# New/First Rat - Sneezing



## schnebbles (Nov 11, 2015)

I work at a pet store and so I see our rats daily. I take care of them and try my best to keep the cages clean - sometimes our store just doesn't let us have the hours to keep everything as pristine as I'd like  - that really disturbs me.

So anyhow I got my first girl Friday - she had only been there a week. I never see our rats sneezing.

I bring her home and she's sneezing a lot. Temp cage is a 10g aquarium with a screen lid and she's out with me whenever I'm home. I know she needs a pal and I have a mom rat on hold. I don't want her to be a feeder so I'm going to get her. My husband is going to have a fit. I'm picking up a Rat Manor today. I had just put some fleece in it for her. Last night I added a little bit of KayTee bedding (like carefresh type). I have rat food mix (seeds) and the Mazuri blocks. I have not noticed that she's eating. She ate some toast last night and a leaf of my bunny greens 2 nights ago. Not much poo or anything.

So, I read stress can cause sneezing. today she sounds a big congested. When I have her out she acts fine but is probably getting used to me and her new house. She doesn't want to sit on me, but rather beside me on the couch kind of in a little corner. Right now she's in between my legs under my laptop, lol!

Do I need to be worried? Does she need a vet or should I give her a few more days? Like I said, I've not seen the rats sneezing at the store and I'm there almost every day. She wants to chew my finger nails. I need to make sure she's eating more but not sure how to tell if she's eating what's in her bowl. I'm used to the rats at work eating all of the goodies I feed them (and leave the blocks for last). They love it when I'm there b/c I buy them goodies. I figure they are mostly feeders so I try to make their little lives happy. I never realized I'd love rats until I started working there!


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## schnebbles (Nov 11, 2015)

She isn't showing any of that red stuff (forget the name). I'm sitting here listening to here and she's sounding very congested. I'm probably going to have to call the vet.


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## Zeri (Feb 4, 2016)

ours started sneezing just after we got them, but it was quite cold the day we brought them home so they may have gotten colds. fried some onions and garlic and egg and let them eat it, they seem to feel better, a lot less sneezing. one of them is an anti viral, i was told. the onion i think


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## Kelsbels (Aug 12, 2015)

Sometimes rats will get the new home sneezes (sometimes out of stress of moving to a new home). So it is normal, however if they have a lot of porphyrin around the eyes and mouth then maybe there's some need for concern. Just keep an eye on her and if you feel like this is more than just sneezing I'd suggest seeing a vet.


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## 2ratshack (Sep 13, 2014)

Like everybody else said, new air supply could cause sneezing. Carefresh bedding is SUPER dusty though, so I would remove that entirely. If you plan on litter box training her, there is paper ferret litter that is essentially dust free that I would highly recommend. (Can't remember the name)


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## ElectricPaladin (Jan 18, 2016)

My research indicates that pretty much all rats are chronically parasitized by a nasty respiratory pathogen called mycoplasma. That means that any kind of stress can weaken their immune system to the point that it shows up. I suppose in the natural course of things, most rats will overcome the pathogen and force the infection back into remission - just like a person with herpes or some other chronic infection - except for when they don't. Lots of rats eventually die of respiratory issues that either _are_ myco or can be traced back to damage _caused by_ myco, but if you take care of them, they can still live to a ripe old age.

All of that is a roundabout way of saying that probably you want to get her on a round of antibiotics.


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## JAnimal (Jul 23, 2014)

Also that rat food mix probably isn't very healthy and you might just want to stick with the mazuri. Seeds are very fatty but good as a treat. I would wait a week and see what happens with the sneezes. If it has been over a week or she starts breathing noisily the you should visit the vet.


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## schnebbles (Nov 11, 2015)

Thanks everyone! I got her some babyfood to try. Off to put her new cage together!


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