HELPPPP.... My ratties are sick

[amanda]

My girls have been sneezing heaps the past 2 days, I am taking them to the vet tomorrow, I hope they are okay


Does any one have any ideas?

Please tell me they will be okay.....

I am taking them to my vet, They don't really speacialise in ratties and may need to refer me to another vet. Where are good vets near Thornbury, Melb?

[vandemanrats]

Poor things,

It's probably just a cold, keep them warm and try to add a little disolved sugar to their water as this helps them, also there is not much you can really do for a cold but wait it out like humans do, if they develope a discharge from the nose apart from when sneezing and the eyes are watery take them to the vet immediatly as they will then need some antibiotics.

If they are a little lethargic as well, get a syringe and mix up the following as a bit of a booster:
1 Cup Hot Tap Water
1/4 tsp Condensed Milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp honey
1/4 tsp lemon juice

They will drink this from the syringe so it's really easy to give them. This is the advice i got from my vet last year when Gizmo got a cold. He occasionally gets that mix as a treat now and then,
Also when your handraising pinkies the first 3 parts of that mix will get them by till they open their eyes and start eating normal food.
Hope that helps a bit.
Cheers Nikkie

[amanda]

Thanks so much for all that


I feel so bad for them, I hate when my animals are sick.

[Australian Rat Forum]

I've been told never to give male rats anything acidic.

So I would never give a male rat Lemon Juice.

Also rats dont sweat so 1/4 teaspoon of salt for a rat is way too much salt for any rat to have.

I wouldnt be using that vet ever again if he suggested that mix for my rats.

[misskimmers]

Unfortunately most rats (except those in long, carefully bred lines and lab rats) have a strain of mycoplasma pulmonis lying dormant. It is a bacteria that is extremely infectious among rats, which is why it is so prevalent in the rattie community. It is commonly called an upper respiratory infection or rat pneumonia.

The most common signs of mycoplasma flare up include sneezing, a clicking/rattling sound in the chest and nasal areas, and reddish brown stains/crusty substance around the nose/mouth (called porphyrin).

Mycoplasma is treatable but not curable. Your vet will prescribe you a lengthy dosage plan - animal doxycycline is a popular and effective treatment. Together with this, it is important to eliminate all possible irritants in your rats environment. Make sure you use a pine- and dust-free bedding, and change this every second day to remove soiling (when left to sit, rat urine develops into ammonia, which is highly irritable). Keep your rat on a diet as close to 18% protein as possible, and include many fresh fruit and vege's along with seeds, grain etc. and a high quality lab block. Lots of rat owners substitute lab block for dog biscuits in Australia (as it's really hard to find here!), just make sure they contain ingredients safe for your ratty and aren't too high/low in protein.

These are the best ways to keep your rat comfortable... and if a flare up occurs again, make sure you take your rat to the vet immediately.

Hope I've helped. If you need more information, it's a very very common thing in the rat community and there's lots of information available - try googling "mycoplasma in rats" or "upper respiratory infections in rats" etc. and you will come up with plenty of info.

[Kim]

Mar 16, 2009 17:43:45 GMT 10 amanda said:

My girls have been sneezing heaps the past 2 days

How long have you had your rats for?

How old are they?

There could be a number of reasons why your rats are sneezing.

A lot of time when rats go into a new enviroment it can cause them to sneeze a lot for the first few days, sometimes even for a week.

Also some things like air freshners, purfume, incense smoke, cigarette smoke, household cleaners, even different cage cleaning methods, can cause rats to sneeze.

A drop in temprature, as we have had here in Victoria, where it was really hot one day then rainy and cold the next, can also cause rats to sneeze.

The can also get a cold and the best thing for that is to give them minced garlic in their food and antibacterial honey water.

To make the honey water all yu need is a bit of hot water to melt the honey, you use the MediHoney, manuka honey, which you can get at any chemist or even coles. Once the honey has disolved then pour it into the water bottle and fill up with cold water.

For 140ml bottle you just need about a teaspoon of honey.

Stress can also cause rats to sneeze.



Remember though rats are born with Myco which is a bacteria in their lungs and it doesnt take much to cause it to flare up.

