new rat with odd behavior?

[ratchet]

Hi all! I've been lurking this forum for a while, but this is my first post, since I couldn't find an answer myself! I recently accrued a young female feeder rat 'rescue' (can't be more than several months) for my 1.5 yr old female (Jolene) as a potential companion, since I think Jolene sometimes gets lonely. I have not introduced them, and the new rat is in quarantine for the next 2 weeks (I've had her now for a total of 5 days). She is young, but thinks very little of humans -- I imagine her past interactions with them have been less-than-savory. She is her own cage away from house activities, and I frequent her a couple times a day to talk to her, get her used to me, and offer her her own isolated banana creme yogurt (which my other rat Jolene will do ANYTHING under the sun for!) if she is so inclined. So far, my tentative advances at being best friends has been snobbishly rejected (': But I keep my intrusions on the short side, and today we graduated to spending a few minutes in the tub exploring. She does not seem interested or brave when she is in her cage, but outside of it she is very willing to climb over me, up me, around me, etc. However, I've noticed when I put her back into her cage she goes into a convulsive fit of what sounds like 'sneezing' -- and I am wondering, is this normal behavior? She looks as if she's having a temper tantrum, but does not seem offended when I hold her. After several fits of sneezing she will begin to powerclean herself to the ninth degree, and I am wondering, is this just a territorial behavior or should I be worried? It does not look like bruxxing, and she doesn't boggle -- I have also observed that she does not do it unless I have handled her. The grooming after being handled I understand, but does anyone know what could be the culprit behind the sneezing? She has a peckish appetite, I've noticed, but does not seem sick or lethargic. I should note she has not demonstrated any aggressive behavior to me (yet) and while I am a little dismayed by our stunted progress, my boyfriend (who lives with me) says that he is seeing an improvement in her willingness to be handled. Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated. (:

[1a1a]

Is she sneezing or hissing? If hissing, she might also be pawing at the ground although the grooming afterwards suggests it might be sneezing.

If it is sneezing, and rapid fire, there might be something in the cage (or out of it) she is allergic to.

If hissing then she's being aggressive.....I have a rat with this same attitude problem at the moment, I'm considering having her spayed.

[ratchet]

I should update this (I couldn't edit it, unfortunately) Thank you for replying, 1a1a!

It is definitely sneezing. I've never heard my other rat make the noise she makes now though; at first I thought she was bruxxing but my boyfriend says it sounds more like someone rubbing their finger on wet glass (that scritchy squeaky noise). I am hard of hearing, so it is hard for me to discern exactly what kind of sound it is. The boyfriend says it is in time with her breathing, and thinks it may be wheezing.

I've read up on some URI information and I'm worried she may have that -- as she 'wheezes' now almost continually. I placed her in the bathroom, moderated the heat, ran the shower for 15 minutes, gave her blocks of dark chocolate in her food, added some honey and warm water into a spare water dispenser. I have compounded amoxicillin on hand, she has one fresh water dispenser and one with the honey and antibiotic in it. There are not any vets in my area that treat rats -- the closest one is 6+ hours away, and I am not sure what to do as I don't want her to suffer the car ride. I used to work for a horse-vet as an intern, so my knowledge of antibiotics is sufficient and need be I could administer amoxicillin somehow, but I am not a vet and worry.

Other than the strange noise, her sneezing has settled down a little bit. I've eliminated all sources of 'irritants', I do not wear perfume, etc, and there are not Glades or the like in the house. I've handled her minimally since I noticed her behavior, and she doesn't sneeze as much afterwards but still powergrooms. I am worried about the squeaky/wheezy noise she makes -- it is almost constant, and seems to be most prevalent when she is sleeping.

My next step is going to be to 'rat-phone' her (or rather, have the BF do it because I'm afraid I may not hear it), but like I said, she is not socialized (I just got her 5 days ago) and it is hard for me to do much other than hold her for a few minutes. I just don't want to aggravate her further if she is ill or in pain.

I should also note the store I got her from unfortunately housed her on pine, which is why I think it may be an URI. Any other insight would be greatly appreciated!

[Raturday]

Sounds like a URI. Some rats will sneeze when switching homes and that's normal, but wheezing or any congested sounded breathing along with the sneezing means a URI most likely. Definitely have your boyfriend rat phone her and listen to her lungs as well as her breathing.

