# Rat Noise



## abby&cloud (Apr 24, 2016)

Hi there,
Still quite new to rat ownership. Had Cloud for about 2 months now, and she started making a noise we've never heard before when we took her out to handle her today. I'm sure it's nothing bad at all, just sounds like a loud bruxing, but it has now been going on for about 15 minutes. We've put her back into her cage, and she's still doing it, though on and off... I tried recording it, but for some reason, it's done it as a file type I cannot upload.
Any help greatly appreciated.
Thanks
A&C


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## jlhummel (Oct 23, 2014)

Hmmm without hearing it, it could be any number of things. Is she wiggling her jaw back and forth as she makes the sound? Anything else you can describe in her demeanor as she does it? Do you have a smartphone that could take video and upload it to youtube or something?


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Can you make a video so you can tell you what's going on?


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## abby&cloud (Apr 24, 2016)

Doesn't seem to be moving her jaw much.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDYb509Rqv0
She was also very keen on licking my hands today, though I think I must've just tasted good...


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Your rat has a respiratory infection. If you "rat phone" your rat, do you hear any noise coming from her lungs too?


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## DustyRat (Jul 9, 2012)

Indeed, it does sound somewhat like a URI, as Gribouilli said.


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## abby&cloud (Apr 24, 2016)

I can't hear any noise, and she seems to only do it very occasionally. Surely if it was an infection it would be fairly constant?


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## Grotesque (Mar 19, 2014)

Its not always constant with a URI. It sounds exactly like one though. I would suggest, like Gribouilli said, "rat phone" to see if there is a rattle in the lungs. 

I can say that I do have a rat that has a bit of a deformed nasal passage and she sounds a bit like that sometimes. I did have her vet checked, however, to make sure of that so I wouldn't just chalk the noise up to that. I also had a rat that made sounds like a guinea pig and that was just a strange thing she did. So some rats do made strange sounds, but always get them checked first. 

Good luck!


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## abby&cloud (Apr 24, 2016)

Took her to the vets this morning. Was told there was nothing wrong, but that if I wanted to, I could get antibiotics prescribed to try, as it won't harm her, and may make her better (if something's wrong)... So, I've got to give her 0.2 ml of some medicine every day for the next 7 days, see if that stops it.
I'm sure she's fine, but better safe than sorry
Thank you all


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## JAnimal (Jul 23, 2014)

If it is a URI then you will need a course of at least 14 days to get it to go away. 7 days will not clear it completely. They will sound way better in 7 days but it will not be gone.


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## abby&cloud (Apr 24, 2016)

Possibly, but the recommendation on the bottle says to do it for 7 days. As I say, it's likely she doesn't have one as the vet had a good listen and couldn't identify anything abnormal.


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## Grotesque (Mar 19, 2014)

If it goes away or improves within the 7 days, then I'd contact the vet and let him or her know that it was most likely a respiratory infection and request more medication. Meanwhile, look for any signs of deterioration such as losing weight, lack of energy, ect. 

Some people here might disagree with me but I still say that some rats just make strange noises. You absolutely did the right thing in ruling out URI first.


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## abby&cloud (Apr 24, 2016)

Will do, thank you. I do believe that some rats do make odd noises, as my other one doesn't stop making them, and is always sneezing. Had her checked at the vets several times and have been continually told that she's absolutely fine, and it's just one of her many quirks.


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## Verucasdad (Aug 31, 2015)

One of my rats had that and her lungs were clear. It seems she has allergies. I got an air purifier and dosed her with children's Benadryl and it cleared up. You might ask the vet about that too.


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## jlhummel (Oct 23, 2014)

abby&cloud said:


> Will do, thank you. I do believe that some rats do make odd noises, as my other one doesn't stop making them, and is always sneezing. Had her checked at the vets several times and have been continually told that she's absolutely fine, and it's just one of her many quirks.


Just a thought. As Verucasdad said above, it might be an allergy thing. If one of them sneezes a lot but consistently gets the okay from a vet then I might suggest looking into a different bedding or paying special attention to where that particular rat sleeps. I have one rat that does the same as you mentioned above. i noticed he was prone to sleeping in one particular area. I have been making sure to keep that specific area really clean and I also switched bedding materials. That seemed to do the trick. He sneezes a lot less now.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

As said above if it is allergies, you can try children Benadryl. If it is indeed allergies, you will know within 24 hours or so. At that point you help you determine if it is something you can remedy like using a different detergent or using a HEPA air cleaner....


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