I just got a new rat last saturday. She was sneezing alot but i heard being in a new environment can make them sneeze. But it has been over a week and she still is sneezing. I just noticed it more when i hold her. So maybe it's me.... or she gets really nervous or something? She doens't have any discharge from her nose or anything. A friend who is very much involoved with rats said to try echinacea. I have been using it for a week and no change. I know its just a vitamine but i thought it would help. and i use the egg carton type bedding so i dont think its that. Please help!!! Thank you
2007-04-04 14:35:02 · 6 answers · asked by laurenjo921 1 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
You have had your rat for just a short while and it could be that she is still trying to get used the new environment of your home.
Here are a few things to consider:
Bedding, you may have to change beddings. What were the rats living on when they were in the pet store? Were any of them sneezing then? If she is sneezing on paper bedding, change to aspen or visa versa. Pine and Cedar bedding are deadly to rats. Not only do these beddings cause skin allergies, but they also aggrevate a rat's delicate respiratory system.
http://search.yahoo.com/search?search=Pine+and+cedar+bedding&ei=UTF-8&fr=ks-ans&ico-yahoo-search-value=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.yahoo.com%2Fsearch&ico-wikipedia-search-value=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FSpecial%3ASearch&p=Pine+and+cedar+bedding
Note: Carefresh bedding has been reported by many rat-keepers to be dusty to the point of making their rats sneeze. Yesterday's News cat litter is dust free. Some even use alfalfa, rabbit pellets, as rats don't like this type of food and will generally leave it alone.
Is she in an aquarium or a barred cage? Ammonia builds up very fast in an aquarium and this will make her sneeze.
What is the temperature and humidity of your home? A change in both of these from what she is use to when she was at the store can cause the sneezing.
Where is the cage in your home? Near a window? Near a draft? Too close to bright sunlight?
Do you wear perfume? That can cause the sneezing. Yes, nervousness can cause the sneezing.
Echinacea is a herbal remedy, not a vitamin, used to boost the animal's ummune system to help the animal ward off illness. It is used one week on, one week off, for many weeks before you see results. I have dealt with alternative medicine with my rats for 11 years now and since I am very much into holistics I formed a group, Holistarat, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/holistarat in 2002. You may join us if you wish, to not only learn how to care for your rat, but to learn about a holistic means of keeping your rat healthy.
The discharge you don't speak of, thank goodness, is called porphyrin and this is what you are looking for to determine your rat's health. If the crusty, red, discharge forms around the eyes and nose your rat is sick.
http://search.yahoo.com/search?search=Porphyrin+in+rats&ei=UTF-8&fr=ks-ans&ico-yahoo-search-value=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.yahoo.com%2Fsearch&ico-wikipedia-search-value=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FSpecial%3ASearch&p=Porphyrin+in+rats
Rats like the company of their own kind
http://search.yahoo.com/search?search=rats+like+the+company+of+their+own+kind&ei=UTF-8&fr=ks-ans&ico-yahoo-search-value=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.yahoo.com%2Fsearch&ico-wikipedia-search-value=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FSpecial%3ASearch&p=rats+like+the+company+of+their+own+kind
spazrats
"my life has gone to the rats"
2007-04-05 19:04:22 · answer #1 · answered by spazrats 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't have an absolute answer, but I raised a wild rat from 1 day old and it lived 4 years so I have a little knowledge on this. He sneezed from time to time, sometimes more than others and I really don't know why. I don't know what "egg carton bedding" is. I used Timothy Hay and had no major problems. Rats are susceptible to upper respiratory problems so you want to be careful with things you clean the cage and your house with, things you spray, like hair spray or air fresheners. Pollen count could be high in your area also. As long as he or she is eating, drinking and eliminating waste and urine those are the biggies and of course no discharge.If his energy level seems fine, As you may know rats are very social and need attention daily. Clean the cage often, rats are very clean animals as long as their environment is clean. They love veggies,pasta and rice not just dry rat food. If you think it is getting worse find a rat friendly vet. good luck
2007-04-04 15:11:05 · answer #2 · answered by PLthe1 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It could be a number of things...A lot of rats will sneeze for the first few days when you bring them home. Sometimes longer, depending on how long they need to get used to the environment.
Aspen is the best bedding to use for most small animals, including rats. They have a very sensitive resiratory track.
(NEVER USE CARE FRESH!!! It causes more problem for rats then you could imagine!!! And I have a feeling that this is what you are useing.)
If she's new give her a few days and make sure you have the right bedding.
Hope this helps...GOOD LUCK!!
2007-04-04 15:41:17 · answer #3 · answered by KaylaByrd 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
She is having an allergy to something. Try changing to using Critter Care or Care Fresh litter instead of pine or aspen. Never use cedar . With some animals the wood shavings cause allergic reactions. My female rat is allergic to them and we use both Care Fresh and Critter Care. Also a trip is needed to get some medication to help with the allergies and have her checked for an upper respiratory infection. Just in case this should not be left unchecked. A woman I have helped in the past with her small animals is losing a hamster with an respiratory infection that started with some sneezing due to allergic reaction to the pine. I got her to use the Critter Care, but she wouldn't take the hamster to the vet and it was dieing a slow painful death. I wish I lived near her so I could have taken the animal myself for treatment. The lung infection also caused the hamster to get Wet Tail. It just aggravates me to no end when someone has a pet of any type or size and refuses to seek medical attention for illness or injury to the animal.
If you'd like a list of proper foods to feed her derived from research and a vets help, email me direct at wolfinator25840@yahoo.com or contact me through my profile.
2007-04-04 14:54:15 · answer #4 · answered by wolfinator25840 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Rats catch stuff like that easy, but dont worry, I took my hamster to the vet for something similar and he just had a stuffy nose that can be treated with medicine. And if that isnt it, sometimes rats do things like squeal or sneeze for attention because they cant make much other noise.
2007-04-04 14:39:44 · answer #5 · answered by melanieinuyasha 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It could be the bedding but do not use pine shavings because that does cause respitory problems in rats. keep him out of drafts and keep bedding dry.. what kind of bedding did they use where you got the rat. find out and go back to that. also go to the library and get some books on rats and get educated on them and thier illnesses or go to pet rat .com and learn. also rats live to be about 2 years with good care.
2007-04-04 15:17:49 · answer #6 · answered by petloverlady 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