# Rat constantly sneezing - bad bedding?



## R0WLET (Nov 8, 2018)

I have six rats, one of which is almost constantly sneezing. She's been to the vet more than once, and been cleared by them numerous times. Her lungs are clear, breath sounds good. In fact, the only time she barely sneezes is when she's out of the cage. The vet suggested allergies or irritation caused by the detergent I used to clean the fleece, so I switched to all natural everything and the problem still persists. She has no other symptoms other than the sneezing.

Would it be ammonia buildup on the fleece, or would it be the bedding I use at the bottom of my cage that could be causing this? I was told that the bedding I use (Fresh News small animal bedding) is fine, but now I'm not so sure. I wanted to try kiln-dried pine, but while we sell it at my work, I'm not 100% sure that it's dust-free.


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## CorbinDallasMyMan (Feb 24, 2017)

Are you using an absorbent layer under the fleece? Fleece alone does nothing for odors/ammonia. If you use an absorbent layer, you can get another day or so before they need to be washed. You may need to wash your liners more often. If the liners smell bad when you get your nose close to them, they should be washed. I wash my shelf liners a couple times a week but I feel like I should be washing them every 2 to 3 days.

All loose substrates are going to have some dust. I don't know of any "dust-free" loose substrates. I believe the Fresh World bedding is made from slightly crushed pellet litter. The crumbled pellets are a little dustier than the pellets themselves. Pine shavings will have some dust, too. Different brands of wood shavings may have more or less. Different types of loose substrate may have more or less dust than others. The type of aspen I buy is very dusty so I actually hand-sift the excess dust out with a cloth mesh laundry basket. 

While loose substrates are a dustier option than fleece, they're much better for controlling odors and ammonia. Nothing's perfect, everything's a trade-off.


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## R0WLET (Nov 8, 2018)

I've already planned to start cleaning the fleece more often, but the issue isn't really the smell as much as it is my confusion over what is causing my rat to sneeze so much. Like I said, she's been checked out by a vet more than once, and none of my other rats have this issue. I don't know if it's a specific allergy to her, but I'd like to take all precautions.


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## CorbinDallasMyMan (Feb 24, 2017)

R0WLET said:


> ...the issue isn't really the smell as much as it is my confusion over what is causing my rat to sneeze so much.


I was just suggesting that ammonia build-up (smell) could be a problem even if the cage isn't stinking up your home. Things smell a lot different from a half inch away. The main things I think of as causing respiratory distress are things like urine, dust, perfumes, items with fragrances, scented candles, air fresheners, smoke, etc. 

It could also be possible that nothing's wrong. ...or this particular girl is just really sensitive to things.

A good start might be to use and absorbent layer under your fleece, wash liners very regularly with a fragrance-free detergent (get your nose right up to them to determine when they need to be washed), and maybe evaluate the dust content of your current bedding versus that of other options.


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