# New Rat Sneezing



## marmalade (Apr 8, 2011)

I recently got three rats from a breeder. Boys less than 2 months from the same litter, they're my first rats and my only current pets. They're great except that one is sneezing constantly! He's otherwise very healthy: active and alert, eating and drinking, and without any other symptoms. The other two are both fine. I had them on Aspen, but the other day I replaced it with CareFresh and his sneezing didn't change.

How worried should I be? Like I said, the other two are fine and he otherwise seems very healthy, but he's sneezing all the time and it's got me worried.


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

that is a very common ailment for ratties, unfortunately. did you give the sneezing sticky at the top of this section a read? it covers most bases when it comes to sneezes and sniffles, though if you have any further questions feel free to ask


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## marmalade (Apr 8, 2011)

I've read that and I've looked it up on Google, but I'm not sure how to take his sneezing because he's sneezing _a lot_. Because the other two are fine and he doesn't have any other symptoms, it seems like he's probably just allergic, but he's sneezing at least once every minute, which has me worried that it could be more serious.

I put a small amount of amoxicillin in their water earlier today just in case.


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

as long as it's just dry sneezing and not wheezing, rasping, clicking, etc. you can leave him and keep an eye on him for any changes... but if it's not better within a week, definitely take him to a vet and see what's up.

dump out that water as soon as you can  amoxicillin is not effective against mycoplasmosis bactera. very rarely and only with specific medications is it recommended to be given in water, as most antibiotics are destroyed by light and it is very difficult to dose as you cannot easily record how much each rat is drinking. it is dangerous to misdose antibiotics as they can grow antibiotic resistant bacteria that will be more difficult to treat later on.

you can try giving it to him orally if you can give us his weight and the concentration of the drug (mg if it is tablets) though it will only supress a secondary infection if present.


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## marmalade (Apr 8, 2011)

I dumped out their water, thanks for that. 

Last night he started making a really scary noise, I guess it might have been wheezing. His breath was very loud and high-pitched, a little like crying. I took him in the bathroom and turned the shower up like the sticky says to do. After that it calmed down, so he's still sneezing but his breathing is normal again.


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## smesyna (Nov 22, 2010)

He needs a vet ASAP then.


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