Why would a rat be coughing, and is there any way to ease it?

Question

I have three female rats, all living in the same cage. Yesterday, I noticed that two of them were sneezing a lot more than what seems to be normal. They seem to be doing better today, though now the third is... well, it sounds like coughing to me, but I don't know loads about rats so I could be wrong.

In any case, she has these fits quite often, and seems sleepier than normal, though I suppose the coughing could just be wearing her out. Any ideas what could be wrong, or how to help her?

Answer 1

What bedding are they on?

If they're on a sawdust/woodshavings based bedding, that'll be why.

If not, you really need to take her to a vet- respirtory illnesses can quickly become fatal in rats.

I don't think a powder supplement is going to help- not if she's coughing/sneezing a lot and seem tired. A powder supplement helps general health, but doesn't /cure/ sick animals. You need to get to a vet and possibley on antibotics.

***

A wood bedding is not a good idea; a paper one like safe bedding/care fresh is the best thing. They can be building up the illness, so it wouldn't be an 'all at once' situation- rats, like an animal with wild roots, learn to hide illness because if they were sickly in the wild, they would be caught by predators.

So the bedding is a worry, but I'd just take her to a vet and ask for advice.

***

Even if the bedding is the culprit, you /still/ need to take her to the vet, simply because it's built up in her lungs to cause this coughing.

Answer 2

yeah, they shouldnt have any aspen bedding..it should be carefresh/paperbased. that can cause upperresp. infections...also try nutriprim, it helps with the sneezing and adds extra nutrition, its just a simple powder to add to water

Answer 3

What KIND of wood is it? The -only- safe wood is aspen. Pine and cedar both have toxic fumes that slowly break down their respiratory systems. Wood itself is not harmfull, it is the toxic varieties.

Now since you said they used to sneeze, is their "coughing" different than the sneezing you heard? If so, might it be like a clicking in their chest? Do they have noisy breathing at all? And do they have any red stuff (poryphorin) around their nose or eyes?

Otherwise, has anything different happened in your home recently? Like maybe you sprayed air freshener too close to their cage or something? Or drafts pass their cage? Or your other pets are harassing them?

Rats are really sensitive animals. Thier respiratory systems especially. Anything like perfume or scented candles can irritate theri breathing. And especially drafts! Make sure they are in a comfortable temperature in a corner somewhere. the other likely cause is that you are not cleaning the cage often enough, and they are breathing too much of thier own ammonea (from the urine).

Also, when rats get scared by something new, like suddenyl you play loud music, or a cat keeps watching them, they will get rather stressed. When they do, poryphorin (red substance from glands behind their eyes and nose) comes into view. All rats have this, but healthy rats clean it up so it is never visible or bothering them. If they are stressed or sick, the poryphorin is almost always visible, and interferes with their breathing.

EDIT: Well, the pine is probably the culprit, if nothing else. The "woo" sound, if we are talking about the same thing, is basicaly noisy breathing. It sounds kind of like a whistle. At first, respiratory illness symptoms will be incredibly subtle, like they are now. But gradually, they will get quite bad. It would be a great idea to take them to a vet for treatment if they do not improve maybe a week after you get the new bedding. If you leave these things alone for too long, they can be untreatable, and relate to heart problems and premature death.

Heh, and pet store employees really don't know anything. This is why you do the research before, and not rely on their silly suggestions. In about a week after you stop using pine, if they are actually getting better, the poryphorin should start to deminish on its own. Remember that healthy rats will have NO poryphorin, except maybe when they -just- wake up. So seriously consider a vet.

Here is some info on respiratory problems if you want to know more: http://www.rmca.org/Articles/respir.htm