[Teapig]

Hello... I'm still kind of new to rat owning so I don't know about this kind of stuff yet, bare with me.

One of my 10 m/o male rats (out of 6) has been having noisy breathing for about a week and a half now. Some days it seemed better, but recently it sounds a bit worse and more constant than it had been.


I've been taking him to the steamy bathroom, feeding him dark chocolate, making him echinacea tea, too. The steam helps temporarily and he doesn't like the chocolate anymore. He's also the only adult to not like to eat Booster, of course. :/


I adopted him 3 months ago, and out of his 2 brothers he is extremely skiddish and hates being picked up or even touched, he'll fear poop. I spend time with them every day but it makes no difference. I believe he's close to being blind, and not mentally healthy, he self barbers for no reason and is just... kind of weird acting compared to everyone else.


So I've avoided taking him to the vet, and also because I took my other baby rat to the vet due to the same thing a few weeks ago and he was 100% better on his own the next day before I could even give him his Baytril (I still gave him the week's dose). I took him because his noisy breathing was nonstop, but this guy's isn't, so I thought he may get over it himself.
Also a vet visit + Baytril is $80+ here... and means 6 hours of driving there and home because I live very far away from my rat vet. No closer vet will see a rat.


So I'm just wondering; is it guaranteed he will develop pneumonia if I do not take him? Is there a chance he'll get better on his own? His behaviour is unchanged, except for the fits of clicky/wheezy breathing. He'll sneeze/cough and it will stop. He doesn't even have any porphyrin whatsoever.


Thank you.

 

[Mball77]

I would take him in. Dealing with pneumonia is beyond awful if it does develop. My rat always sneezed, long story short, he got pneumonia later in life after, even after we learned to maintain his sneezing after multiple vet visits through out his life. It was terrible, he survived the ordeal but I had to hand feed him soft vegies for two days and get him a hydrotherapy shot to deal with him being to weak to drink. Trust me, spending the $80 to get some preventative antibiotics now will be better then spending $400 - $600 later. He might not even survive the 6hr drive to get to the vet if that happens.

Is there anyway your vet could talk to a closer vet about just picking up medication at a different office? If its 6 hours you could pick up a food scale yourself to weigh your rat and tell them the results.

 

[Teapig]

Okay, thank you for your input was the hydrotherapy shot the thing that was that expensive?

well it's actually a 3 hour drive there but it'd be 3 hours to drive home again... so not 12 hours total but 6 driving.

No, vets here will not give you medication without seeing the animal themselves. I asked every vet close to me, and the one 3 hours away is the only one who would even see a rat. :/ there's a terrible and unprofessional "vet clinic" that's infamous around here that's only 10 minutes away, and they straight up told me they wouldn't see rats because they don't like them. And there's one that's only an hour away but they will not see rodents. Which is dumb... because you don't even have to look at him or touch him to hear his breathing... and I know what medication I need. So frustrating.

 

[Mball77]

The shot wasn't bad or the steroids. In my case it was the x-ray which to be honest probably wasn't necessary but informative. It helped determine it was a respiratory issues and not a stroke at best. Nimbus' left lung was scared, again in truth they had no idea if it was old or new because of his history with respiratory issues. What was expensive were all the tests to find out what Nimbus had.

After re-reading your post, what kind of bedding do you use and have you tried changing it? (I suggest using newspaper and torn up paper towels to see if that changes anything,) Can you get a humidifier? That did wonders for me. Try dusting the area (while they are not in the room). We are lucky our emergency clinic talks with the vets in the area, I hate going there, they just has an MRI or CAT scanner explode. Also just try cleaning with water to see if its the cleaner you use. You might be able to beat it before you take the trip. My I ask which area you live in?

Also, is he still lively and eating normal?

 

[Teapig]

Oh, ok, good to know...

I use fleece, and I might be able to find a humidifier. I'll look into that. I use a 3 parts water to 1 part vinegar solution to wipe down things, when I do. but usually I just wash the shelf liners with non scented detergent.

I'm in Canada, and yeah, he is not acting any different. Still excited over food and treats.

 

[Mball77]

ok, I would say then maybe wait until he slows down or shows some pink or red spray in the bedding, I'm a touch concerned of how long its been but see what works. Its dry out in the winter so maybe that's all it is.

 

[Teapig]

Yeah that's what I was thinking too. It sounds bad to hear him, but otherwise he's totally ok... confusing. Guess I'll just have to trust my judgement. Thank you so much for your input, I really appreciate it and will update if I end up taking him to the vet