Asher, Toru and I just left the vet with a prescription for doxycycline 0.10ml orally, twice a day, both rats. Asher weighted 140 grams, toru 180. I have 14 days worth for both boys. PLEASE let me know if the dosage sounds right and any tips to give Toru his meds, he is really fighting his medications. the only success i have had with him lately is soaking the meds in a piece of peach. Asher on the other hand lapped up the meds like candy :P go figure!

I mean, that just seems a little high to me, basically, my young rats would be getting .20 ml a day of meds, and they are just babies.

Hi, not sure that seems high to me, all I can find for dosage is it should be
2.5 mg per pound (10cc). DOUBLE CHECK WITH THE VET. Once mine were prescribed 10x the dosage for 14 days, luckily I was smart like you and figured it out right away. It's very serious and can lead to lots of problems, double check.


My rats have been struggling so long with myco I want to share some miracle cures with you. I have three rescued lab rats (yes they can get myco) and lost one, Kai, a while ago to myco. I only had them a couple months before the wheezing started and I tried every kind of medicine and nothing worked. Doxy, baytril, tetracycline everything and eventually he got so sick, stopped eating and died within a day of severe symptoms (I honestly don't think the vet knew what he was doing though-do yourself a favor and pay a well qualified exotic animal specialist if you are going to go to a vet. If you go to a low cost like I did, the vet will likely not be familiar with the right way to treat rats and you will try a million different things which ends up costing the same amount of money in the long run.) His dad (Splinter) and brothers (Peter Pan and Kramer- great names huh?) upper respiratory infection went away by itself and they seemed to be doing okay. Since Kai died, I am determined not to loose another to that "incurable" disease.


I am vegan and lead a very natural lifestyle, using food as medicine, and I hate to give my rats chemical drugs when I would never myself take them. But like I said, determined not to loose another rat to myco, Splinter, Kramer and I recently made our way to the (best) exotic animal vet in town at first symptom of upper respiratory infection. Doxy and batril in combination with a nebulizer worked wonders and their colds went away within a week! I was sooo happy! Until a month later when I heard them wheezing again. I know myco is a life long thing, but don't you think there is OBVIOUSLY something wrong with these treatments if once you stop, the cold comes right back? I am against chemical drugs because it only suppresses the cold, it doesn't do anything to help your rat build up a good immune system to help fight against future attacks.


So this time around, I am treating it naturally. Living in the Information Age, we really have no excuse not to find a natural remedy when we have a million resources right at our fingertips! Heres what I found;


First of all, feeding as many fresh fruits and veggies over store bought rat food is the best diet you can give your rats. Mine have been on a vegan diet of raw fruit and veggies and a little bit of raw nuts since I got them, and one of mine is over 3 years old and still going strong!


The thing I'm most excited to try is grapeFRUIT seed extract (not to be confused with grapeseed extract), I read so many amazing stories, it's a miracle cure for so many things and is said to relieve myco in rats. Grapefruit seed extract will kill viruses, fungus, bacteria (myco) and parasites. It is used in vet and zoo settings to kill animal parasites and bacteria and a general antiseptic. Get in capsule form and break open the capsule and sprinkle on food, the taste is very bitter so you only want to put a little. One capsule should last one week for a rat.


If you use the heat or ac, put jars of water on the heater and vents to put the moisture back into the air that the heat/ac take out. Get a humidifier if you live in dryer climate. I don't have one so everyday I put my rats in a carrying cage and put them in the bathroom with me when I take a shower, the steam is good and will help them breath better (you will notice a significant decrease in wheezing). I use only natural bath products like vinegar and baking soda, so the smells don't affect them. If you use a lot of chemical cleaners, put them in the bathroom when you are not taking a shower and run the water on burning hot for at least 15 minutes. Seriously, make it a goal to do this once a day. It helps so much.


Consider eliminating petstore foods, which are high in dyes and fillers (did you know half of it could be cardboard?) If you wouldn't eat it yourself, how is it safe for your best friends?? Give your rats fresh fruits, veggies, or grains like oatmeal 5-6 times a day in small quantities and at night, leave a bunch of lettuce, parsley or other leafy veggies in the cage to snack on. You can make your own mix of rat food with organic raw nuts and organic puffer rice cereal if you desire, they only need a little bit of this at night.


