[minnie]

Hi

I am fairly new to ratkeeping and after reading about Myco, I am worried my rats may have it.

They sometimes sneeze a few times in a row and they have the red mucus on their noses when they wake up in the morning (but not at any other time of day)
I wouldn't say they sneezed a lot but its maybe about 5 times max in a day.

Other than that they are their usual energetic selves, have a good appetite, well natured and are the same weight as usual.
They have always had the red noses so I assumed all rats do and it hasn't got any worse or the sneezing since I got them as rescue rats 6 months ago.

They dont sound like they have any breathing probs and they are kept in a large well ventilated cage with cardboard squares (bed excel) as their cage liner.

Does anyone have any ideas?
Apart from the odd sneeze and red nose, they seem to be the picture of health

 

[rattyloving]

Rats that either came from a pet store or rescue often do have 'sensitive' resp issues throughout their lives. I am not saying they all do but inbreeding and woodshaving/sawdust/tanks all aggravate a rats delicate resp system, I know you do not keep your rats in such conditons but its highly likely where ever the rats where born was like that since well bred rats would be returned to their breeder, not a rescue.

It is also somewhat normal for them to have porphyrin (red staining) on their eyes/noses just after waking, a bit like 'sleep' in other animals. However this should be the tinyest amount and they should clean it up right away.

You sound like you are doing a grand job anyhow, if your still worried or other symptoms develop visit the vets

 

[minnie]

Phew-we (sighs with relief),

That would make sense because when I got the rats they had woodshavings in their cage. Unsure of their background but the cage came with the rats and the rescue centre only had them for a day before I got them.

Thanks for your message - I am relieved.

Glad to hear that a little redness is maybe just a bit of sensitivity.
I'll keep an eye on my little ones tho just in case


xx

 

[Dawn]

MY b oys get red from time to time.
Not as often as I thought with all that I had read about it
before I got them.

 

[ratlady]

This is definitely the early stages of respiratory if they are sneezing up to five times a day. That is more frequent than a rat without Myco symptoms. You probably know alot about Myco because it is a very common repiratory illness and information on it is not hard to find. Although it is not curable it is important that you keep a close eye on it because if it is allowed to progress it can lead to other secondary infections such as pneumonia, which results in death.

I have experienced this alot with the rats I have raised and bred so if any information may help I would like to offer it to you. I begin by making sure that the room they reside in is not full of dust, since this can be a cause of the sneezing and porphyrin staining. It is also important NOT to bed your rats on wood shavings. The dust from the shavings is detrimental to their health. May I reccomend buying old linens at thrift stores and washing them with bleach after purchasing. These make great bedding!!! I would also check to make sure that they are not located in a room where they will feel drafts (of wind).

If the symptoms fo not improve I would reccomend buying Bene-Bac. It is an awesome beneficial bacteria and most often I have found that rats love it. (I have to hide it from my rats because they are free to roam the house and if they find it I never see it again). This will increase their "good" bacteria and aid in suppressing the "bad" bacteria. If this doesn't work I would bring them to the vet in order to prevent a secondary infection from occurring. You will most likely be given a generic form of baytril along with doxycycline to treat for prevention of secondary infections. I wish you the best of luck and hope that I could be of help.

 

[rattusnorvegicus]

she is developing a respirtory infection