My rat is sneezing..?

Question

i jus got my rat today and i read that sneezing can be a sign of a respitory infection but i also read they sneeze when they're getting used to new smells..should i be worried?

Answer 1

Sneezing is the start of a respitory infection. Since you did just get her today it might be because everything is new. But if she keeps her sneezing up and does it alot a trip to vet is needed. A respitory infection will start out with sneezing and will end with labored breathing and then unfortunatly death. When rats get respitory infections whether they come on very quickly or not will create a bubble effect on the lungs. Each time they get an infection that isnt treated right away or they get it seems it went away on its own it scars the lungs each time until the lungs are so far gone that there is nothing that can be done and the rat basically suffocates to death. Truly horrible to watch. My rats will sneeze when I clean there cage. But not alot. If she keeps sneezing by Monday I would get her into the vet. Alot of times the illness is really advanced by the time we notice the symtoms. Rats being lowest on the food chain will mask there illness as long as possible as not to appear weak. I have my girls put on Vibramycin. Baytril doesnt work for them. Vibramycin tastes like rasberries and its stronger than the Baytril. Little pricey. Its $40 at my vets office but Im also treating 17 furballs. Good luck.

Answer 2

my rat started snnezing and i ended up taking him to a vet and he was very sick. you should cetch the illness before it gets bad.

Answer 3

no.i just went to a store and held one and it sneezed and it was cute and the person that worked there was fine with it.i want a rat.plz answer my qwestion urgent.http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?...

Answer 4

it probably has respretory or try changing the shavings

Answer 5

If it sneezes often you should take him/her to a vet if is sneezes but not very often its fine because sometimes it means there happy Good luck :D

Answer 6

When I got my rat he sneezed.

Are you using wood chips? If so, thats proberly whats making him sneeze.

If not, he proberly is just getting used to the smells. If he had a Respitory infection, he'd have gunge in his eyes and he'd be making weird noises.

Don't worry about his sneezing. It will fade away.

Answer 7

its perfectly normal to sneeze just like we do they sneeze too. nothing is wrong. you shouldnt be worried

Answer 8

well my rat had an ear infection but it doesn't hurt him and that caused respatory....... so he gets little nose bleede... nothing serious... nothig to be worried about. if u hold him up side down and he goes out of your hand and turns insted of goin straight than he has or had a right ear infection. nothing bad. he just cant hear as well

Answer 9

I have two pet rats (about 4 months old) and one of them sneezes all the time.

Seriously, it doesn't seem to effect her in any other way.

It could just be an allergy... and that is what it probably is.

Also, a few people have said that you can catch something from the rats... and you actually can't. At least that's what my vet told me.

Answer 10

when i first got my rat home he was sneezing and his nose was red. i took him right to the vet and he was just allergic to the cedar bedding. supposedly a lot of rats are allergic to it. all i did was buy that paper bedding and he was fine. he died at 4 years old of a respitory infection. i could tell he had the infection because he had very labored breathing. he died within two days. good luck to you.

Answer 11

your rat may have a cold!

does your rat have red things under its eyes? discharge from the nose? a hunched appearance?

if you said yes to these questions your rat has a cold!

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=m...

how often does it sneeze? my pet rat sneezes lots, we took her to the vets and she said it was normal so if it gets more frequent GO TO THE VETS! this could be respiritary infection.

http://www.cavyrescue.co.uk/rat-respirat...

this will help ^^^^^^^

if your rat does have respiritary diasese, don't worry! there are antibiotics for it so think yourself lucky for the 21st centary antibiotics!

Answer 12

give it some allergy meds.

its a bodily function.

HAHAHA *sneezes*

Answer 13

it could be sick, but I have rats that sneeze all the time just because.  If you are really worried then take him/her to the vet.

Answer 14

Sneezing is normal when rats are first brought home. It shouldn't last more than about a week. They are just adjusting. If you see any other symptoms such as wheezing, red discharge from the eyes and nose, or puffed up fur and lethargy, your rat is sick and needs a small animal vet.

Why did you get a single rat? If you did your research, you know that it is completely unfair to keep rats alone. She needs a same s*x friend.

I'd recommend getting another rat from a reputable breeder or rescue as pet store rats are often ill or, in the case of females, pregnant. Plus, you don't want to support pet stores and their mills or backyard breeders:

http://www.petinfopackets.com/rats/ratin...

http://www.petinfopackets.com/rats/ratin...

Always make sure to quarantine a new rat:

http://www.petinfopackets.com/rats/rathe...

Before doing introductions slowly and on neutral ground:

http://ratguide.com/care/behavior/introd...

http://www.ratfanclub.org/newrat.html

http://www.ratpalace.com/rat-articles/ra...

Answer 15

Don't be worried, rats sneeze a lot when they get into a new environment, mine did too. Mine actually sneeze a little still, and i took them to the vet (not because of that, because of something else) and the vet said they were perfectly fine! But i would definately suggest you get a friend for your rat, cause then he/she will get really lonely! PLZPLZPLZPLZPLZ give it another rat.!!!!!

Answer 16

i would just b safe and take him to a vet

Answer 17

he's either just getting DUST out of his lungs.  Or Sickness.i'de deff. take him to a vet.

Answer 18

If you are useing wood shavings in it's cage buy a diffent kind because there is alot of dust in wood shavings

Answer 19

It's normal for them to be a little sneezy at first when they come home, but it would definately not hurt to get him to be checked out by the vet as he could have a respiratory infection.

Answer 20

Befor I can answer your questions... I have to ask some first.

1. Are you using cedar or pine as bedding/littler?

If you are, then remove it. Cedar and pine are extremely toxic to small animals and can cause respritory problems as well as death! a good substituite would be aspen, alfalfa pellets, or paper pellets.

2. Is it rapid?

If it is...Keep a eye out for his/her nostrils and eyes and look for what looks like blood. Dont be afraid though its not really blood... Its just a mucus they create when there stressed by somthing or could be a sign onf infection. You should also watch for his sneezing when using new cleaning products seeing as they can cause stress on there sensitive little snauze...

3.Vet?

If the answer is no then please correct it... the only one who will be able to diagnose properlly is a vet... I am NO expert.

Answer 21

My brother has Rats and they sneeze. Im not sure if its bad or not, but later it died of breathing problems.

Answer 22

it could just be a mild col,d or something similar. it could be that the room you keep them in is too cold. so just warm the room up and keep them well fed and watered, that should help. if not then take them to the vets.

Answer 23

He may or may not be sick one of my friends has a rat and it started sneezing the answer is take it to  a vet . my friends rat had a very dirty cage so he got sick