# How often do rats sneeze normally?



## Kisetsu116 (Mar 27, 2014)

I had all my rats on Enrofloxacin for two weeks (and a bit more because they were still sneezing after two weeks) and they're still sneezing. Not like, all the time, but it's still every few minutes. And it's not like a hard sneeze, it's just a little one.

So do rats sneeze regularly? Or should I head back to the vet?


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Every few minutes? That's too much even for the most sensitive rats.

What's the bedding? Any candles, air fresheners, smoking, etc in the room? How new are they/socialized? Any additional symptoms? How are their eyes/nose? How does their lungs sound (ratphone them -- put their belly to your ear like they're a ratty flipphone).

Ask for a higher dose of Enro and add in Doxy or Amoxi.


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## Kisetsu116 (Mar 27, 2014)

They're on fleece and I did have air fresheners but they've been gone for two days now. I've had them for three months and they're so socialized they don't like to be anywhere but around me. Some of them have runny noses, but the others have dry noses. Their lungs sound clear to me. And finally, I had them on Doxy too, I forgot to put that sorry.

They scratch a lot too, I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it?


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Any scabs? It probably doesn't have anything _much_ to do with it but if they've mites then their immune system is often compromised.

Don't bring air fresheners back. Is the fleece washed in scented detergent and do you use fabric softener?


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## Kisetsu116 (Mar 27, 2014)

No scabs, and her skin doesn't look irritated. And I use fabric softener. 

I guess I'll have to go back to the vet then. He's going to think I'm crazy, I call him every week.


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## Phantom (Apr 4, 2012)

They might have allergies. One of the rats I had in the past, Molly, had dust allergies. She was also very sensitive to other things, such as dusty bedding, dusty litter, and any spray or scented candle. She also came down with a chronic URI and needed medication daily around the time that she hit a year and a half.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

You can NOT use fabric softener, so I would run some fleece through and see if that and the lack of air fresheners improve her within three days -- if not, going back to the vet.

Out of interest, if you have their weights, the concentration of the medication, and the dosage we could see if the math checks to be sure he didn't under-dose them (some vets tend to).


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## Kisetsu116 (Mar 27, 2014)

I don't have their weights because he never told me. But I'll wash the blankets again and see if that helps. Like I said, they aren't really sneezing that bad it's just making me nervous. It was nothing like when I first had them and they were coughing and struggling to go without sneezing all the time.

Would they still get runny noses though? There's no Porpythrin, it's clear.

If that doesn't help, I'll go back to the vets. I'm sure since they've been feeling better they probably put on some weight and need a bigger dose.


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## Leraine (Feb 21, 2014)

When I first got my rat she sneezed a lot. Maybe 2-3 times every 10 minutes. I wasn't sure if it was her myco alone, or if it was allergies too. 

Today, she doesn't sneeze nearly as much. This was after 3 treatments with 3 drugs for myco. (Two rounds of chloramphenicol, and one round of Baytril/Doxy combo) 

I have also reduced her exposure to allergens by elevating her off the floor (less dust), using cloth towels and paper towels for her bedding (I put the paper towels over the cloth towels), and using Carefresh natural only in her litter box. I do notice that if she climb in her litter box when I am putting in the new carefresh, she will sneeze once or twice. I think it's a little dustier coming out of the bag.

I also run a humidifier for her for about 20 hours a day. For rats with a mycoplasma infection, humidifiers can soothe the airways and loosen secretions.

After reading that the dyes and perfumes in laundry detergent can cause allergies in rats, I bought a dye-free and perfume-free laundry soap. These usually come in white bottles and are labeled "free and clear". I think the clothes have been coming out cleaner...and another hidden benefit is that the perfumes in our previous soap (Tide) also made *me* sneeze. Also definitely do not use dryer sheets on your rats laundry. 

I also clean her cage twice a day to reduce her exposure to the ammonia in her urine, since that can irritate the airway and leave the rat more susceptible to myco. I am allergic to her urine and possibly her feces (it makes me sneeze). It is possible, but VERY unlikely that she was allergic to her own urine, but it's possible that the urine combined with paper towels may have acted as an irritant to her respiratory system, in a similar way to how black pepper is an irritant to humans, causing us to sneeze even if we aren't allergic to it.


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## DustyRat (Jul 9, 2012)

Interesting you mention this. I too am in Halifax and my girls are sneezing right now too. This happens every year as the spring arrives.


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## Kisetsu116 (Mar 27, 2014)

Really? Holy crap that weird. This is my first year with rats so I haven't had the experience yet. I'm pretty confident they don't have a URI right now. They're so active and playful and they're eating well, it's just a few sneezes. I already washed the blankets and wiped down the cage and aired my room out, and so far they haven't sneezed as much.

I'm in school to be a vet tech, and my teacher is a vet, so I'm going to bring the scratching girl with me tomorrow and measure out a dose of Revolution for her :3


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Just like humans, humidity affects animals - not to mention plain hay fever. If Halifax is like most of the us, we got a nice warm up and then snow the next week and now are in another warm up. After dry air, the humidity might've started some mucus going. But the sudden drop back to no moisture takes a lot out of us. Now were warm again and my nose is leaking like mad. 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## Kisetsu116 (Mar 27, 2014)

Sounds familiar yep!


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## thenightgoddess (Apr 2, 2014)

A healthy rat should only sneeze as much as a healthy human which is a couple times a day at most since no one really answered that question.


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## Kisetsu116 (Mar 27, 2014)

Haha, thank you!


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