# Help Me! My rats have respiratory infections. Treatment at home?



## RatCrazyGirl (Feb 7, 2021)

Hi,
My rats were fine but when I came back from our trip my 2 1yr and 7m girls all have weird breathing. Bagle's seems loud and snuffy, while Coffie's seem's to crack. Vets are SUPER expensive (they would charge 400 for this) so I would prefer not to go. What can I do at home to cure this? should I separate? Should I make a rat beanie bag or use an old heat lamp? TYSM, this means ALOT to me!
( @Tinytoes @VivDaRatLuver @Rats4All @TwilxghtRat ?)


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## 511958 (Feb 11, 2019)

You don't need to seperate the rats  Baytril (enrofloxacin 10%) is a good med to treat URIs with, but I'm not sure of the dosage- maybe someone else can help with that.


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## RatCrazyGirl (Feb 7, 2021)

Willow&Whiskers said:


> You don't need to seperate the rats  Baytril (enrofloxacin 10%) is a good med to treat URIs with, but I'm not sure of the dosage- maybe someone else can help with that.


idk... not a fan of antibiotics. But I guess...


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## TwilxghtRat (Nov 27, 2020)

Antibiotics is what vets will typically prescribe! Rats don’t need to be separated, since they’re already exposed. I would look at the meds section of [Ratguide.com] for dosage help.


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## TwilxghtRat (Nov 27, 2020)

Here’s an option. A bit pricey though, 60 dollars‼
Rat MD's, Baytril (2 mg/Tablet), Bacon Flavor, 5 gm Tablet, 100/Bottle 

Quite honestly, you should go to the vet. We are technically strangers who can’t see your rat in person, and we are not professionals. I understand that treatment is expensive, but hopefully you have vet funds saved up. I apologize that I wasn’t able to help you out more, I just don’t have much experience giving rats meds 😔


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## RatCrazyGirl (Feb 7, 2021)

TwilxghtRat said:


> Antibiotics is what vets will typically prescribe! Rats don’t need to be separated, since they’re already exposed. I would look at the meds section of [Ratguide.com] for dosage help.





TwilxghtRat said:


> Here’s an option. A bit pricey though, 60 dollars‼
> Rat MD's, Baytril (2 mg/Tablet), Bacon Flavor, 5 gm Tablet, 100/Bottle
> 
> Quite honestly, you should go to the vet. We are technically strangers who can’t see your rat in person, and we are not professionals. I understand that treatment is expensive, but hopefully you have vet funds saved up. I apologize that I wasn’t able to help you out more, I just don’t have much experience giving rats meds 😔


I think I will try keeping them warm and humidifying their cage for a week. I will try to earn some money at that time. If, after a week, they are still sick, it's vet time.


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## Angels with Whiskers (Jan 20, 2021)

RatCrazyGirl said:


> idk... not a fan of antibiotics. But I guess...


Mind if I ask why you don't like antibiotics?


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## 511958 (Feb 11, 2019)

Antibiotics are the best option- I got my baytril here for $20. I recommend seeing a vet but if you cannot right now, you can use this website to find a dosage for your rats.


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## ratsbian (Feb 4, 2021)

I can understand being hesitant of antibiotics if your fear is contributing to antibiotic resistance but antibiotics work and it is just important to run the full dosage to knock out all the bacteria, not just the weak ones... I’ll stop before I go into an extended discussion of evolutionary biology, lol.

Obviously we can’t tell you what to do but I would advise treating sooner rather than later, URIs can become serious very quickly and that is no fun for anyone, people, our bank accounts, or our rats.

Good luck and let us know how your rats are doing!


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## nightRAT (Feb 22, 2021)

RatCrazyGirl said:


> Hi,
> My rats were fine but when I came back from our trip my 2 1yr and 7m girls all have weird breathing. Bagle's seems loud and snuffy, while Coffie's seem's to crack. Vets are SUPER expensive (they would charge 400 for this) so I would prefer not to go. What can I do at home to cure this? should I separate? Should I make a rat beanie bag or use an old heat lamp? TYSM, this means ALOT to me!
> ( @Tinytoes @VivDaRatLuver @Rats4All @TwilxghtRat ?)


They might ave eaten something like a toy or decor look around see if they did


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## RatCrazyGirl (Feb 7, 2021)

I can get Baytril in a couple of days. No vets bc we have a plumbing problem and it's going to cost my parents 12,000! DIY bedding time!


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## Tinytoes (Dec 23, 2020)

RatCrazyGirl said:


> I can get Baytril in a couple of days. No vets bc we have a plumbing problem and it's going to cost my parents 12,000! DIY bedding time!


Sometimes we have to do at-home shotgun treatment. That means, we know what's wrong by the symptoms, but we aren't positive of the cause, so we throw treatment and medicine at them and hope for the best. URIs are fairly common, so we treat at home with higher humidity, a change in bedding to reduce dust, and antibiotics. You weigh your rats on a kitchen scale to get their weight, then administer the antibiotics as directed per their weight. It takes a long time for recovery, so stay with it and be vigilant. Day and night we watch our wards, and do what we must do to keep them hydrated and fed and strong enough to fight the infection.

I know, if we could, we'd all go to the vet. After many years of treating many animals in many different situations, sometimes we just have to be their best advocate. I've vetted many animals over the years; set bones, given injections, delivered babies, castrated goats, saved abandoned calves. I've had to see my farm animals not make it solely because a vet couldn't travel the 50+ mile to get there in time. We do the best we can.


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## RatCrazyGirl (Feb 7, 2021)

Willow&Whiskers said:


> Antibiotics are the best option- I got my baytril here for $20. I recommend seeing a vet but if you cannot right now, you can use this website to find a dosage for your rats.


It's not available anymore


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## RatCrazyGirl (Feb 7, 2021)

We texted the wife of my dad's friend if they have some leftover antibiotics for URI antibiotics (she has had rats for 6rs and she was the one who recommended them to us.) and to my surprise, she has some crispy apple-flavored URI treatment leftover from when one of her rats got sick! It's her son's b-day today, and my brother is friends with her son, so when we drop off my brother she will give us the med!!!!!!! (sry for the confusing explanation)


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