and getting her on a doxycycline/baytril combo for a minimum of 14 days. You'll see her sneezing disappear within a week. This is really common!