However, if they are sick, mycoplasmas thrive on argine- an amino acid which is found in coconut, nuts (cashew, almond, hazelnut....), seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, sesame....), wheat germ, buckwheat, granola, oatmeal, chickpeas and cooked soybeans so AVOID THESE or completely eliminate it from their diet if they are prone to flair ups!!


Foods high in Querectin are shown to greatly reduce symptoms of myco; black and green tea, onion, apple, red grapes, tomato, broccoli, leafy green veggies, rasperry, cranberry, citrus (not everyday for males), buckwheat and more... include one of these at least in their diet daily, or chop a couple and give a couple tsps a day.


Raw garlic is supposed to do wonders (in humans too); In 1944, a chemist, Dr. Cavallito reported that eating it raw could be morepowerful than penicillin and tetracycline as an antibiotic. (from here (http://www.live-the-organic-life.com/garlic.html).) My mom had a bad cold the other month, so she started putting raw garlic in everything she ate for a week and after a couple days her cold was almost gone!


Foods rich in vitamins A, C and E should be given daily. Basically a combination of all fruits and veggies, make tiny fruit salads in the morning and tiny leafy salads with veggies for lunch. If your rats won't eat raw veggies, fry it for justttt a minute in some coconut oil or olive oil. Once they get used to lots of veggies and fruit in their diet, they will start accepting more raw so lightly fry just to change the taste a tad so they will go to raw later on. Ultimately, raw is the best for them, so try that first.


If your rattie is having a really hard time breathing, you can give a tiny chunk (half a chocolate chip) or pure, organic DARK chocolate (has to be dark). Dark chocolate contains theophylline which is known to help with breathing troubles.


Mataki or turkey tail mushrooms are amazing and could be used to treat myco. Rich in minerals, fibers and amino acids. Contain powerful antioxidants.


Echinacea, eucalyptus, dandelion, can all be used to treat myco also. You should do research yourself to determine which one you think would be best. Some people say they're harmful to rats, some don't. I believe if we can eat it, they can too..so it's up to you! Give small amounts daily or one leaf a week. Not sure the dosage but this seems to be the average.


One of the most common causes of a myco flair up is a dirty cage. Ammonia build up in cages will cause sneezing and can greatly increase myco flairups and makes it a whole lot worse for your little guy to deal with, let alone, get better. Clean daily and thoroughly wash once a week. Make sure to use unscented, NATURAL, nontoxic soaps when cleaning the cage or hammocks. Rats have very sensitive noses and even if you can't see it, residue from soaps is left behind and gets on your rats and into their systems. I use plain old baking soda and hot water to clean my cage and it works great.


Also, if you are using pine or cedar bedding, this is TOXIC for rats. Using bedding like carefresh is ok but I wouldn't recommend. It is made with a profit in mind, not your rats. Rats are so tiny and low to the floor that all that dust that comes from the bedding goes straight into their lungs and can cause or worsen myco. I use any fabric or old clothes I have and cut it to fit the size or my cage floors. If your rats will pull up fabric, hold it in place with binder clips. You'll need to change the fabric daily, just pop it in the wash with some baking soda. Store bought bedding also carries mites and other bugs that are NOT fun to get rid of.. My rats got mites once from carefresh bedding and the constant cleaning, medicine and sad little rats is not worth it. Bedding will sit in warehouses for months, even years, before it gets to the petshop and then sits somemore, that is how bugs get in and lay eggs. Same with food.


Always keep the water bottles fresh and wash at least once a week..dirty water bottles spread myco.


(FYI- if your rattie is ever sick from blood loss or dehydrated, coconut water is a miracle to have around! The other day, my rats got in a fight and one got a nasty tail wound, I had to hold him for one hour and apply pressure cos blood was gushing everywhere. He was so lethargic from blood loss I thought he was going to die, luckily I had some coconut water on hand and since I know it is so good for humans to rehydrate after workouts, I gave him some and within minutes he perked up and was his old self again! :) I'm really happy to find tricks like this so just wanted to pass it on. Best brand is C2O.)