[ratchet]

We rat-phoned her... Between her squeals of protest, her lung activity sounded normal (whoosh whoosh with an intermittent shorter one). She is still making those noises though (the weird rubbing-on-glass noise), but now instead of it being constant, she is clicking now. The clicking sound sounds similar to a Snapple cap being clicked back and forth (does this make sense?). A close friend of mine suggested taking the bedding out (we use something similar to KAYTEE's, which my other rat LOVES to death) and placing paper towels down. Her sneezing has dropped a little, but she was doing it in the middle of the night last night.

I have also noticed a strange smell, but it is not coming from her. She smells like rats normally do, but her cage smells similar to an infection site would smell like (and it's been cleaned 3x, 1st before she was gotten, then 2x after with a non-caustic soap). It's eating fine, passing poop and urine normally, and has destroyed the little extra paper towels and made a nest.. I'm not sure what to think..

She is still getting dark chocolate in her food, alongside the amoxicillin in her water (I have no way to administer it orally) and honey. She is also still in the bathroom (we moved her there after the episodes of sneezing started) and gets 'steamed' several times a day, and there's a space heater in there too.

[unlikelyfather]

Drugs in the water can be an unreliable source of dosing, you can't control how much she's getting of it and unless you know how it's diluted and you're dumping the water and starting over every day then it's really not ideal.

To me, this sounds like allergies or something irritating her nose. If your other rat isn't showing any signs of something irritating her airways (no sneezing, wheezing, or porphyrin) then it's likely that this girl is allergic to something.

Important: Did she sneeze mostly on you or mostly in the cage?

I know you said she sneezes after you handle her and put her back, but I don't think you are the part of this equation that is causing the issue. I believe there's something within the cage that she is allergic to or is bothering her.

What bedding are you using and what cleaner?

Furthermore, if it's more on you than in the cage, you'll want to look at the lotions and other things you're using like fabric softeners, soaps, so on.

[ratchet]

Thank you for replying!

That's what I initially thought -- that it was an allergy.. but she makes the scrubbing noise constantly, so I don't know what that is. When I pick her up or hold her, she stops making noises (save for a few indignant squeaks initially) and does not sneeze until she is put back in her cage. Then she sneezes and powergrooms.

Originally, I was using this bedding brand similar to KAYTEE's (it was something I bought because they were out of my usual preference) but I found out that my other rat really likes it, so I kept with it. When I suspected it might be the bedding, I removed the new rat and all things in her cage -- washed all items or tossed them if they were not washable or replacable. I also washed the tank, etc. I used a standard mild dish detergent to clean it, and rinsed it out thoroughly -- it doesn't leave a scent and there was no residue.

She doesn't have excess porphyrin, either on her nose or eyes. I should add, the reason why I am using the antibiotic in the water is because I can't administer it to her orally. It is being changed daily, and monitored, but you are right, it is not 100% accurate, which is why I am doing the water in ~3 oz, not filling it to the top in the hopes if it is something serious, it might help.

I should add it's been a week (since I got her) without progress as far as it getting better. But, it hasn't necessarily gotten worse either. She is still eating and active.

EDIT: I just went to double check on her, clean her water and add more, and hold her briefly. She sneezed while on me (which is a first) and I got to witness a rather unbecoming snot-bubble come out of her nose.. I put her down because she kept sneezing and opening her mouth, and once she was back in the cage she sneezed a couple times and then resorted to powergrooming again.

[ratchet]

I hate double posting but I can NEVER edit my posts for some reason.. Is it possible she would have some sort of allergy to her 'box'? It is just a simple cardboard box for Hannaford's Oatmeal.She isn't chewing or eating it, but when I got her, that's what they put her in... I never removed it, because she seemed to enjoy it as a little hut, and I figured she would want something in there that was 'familiar' with her old home and comfort. Should I remove this?

[unlikelyfather]

You said she was being housed with pine. The issue with pine isn't so much the dust (though it can be) but rather the oils which can be irritants. I would remove the box, personally. It may have soaked in the oils which are continuing to irritate her lungs and nose.

[ratchet]

Box is removed! (: Anything else you think I should do?