# Rat "sounds" different



## Ptrain (Oct 12, 2010)

Hey all, so my one female is making strange noises. To me it sounds almost like congestion, but I'm not sure. I'm not sure what to make of this, but I figure I will take her to the vet ASAP, anyone on here think otherwise?


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## Horatio (Oct 26, 2011)

yes, if the noise is constant and not usual definitely go the vet. Just been through this with my girl. Good luck and let us know.


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## smesyna (Nov 22, 2010)

Even if it is occasional, rats don't normally sound congested, so yup, vet time. Luckily some antibiotics should take care of it .


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## Ptrain (Oct 12, 2010)

How much do vet visits normally cost for a rat? This is my first time having to do such a thing and being that I am a college student, funds are in short supply. Don't get me wrong, I'll do whatever it takes, but does anyone know a roundabout figure?


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## 750XL (Oct 3, 2011)

I've never been to the vet with my rats, but I think around $80 isn't far off just for visiting them?

As bad as it sounds, I think you sometimes have to sum up the cost of vet bills vs the lifespan of a rat, and the money it costs to 'buy' one (or adopt in most cases)


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## Fahlaemee (Oct 4, 2011)

750XL said:


> I've never been to the vet with my rats, but I think around $80 isn't far off just for visiting them?
> 
> As bad as it sounds, I think you sometimes have to sum up the cost of vet bills vs the lifespan of a rat, and the money it costs to 'buy' one (or adopt in most cases)



Agreed. I love my rats to bits but it's not worth spending lots of money on the vet to keep them alive for just another two months.


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## Ptrain (Oct 12, 2010)

Well considering that she is just over a year old, I think that it is worth it to take her, but is there another option? Perhaps a change in diet or something to help ease the symptoms?


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Ptrain said:


> Well considering that she is just over a year old, I think that it is worth it to take her, but is there another option? Perhaps a change in diet or something to help ease the symptoms?


Sadly no, once a rat gets a URI, then you will need antibiotics. But most rats recover really well with the abs helping them  Its' worth it.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

750XL said:


> As bad as it sounds, I think you sometimes have to sum up the cost of vet bills vs the lifespan of a rat, and the money it costs to 'buy' one (or adopt in most cases)





Fahlaemee said:


> Agreed. I love my rats to bits but it's not worth spending lots of money on the vet to keep them alive for just another two months.


If your rats are much older, than some extremes are not worth it, like surgeries, drastic treatments, etc...but basic health care for a URI should always be given, or if you have a sick suffering rat and cannot give it that treatment, you at least have it humanely euthanized. 

This is not a forum where cost of the pet relates in anyway to the vet care they deserve.


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## smesyna (Nov 22, 2010)

If people don't think rats deserve vet care due to their short lifespans, they shouldn't have rats. The cost of "replacement" is irrelevant. Rats do suffer with untreated illnesses... 

Anyway, you should call your vet and ask what an office visit costs for a rat. They will have no problem telling you. It will just be that plus the cost of medications.


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## Fahlaemee (Oct 4, 2011)

smesyna said:


> If people don't think rats deserve vet care due to their short lifespans, they shouldn't have rats. The cost of "replacement" is irrelevant. Rats do suffer with untreated illnesses...


I would have them euthanised if they were really suffering. However my experiences with vets and rodents are not too good. They'd just give you some expensive chemical antibiotics which won't even help and the rat will die anyway. Plus the money they charge you to 'examine' the rat. It's not worth it to me and a good rat vet is unfindable in the area I live in. I'm really not the worst rat owner; I have four ladies living together in a big cage with lots of stuff to entertain them and I get them out every day. There are people out there who keep only one rat in a cage that's too small because they never even took the effort to research how to take care of them.
No point saying 750XL, me, and all the other people out there who take awesome care for their rats but just can't afford those high vet bills shouldn't have rats. We enjoy and love them just as much as you do.


