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Hey everyone! Long time no see!
Okey so here's what's up. A friend and I both adopted rats from the same accidental litter of pet store feeder rats (yes yes I know.. We both work there and both have other rats and when this accidental litter was born we sort of raised them and eventually took home/sold the litter to employees and willing good homes as pets as we couldn't stand the thought of them being sold as feeders once they were old enough). I took two girls, and she has one boy from that litter (and another from a separate litter). They are about 8 weeks old now and all came home with us about a week and a half ago.
All three appear super health. Clear eyes and noses, great teeth and tummies, wonderful appetites and activity levels.. Sweet as can be, thanks to being handled and cared for by our entire staff every day. Unfortunately, it seems all three are suffering a very tough case of respiratory infection. All three have had vet visits and were given antibiotics (Sxt 48? That's all the label says... I have no idea what that is. With my past rats I've always been given Baytril, even at young ages). However, after the first dose Eopie, who seemed to be doing better than Manka, is suddenly having worse distress than before. Additionally, my coworker's rat (with the same medication, same vet, though he went yesterday and mine visited today) was having such trouble that he was mouth breathing, gaping, chicken chirping with raspy, gravely breaths and had to go back for an antibiotic shot and a new medication a couple of hours ago.
Rather than try to explain the sort of sneezing that's been going on I did my best to take a few videos (please excuse the travel cage; they have a larger one, this one was for the day. Bedding is fleece changed twice weekly). Clicking on them should make them play:

Initially Manka, the Berk, was having the issues with varying degrees of that same hiccupy, chirpy sneeze (usually in fits). Then a couple of days ago Eopie, the hooded, started with it and it seems like the vet trip only made it worse (stress of the trip maybe? Though they were very well behaved and seemed to have fun there sans the actual examination. It is very cold out though they were well covered to a pre-warmed-up car each time). Every so often one of them will just have this horrible, short, wheezing gasp attack that sort of reminds me of asthma, then go on like nothing's wrong and really it's starting to scare me. If I try to listen to their lungs at some points they may sound fine, and other points they sound raspy and 'sticky', maybe?
My vet told me to keep and eye on them and call immediately if they show any more decline. I know antibiotics don't work immediately, but I'm very afraid of them making a sharp drop in health and losing them. No other rat in my house seems to be showing anything similar (everyone is separated from them other than one old girl who gets special treatment and even she's doing just fine). Should I be demanding another sort of medication? Is there something I'm overlooking? Could we be dealing with something worse than just a bad URI? I've had rats with chronic URIs in the past and some with minor ones, but never anything that sounds like this, and for what it's worth not even our feeder bin rats at the store are doing anything similar. If anyone's had any experience with anything like this, I could really use the advice while i assess this
Okey so here's what's up. A friend and I both adopted rats from the same accidental litter of pet store feeder rats (yes yes I know.. We both work there and both have other rats and when this accidental litter was born we sort of raised them and eventually took home/sold the litter to employees and willing good homes as pets as we couldn't stand the thought of them being sold as feeders once they were old enough). I took two girls, and she has one boy from that litter (and another from a separate litter). They are about 8 weeks old now and all came home with us about a week and a half ago.
All three appear super health. Clear eyes and noses, great teeth and tummies, wonderful appetites and activity levels.. Sweet as can be, thanks to being handled and cared for by our entire staff every day. Unfortunately, it seems all three are suffering a very tough case of respiratory infection. All three have had vet visits and were given antibiotics (Sxt 48? That's all the label says... I have no idea what that is. With my past rats I've always been given Baytril, even at young ages). However, after the first dose Eopie, who seemed to be doing better than Manka, is suddenly having worse distress than before. Additionally, my coworker's rat (with the same medication, same vet, though he went yesterday and mine visited today) was having such trouble that he was mouth breathing, gaping, chicken chirping with raspy, gravely breaths and had to go back for an antibiotic shot and a new medication a couple of hours ago.
Rather than try to explain the sort of sneezing that's been going on I did my best to take a few videos (please excuse the travel cage; they have a larger one, this one was for the day. Bedding is fleece changed twice weekly). Clicking on them should make them play:
Initially Manka, the Berk, was having the issues with varying degrees of that same hiccupy, chirpy sneeze (usually in fits). Then a couple of days ago Eopie, the hooded, started with it and it seems like the vet trip only made it worse (stress of the trip maybe? Though they were very well behaved and seemed to have fun there sans the actual examination. It is very cold out though they were well covered to a pre-warmed-up car each time). Every so often one of them will just have this horrible, short, wheezing gasp attack that sort of reminds me of asthma, then go on like nothing's wrong and really it's starting to scare me. If I try to listen to their lungs at some points they may sound fine, and other points they sound raspy and 'sticky', maybe?
My vet told me to keep and eye on them and call immediately if they show any more decline. I know antibiotics don't work immediately, but I'm very afraid of them making a sharp drop in health and losing them. No other rat in my house seems to be showing anything similar (everyone is separated from them other than one old girl who gets special treatment and even she's doing just fine). Should I be demanding another sort of medication? Is there something I'm overlooking? Could we be dealing with something worse than just a bad URI? I've had rats with chronic URIs in the past and some with minor ones, but never anything that sounds like this, and for what it's worth not even our feeder bin rats at the store are doing anything similar. If anyone's had any experience with anything like this, I could really use the advice while i assess this