[vandemanrats]

Mar 18, 2009 10:23:50 GMT 10 Australian Rat Forum said:

I've been told never to give male rats anything acidic.

So I would never give a male rat Lemon Juice.

Also rats dont sweat so 1/4 teaspoon of salt for a rat is way too much salt for any rat to have.

I wouldnt be using that vet ever again if he suggested that mix for my rats.

I understand your concern, but my vet is very good and that recipee is from a renowned vet in the united states who we also use for my ferrets, it's very successful and i have had a good run with it, my last litter that Pixi had i ended up hand raising 4 of them on that mixture and they have thrived, Don't dispel any advice when given by a vet or if you are concerned then yes by all means get a second opinion which i did as well as a third and fourth before i gave it to my rats,
Much Respect, Nikkie

[amanda]

Thanks for all the info

I have had the girls for nearly 2 weeks now, 2 weeks on sunday. The were about 7 weeks old when I got them.

I was using max's pet litter for the bedding, but have just changed it to breeders choice, and I use ' Hutch clean' to clean their home, I think I made the mistake of putting the girls in a tank, It has a well ventilated lid. I was looking into getting a cage but my girls came earlier than expected. No one smokes inside and I don't use much air freshner as I am asthmatic.

I have now purchased them a 3 level cage and am waiting for it to arrive,

The vet has put them both on AB's, although it's only Gracie who is sick, The med is called 'Baytril '. The vet did say she has Mycoplasma.

I took them to the emergency vet at night because I thought she was dying I did have a booking with my vet the next day but panicked when I heard her sneezing alot more.

They are to stay on the AB's for 5 days, then Gracie has to go back to be weighed and se how she is doing, Gracie weighs only 50 grams and her sister Maisie weighs 80 grams.

Gracie is still eating her food and drinking water.

[Kim]

9 weeks old is very young to have a first Myco flare up.

Normally rats who have flare ups so young tend to have them all their life and be on medications for a lot of that time.

Breeders Chocie is what most of us are using ..

I have to buy two 35 liter bags each fortnight, but then I have a lot of rats .. no wonder I'm always broke ..lol..

Baytril, Vibravet paste, and Psittavet are the 3 main types of AB's that are given to rats to help with sickness and myco flare ups.

Let us know how they go, especially Gracie, once they have finished the 5 days of baytril.

[ceara]

I'm glad you've got her to the vet! I hope she picks up.

I've been in the same boat as you before. My rat biscuit was showing signs of myco before we bought him, but I caved to the determined begging of my partner and we got him anyways. 3 days later he'd been put on a 2 week round of Baytril and he has had chronic myco issues ever since, although he is much better than he was

I use Breeder's choice as well. I don't have as many rats as Kim though so luckily only go through a big bag about once every 3 weeks! When I can, there is a recycled paper small animal litter that I get from my favorite pet shop, but Breeder's Choice is the best I can get at Coles.

[amanda]

Gracie seems alot better today, still sneezing but no where near as much


Has anyone got any tips on giving the girls their AB's.It's liquid and I have to use a syringe, Is there an easy way?

[christie]

Put the meds on a tea spoon and then mix something yummy into it. Only a very small amount though. If i had to give my girls .05ml of meds i would mix maybe .2 of baby food in with it. That way you know they are going to be eating all of it in just one sitting. Tho the others will think the sick one is getting a treat so you might wanna give them a spoon of just plain baby food not to feel left out lol.

[amanda]

Thanks, will try that.

[Leeann]

You can also try a very small quantity of jam or honey to mix the Baytril in, because these are sweet tasting, rats think it is the bees knees.

Another method is to use an egg cup, put dosage of batril into it and an the smallest ammount of soy or rice milk, let the rat drink it from the cup.

Also make sure their cage is not in an area that has a draught, if you have nowhere else to put the cage make sure they have a sleeping box that is nearly all enclosed, also you can cover the side of cage with an old towel or blanket, and make sure it is an old one as they will try to pull it into the cage, lol.

[amanda]

Thanks for the tips

The other day I actually put an old towel in the bottom of their home because I didn't want any dust. LOL


Gracie's eye seems to be closing. She is eating better and is playing again, altough I have noticed she is a bit wobbley.

She is very skinny compared to her sister. What can I give her to fatten her up?