rat breathing difficulties. PLEASE HELP urgent!!

Question
I have had two rats for about a year. Bought from a small pet shop in a bad area of town. Both male. Wiley Rat & Rufus. I feed it Rat Nuggets from Pets at Home and just about anything that we eat in our household that they like. I try to avoid giving them too much protein. They eat a lot of fresh fruit and veg. They are half dumbo rats apparently. Brothers.
About a month ago I noticed Wiley sneezing. I thought it was an allergy to disinfectant so changed it. Still kept sneezing. Over next couple of weeks Rufus' heartrate (or what I thought was his heartrate) seemed to be increasing. Wiley has red stuff around his nose and eyes (I assume to be porphyrin), has put on a bit of weight and has not gone off his food. Wiley seems very subdued and unsociable. Is only interested in food. Rufus has lost a LOT of weight. He is now half the size of Wiley. He is very active most of the time but sometimes just sits on the top of his igloo for ages eyes open gasping for breath. He is not terribly interested in food.
I took them to the vet down the road last week and she prescribed them Baytril. A much larger dose for Wiley as he is so much bigger. Wiley seems to have recovered. He is not sneezing AT ALL anymore. Which is great news. But Rufus is showing absolutely no improvement. My brother thinks he is improving a tiny bit but I think he has got worse. I have had to remove most of their food from their cage just to make sure they are eating their antibiotics. But Rufus has started to wise up to it and is just eating the clever disguise I hide it in and not all of the antibiotics. I am feeding it to them soaked into bread with honey or peanut butter on it. At first I thought Rufus' chest was moving so fast because of his heart but the vet tells me it is his lungs. I can't understand how he can breathe with his chest moving so fast. I am VERY VERY concerned. The vet down the road was already talking of having him put down if the antibiotics don't work as she suspects he may have chronic pneumonia or a tumour in his lungs. The thought of having him put down is killing me. I have booked them both in to see one of the best vets in Surrey instead of the one down the road. Want to make sure he gets the best treatment and a second opinion might put my mind at rest a little. I am questioning whether it could have been something I have done wrong to lead to his illness. Do you have any idea what could be wrong with him or any advice please? I am frantic with worry. He is such a lovely rat and has the gentlest personality you would ever come across. He really is a little angel. Please help me.
Thanks,
Kate

Answer
Taking them to the vet was the right thing to do. I recommend you definitely search for an exotics vet, one who preferably has experience dealing with rats. Be sure not to take either of them off of the baytril though, they do need to be on it for at least 21 days. Taking them off early because they show signs of improvement is a bad idea because they could seem better, but if the illness isn't completely gone, it will come back. They could also develop a resistance to the medication.

What your boy has sounds like Mycoplasma (mention this to your vet)... It can be very serious if not treated properly. The gasping for breath is a very bad sign and this can go downhill rather quickly. Search your phonebook for exotic vets and ask for one that has seen rats... It may be hard to find one but trying can't hurt. If you are able to find a good exotics vet, ask about combining the use of Baytril with doxycycline. This combination works very well when dealing with Myco.

As a quick fix (NOT a cure-all) but to help relieve his breathing issues I recommend taking his cage in to the bathroom and putting a towel under the door and turning on the hot water in the sink and shower. Let them run and steam up the whole room really well. This should help open up his lungs and give him a little bit of comfort for the time being... Since I am not a vet I can't really recommend treatment options but I will say that he does need to see another vet soon.

You might want to try a new method of giving him his meds. What I do is cradle my rats like you would put a baby in the football hold to breast feed, and I place the medication syringe in the pouch of the cheek and squirt it in, generally they will swallow all of it... Its much easier for me to do it this way since you know they will be getting every bit of the medication rather than just eating around it.

A little bit to know about Mycoplasma (also known as Myco in the rat world)... All rats are born with it. But not all rats will develop the symptoms of having it. There are many reasons why a rat will develop these symptoms such as- stress, recent illness, bedding, or cleanliness of the cage. Their respiratory system is very sensitive and a very dusty bedding can be bad for their lungs. What type of bedding do you use? Pine and Cedar are big no no's. They contain Phenols which are poisonous and very harsh on a rats respiratory system. While they might cover up odors well, they are very bad for your rats. I recommend using aspen shavings instead.

I hope my answer was fast enough and helpful for you. I hope your baby gets better soon, I know how it can be to have a little rattie fall ill, you sometimes feel helpless. Myco can be a hard illness to conquer so don't get down on yourself- you are doing exactly what you should be doing! Keep me posted on your little guy and stay strong.