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## 750XL (Oct 3, 2011)

I never said that rats shouldn't be treated for illnesses which are clearly causing them discomfort or problems, but a rat having the 'sniffles' probably doesn't justify a vet visit for people/families on a low income. If I took my pets to the vet every time they had a small problem, then I'd never have a penny spare.


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## smesyna (Nov 22, 2010)

I don't know where you got that antibiotics don't help. I've had many rats have URI's which were cured by antibiotics. As to the exam fee, they charge them for every other kind of pet, why wouldn't they charge for their time to see rats as well?

Others keeping rats in bad conditions does not make a lack of vet care okay.

It's not about you or other owners and how much you love them. It is about them, the rats, and what they deserve. Owning pets isn't some right, it is a responsibility.

750XL, the "sniffles" or in other words, a URI, can and will progress. It is not a small problem, or something that can be treated at home. Again, if people can't afford proper care for rats, they really shouldn't have them.


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## phoebe (Nov 22, 2010)

750XL said:


> I never said that rats shouldn't be treated for illnesses which are clearly causing them discomfort or problems, but a rat having the 'sniffles' probably doesn't justify a vet visit for people/families on a low income. If I took my pets to the vet every time they had a small problem, then I'd never have a penny spare.


Yeah, and those people should NOT OWN PETS. Sorry, pets are not something you HAVE to have. Pets are a responsibility and a privilege. "Low income" people/families who do not have the funds to care for an animal and ALL of it's expenses should not have animals. When someone decides to own a pet, they are agreeing to provide all the necessary things for that animal. That is not to say that poor people shouldn't have pets... plenty of poor people are fabulous pet owners because they have savings to cover vet costs and because they budget the money they do have so that their animal will always recieve the care it needs. If someone does not have enough money to get their animal the care it needs then the animal should be rehomed to someone who does.

Rats do not get "sniffles" like humans get colds... it is not something that you can ignore for a week and it will clear up and get better. What will likely happen is that the rat will continue to get worse, suffer, and eventually die. You have no idea if your rat is having discomfort or pain because rats are prey animals, they hide pain/sickness as a way to survive.


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## wheeljack (Mar 17, 2011)

Fahlaemee said:


> No point saying 750XL, me, and all the other people out there who take awesome care for their rats but just can't afford those high vet bills shouldn't have rats. We enjoy and love them just as much as you do.


Uh huh, and what is going to happen when one of your four rats gets a mammary tumor? Or when one gets pnuemonia?
Last time I checked I could have sworn the Netherlands was a member of the EU and had signed the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals of which article 4 states:

Any person who keeps a pet animal or who has agreed to look after it, shall be responsible for its *health* and welfare.

I'm sure you love and enjoy your rats but I would certainly not say withholding vet care because you can't afford it counts as 'awesome care'. I am firmly in the camp that if you can't afford the vet care OR have a qualified vet you can get to, then you shouldn't own that pet.


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## Fahlaemee (Oct 4, 2011)

wheeljack said:


> Uh huh, and what is going to happen when one of your four rats gets a mammary tumor? Or when one gets pnuemonia?
> Last time I checked I could have sworn the Netherlands was a member of the EU and had signed the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals of which article 4 states:
> 
> Any person who keeps a pet animal or who has agreed to look after it, shall be responsible for its *health* and welfare.
> ...



Like I said: I'd have them euthanised. I'm not going through the process of having those little animals operated again and again, like that must be nice and fun for them.



SO I have a different opinion than you have. Sorry people, but I have the right to.


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

this is a general respiratory infection we're talking about - something relatively minor, pretty much always curable, and not immediately life threatening UNLESS it is left untreated. antibiotics are often quite cheap, especially doxycycline, and they work well - often even on advanced respiratory infections. i have had multiple rats with respiratory infections and a good round of baytril (enrofloxacin) and doxycycline has ALWAYS been successful in treating it. print out the medication chart and make sure you're getting the right meds and doses... otherwise of course it's not going to work.

the rat in question is a year old. we're not talking about a 2 and a half year old rat with a bunch of other health issues. we're talking about a rat likely less than half way through its lifespan with the beginnings of an easily curable disease... and you're suggesting for the OP to just sit and watch their rat suffer to be euthanized because it's "not worth it" to treat because they could just "get a new one"? 

humane euthanasia often costs upwards of $80 (usd), about the same price a vet appointment and prescription antibiotics would cost you. i don't understand why euthanasia is your preferred choice.

maybe you need to reconsider why you own pets in the first place. they are not disposable, and an animal as personable as a rat is certainly not easily replaceable as you suggest. a pet rock might be much more suitable for you.


