Rat making odd clicking noises?

I have a blue dumbo that I'm using as my main breeder, but I've noticed that he makes a lot of loud pseudo clicking/squeeking/wheezing type of noises. It just started getting louder last night and none of my other rats make that type of sound. Any suggestions or is this normal? Sorry for the vague description...

Respiratory issue. Caused by dust, cedar, draft, etc.

Rick

Thank you for the quick response...So will it clear up on it's own or do I need to take a trip to the vet?

I don't use cedar...I use Equinefresh and he's in the living room area, so he's not in the basement like the rest of the rats...

Actually, in an odd way it sounds kind of like a squeeking bed...

Are you describing a sound he makes when breathing or could it be he's just bruxing? Bruxing is a teeth rubbing behaviour rats do when they are very happy. You'll often see it accompanied by eye bulging, another happy rat behaviour.

Have you noticed any red staining around his eyes or nose?

I'm assuming it's the breathing because it's in pace with his little sides going in and out...I don't see any of the red/staining of myco, pneumonia or RI...The only thing is the weird sound while breathing...

He plays well, eats good and doesn't seem lethargic in anyway...

But I will listen to see if it could be the bruxing...

Clicking is almost always a respiratory issue in rats. You will want to find the cause. Typically it's cedar shavings, drafts, cleaning supply residue, or even if you are not cleaning the cage often enough. Clicking is often overlooked by the average person until it's too late because they think "Ohh.. its so cute, my rat is talking." and that's not the case.

If left untreated it will likely kill the rat. You can try fixing the problem and then make sure the rat gets plenty of fresh water and a good nutritional rodent block. I would try a different bedding, like aspen pine or shredded paper for a little while too. You can go to a vet and get some oral antibiotics too.

Rick

I found products like Equinefresh to be quit dusty.
I bought a bag and used a bit, the rest sits unused.

Aspen is my choice of rat bedding, but I've used old clothing tore up, especially with moms for nest making.

Mycoplasma is common in most rats, it's a respiratory disease with no cure. It's common in the majority of rats you'll get, it starts as sneezing, snifling, porphyrin stains, head tilting or neck rolling, once it hits the lungs it starts to show in signs on respiratory infections. It's incurable, and can be expensive to treat with the use of multiple types of antibiotics together but usually it makes abcesses on the lungs and eventually kills the rat anyways. I've found all my rats, my mother, the father, the three weaned babies, and the eight fuzzies have it. Had the vet check it out. I've lost a lot of pet rats to this already, spent a lot of money on trying to treat it. Maybe it's not the same issue but most rats have it. And yes, I clean the rat cages with a mild soap and water solution, let it air dry, then replace the bedding with something like paper towels or cloth (for my mothers), they always have fresh water and food, I spend more time with the rats than my snakes.