Hi, all.

I've been going through a lot lately, because of depression resulting from having to put my little boy, Gregor, down, so maybe I'm just being paranoid, but I thought I'd check it out with you.

Gus and I have been together for a week and a couple of days, now. He came from a chain pet store, where he was being kept with all of his brothers. He's very young, still.

The first thing I wanted to do was to schedule an appointment with my vet for him, to check his general health. Ironically enough, his appointment was on Valentine's day, the day Gregor died.

It turns out that he has a "cold." (An as yet unidentified upper respitory something.) He has been taking antibiotics twice a day for a week; first bubble gum flavor, which he hates, and then, raspberry flavor, which he still hates but not as much.

He has a follow up appointment tomorrow, but I wanted to get the impression of people here, too.

He seems worse. Before, he was sneezing once in awhile, but now he sneezes AND has long coughing fits. The meds don't seem to be doing their job.

And there's one thing I'm unclear on: Do rats "snore" when they sleep, or is the snoring another symptom of whatever he has?

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I really hope this isn't serious. I have lost Gregor and two fish within the past week, and I really hope that Gus has a long, healthy life with me.

Rats should not be snoring as far as I know. What antibiotic were you given? Sometimes a mixture of antibiotics is necessary to kick the tougher stuff I think. Pretty sure I've heard of a mixture of Doxycycline and Baytril being used together.

He was on "Amoxi Drops" (Amoxicillin) for about five days, and, unlike most rats, he did not just LOVE the taste, and refused to take it. It's a two person job to get medicine in this rat.

The other medicine is Vibromycin. That's the raspberry flavored one. He won't take that willingly, either.

Yeah, I didn't think the snoring was a good sign. :( Hope we can get his "cold" under control soon!

He was on "Amoxi Drops" (Amoxicillin) for about five days, and, unlike most rats, he did not just LOVE the taste, and refused to take it. It's a two person job to get medicine in this rat.

The other medicine is Vibromycin. That's the raspberry flavored one. He won't take that willingly, either.

Yeah, I didn't think the snoring was a good sign. :( Hope we can get his "cold" under control soon!


Awww, best of luck with him!

aww that sucks :( It could be heart disease but I hope it's not. I've heard if antibiotics fail you might want to consider a diagnostic x-ray to get a better idea of what is going on.

I hope your little ratlet gets better :(

Thank you!

Well, 'Gustus and I just got back from the vet, and she prescribed what was recommended here: Doxycycline and Baytril.

Since he doesn't like to take his medicine orally, she asked me if I could bring him in for the next few days in a row, so that she could give him a Baytril injection. So, his life will be a little busy in the next few days.

The good news is that, although he has a "cold," it is not similar in any way to Gregor's mortal illness. We should be able to wind up with a healthy, happy baby, here. :)

Thanks, everyone, for your advice and support! *hugs*

Well, 'Gustus and I just got back from the vet, and she prescribed what was recommended here: Doxycycline and Baytril.

Since he doesn't like to take his medicine orally, she asked me if I could bring him in for the next few days in a row, so that she could give him a Baytril injection. So, his life will be a little busy in the next few days.

The good news is that, although he has a "cold," it is not similar in any way to Gregor's mortal illness. We should be able to wind up with a healthy, happy baby, here. :)

Thanks, everyone, for your advice and support! *hugs*


I'm thrilled to hear that! You might try mixing his oral medicines with something a little bit, like baby food or jam/jelly. He might be more inclined to ingest it then! Wishing you and your fuzzy luck on getting better ^^

i had a rat that snored once. whenever she laid on her back to sleep, which was quite often actually. but she always did it and lived to be 23 months old. mind you she did die suddenly.. maybe it was respiratory related but the vet never seemed too bothered by it. i thought it was kinda cute... *shrugs*

aww im so plz you lil mans gunna b ok! hope he has a long n happy life with you!!

Me, too! :) Happy happy!