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## Fahlaemee (Oct 4, 2011)

I would concider getting them treated for that if it was really bad. Rats are quite tough animals, even though they're not the same species as their wild relatives they can overcome some diseases themselves. I'd have them euthanised if they got tumours, next to the fact that it's expensive to go to the vet over and over again I don't think rats that have to be operated once a month because they got a new tumour live happy lives.

Also, I was not the one to suggest that rats are easily replaceable, I'm completely aware they're not. It was 750XL saying that.


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

uh, well... you said "agreed" to their post. maybe you should read what you're agreeing to more thoroughly. 

respiratory infections are bacterial infections, not viral infections. viral infections can be overcome naturally via the body's immune system, in time. the nature of mycoplasmosis pulmonis bacteria makes it tough for them to overcome without the help of antibiotics - it's a bacteria that lays dormant in their bodies until they are compromised by something like stress, age, poor genetics, etc, and then it "flares up" and causes the symptoms we see and hear. so it doesn't just go away... the antibiotics suppress the bacteria long enough for the rat to recover and get it naturally back in check.

a high quality diet with lots of antioxidants is never a bad thing, but a homeopathic or home remedy should never be relied on as a cure. most of them are only preventatives, and questionable ones, at that. by the time you wait to see if your home remedy is working, their disease progress could have worsened and made them that much more ill and stressed.

some tumors are more operable than others, ie. mammary tumors. mammary tumor removal surgery is usually non invasive and one of the cheaper, more common routine surgeries. now something risky like an abdominal tumor or cancerous tumor that is imbedded in many vital structures is different. i would opt for surgery to remove the former, but not the latter. rats also have an incredibly short recovery period compared to us. they aren't stuck in a hospital for 2 weeks in stupor from an extensive operation. a little bit of pain medication and a few days later they're back on their merry way, obstructing tumor free. it's really quite incredible.


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## Demonardae (Apr 10, 2011)

OP, if you can't bring your rat to the vet right away, there are a few things you can do to help her/him until you can bring them there. A single chocolate chip of baking chocolate or nibble of dark chocolate might help ease their breathing. Taking said rat into the bathroom and turning on the shower as hot as it will go and letting them breath in the steam might help or you could get a humidifier for the room the rats are in. Anyways, a vet will probably cost anywhere from 40 to 80 bucks before tax and cost for medication is usually minimal. (Around 15 - 20 dollars.) Hope I helped.


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## Ptrain (Oct 12, 2010)

@Demonardae Thanks for the suggestions, I'll definately give it a try.

As for a vet, I have decided that it is in my and her best interest to take her to a vet. I found one close enough to me that it should not be a problem. I'm going to call and make an appointment tomorrow. When I get back I'll let yall know what the scoop is. If all goes well (which I assume it will) she will be back to normal in no time. Thanks everyone for your responses!


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## Ptrain (Oct 12, 2010)

Real quick question though... Should I quarantine her from the other two? Or will it not spread?


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## Demonardae (Apr 10, 2011)

Don't worry about quarantining her as URIs is generally caused by bacteria and not viruses. (I believe. I know of only two transmissible rat viruses, Sendai and SDA.) Ask your vet for amoxicillin. You can also add baytril to treat for a myco flare-up if your vet believes that is a probable cause of her symptoms. You should notice marked improvement within the first two to five days(depending on the cause, myco takes longer to treat for). http://www.ratfanclub.org/resp.html This page should help with anything you need to know about URIs and how to treat them.  Best of luck to you and your little girl.


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