If you do end up giving antibiotics, you should give your ratty some yogurt (vegan :) with live cultures because antibiotics will kill the good bacteria that they need to get better. Also, dairy will neutralize some antibiotics like doxy, so stay away from that too.


I'm not 100% sure on any of these but I'm certain it will do you good to try. Everything I've listed is natural and should be bought organically if possible (rats immune systems are very sensitive, don't get me started on GMO and pesticides...) I believe plants can be used as medicine and have healing powers we have forgotten about in todays quick-fix society. I am not a nutritionist or anything like that (yet..) I am just a 23 year old vegan that's crazy about my health and my rats, and I want to learn everything I can so I can help all the tiny rats of the world fight this infection in a TASTY, natural way, not by shoving meds down their throats (oh, don't you hate that?).


If you won't eat it, don't let your rats. That alone will do wonders for your little rat.

Not everything that is safe for humans is safe for rats. PLEASE do adequate research before trying ANY treatment and make sure there is documented research done on rats and not just on humans. If in doubt, ASK YOUR VET. - Jaguar

Asher, Toru and I just left the vet with a prescription for doxycycline 0.10ml orally, twice a day, both rats. Asher weighted 140 grams, toru 180. I have 14 days worth for both boys. PLEASE let me know if the dosage sounds right and any tips to give Toru his meds, he is really fighting his medications. the only success i have had with him lately is soaking the meds in a piece of peach. Asher on the other hand lapped up the meds like candy :P go figure!

Well it all depends on the concentration of your doxycycline really...since medications are dosed based on weight, recommended dosage and concentration of antibiotics. The mg/ml should be on the bottle.

Working backwards...if your doxy is 5 mg/ml you are mostly on track, (using 5 mg/kg as the recc. dosage) but if its more, you would need less.

Wow I just learned alot today. Thanks for all of that info! I am sorry for your loss as well as happy for your two boys.

thanks everyone! I just called the vet and it is 1 capsule of doxy suspended in 22ml of syrup. and the reason they both have the same dose is that asher is actually 160 g and toru 179, so their weights are quite close!

@therathugger-Thank you. :D

@rachellynn-thats awesome, your rats are lucky to have someone smart enough to research for them :p hope your babes get better soon!

haha thanks! me too!

So the boys are doing ok, still sneezing lots, but there is a lot less red discharge. Also, i finally got all the ingredients to make the Suebee grain rat diet, and they are VERY excited, they love it! I also got a small bottle of coconut water to see if the boys like it, just to see how they would react!

thats so good to hear!! im dealing with the same thnig with my newly rescued hairless and he hates the doxy! i tired mixing it withapplesauce and it helps a little lol but hes made huge improvements after just one day of meds! yay!!

:D I love that everyones doing better! good you are making your own rat mix, that will help them live a longer life!

I started giving mine grapefruit seed extract and that along with being in the bathroom with me when i take hot steamy showers has worked so well im really excited about it. i just got liquid grapefruit seed extract and put one drop in a baby banana smoothie (a chunk frozen banana blended with almond milk) and they go crazy for it. Almost all the wheezing is gone and its only been two days...when they started it i couldnt even sleep the cold was so loud. and they are on no meds whatsoever :) just giving them a lot of room to run around, all veggies and fruits and lots of cuddles :) i think eliminating nuts from their diet helped also and mycoplasmas thrive on the amino acids found in nuts.

hope everything works out for everyone :) p.s. did you guys see the dapper rat 2012 calendar? hahah I was dying, SO CUTE!

The ONLY success ive had with giving Toru (aka picky prince) his meds is through a peach slice. I dry off the slice so the meds stick to it. He hasnt figured it out yet and with some luck he wont ;)

Just to be on the safe side, ive TOTALLY cleaned the room where the boys are staying. I was horrified to discover so much dust, and i hope now that it is clean and a LOT less dusty, that in combination with the medicine I got from the vet they will feel lots better soon!