# Does your rat hate steam baths (for respiration) - ?



## Catsratz (Nov 19, 2016)

Mine seems to dislike them. But I see steam baths for URIs are always promoted, never contraindicated. With my rat they are stress-free, two or three a day, a steaming bowl set up next to his cage. I'm worried that it might be that his lungs are _already _watery - say, pneumonia - but rat sites never mention that this might is the case - if it sometimes is.


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## CorbinDallasMyMan (Feb 24, 2017)

RatGuide.com suggests that cool mist humidifiers or vaporizers may be of more comfort to the rat than steam or heated mist if there is congestion with increased mucus production and swelling of airways.


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## Coffeebean (Jan 6, 2017)

I think usually steam baths are promoted through method of taking the rats into the bathroom while the hot shower is steaming up the bathroom, for temporary relief. From what I know, humidifiers are generally promoted as the method for "steaming up" the space near the cage, though the effectiveness of that is still limited.

But generally the steam treatment is employed in the whole bathroom to bring immediate (but again, temporary) relief when the rat seems to be seriously suffering. It's just to help clear the airways by allowing the mucus to run so that if a rat is suffocating in their own mucus, they will be able to breathe again. It's mostly for emergencies and moments of acute severe respiratory distress rather than a long term treatment- which I think a humidifier would be better for, as it's easier with that to increase the moisture in the whole room consistently versus using a steaming bowl, which doesn't produce water vapor for very long.


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## Catsratz (Nov 19, 2016)

Great advice, I'll discontinue them except for a dire emergency.


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