Myco strikes again...

Separate them and get them each a same-sex friend. They need to settle in and not be stressed out by breeding and being pregnant. Wait a month and make sure they aren't having any respiratory issues.

Also, get that crap for rat food out of there. It contains nothing that their bodies can use and will only make them sick. Look at the sticky I made for a GOOD rat food mix, they will eat it all and it is very good for them. I don't even give my mice that pet store pre-mixed junk. Not worth it.

Also, do they have plenty of ventilation? Lack of proper ventilation is a main cause of respiratory disease in rats. They need alot of it, but not drafts.

woulda small CPU fan do good for sucking out air and bringing in fresh? I ask because in my old set up I had for all of my mice i placed 2 cpu fans in the tank lids, the only one that ran was to suck out old air and the other fan was to regulate the air flow coming in, so not to blow the poor mice all over the place. Other than that the lids were mesh wire.

They bread like crazy poping out babies right and left. with in 2 months of having them I had 8 litters of babies with an avarage baby count of 6 per litter.

I had more mice then I knew what to do with, but I also got my mice from a local breeder.

It's just stress and can last a few weeks to a month or better. If it stays with sneezing and a bit of porphyrin around the nose and eyes, it's ok. But if they get to the point to where they are hunched up, working to breathe(sides caving in) or aren't eating, then get them to the vet. Antibiotics are overused as it is and we don't want them to become resistant to the last few good ones out there.

So, as I said before, separate them, get them each a same-sex buddy, make sure they have good food and high-quality lab blocks, and leave them alone.

still would CPU fans like I stated above work for rats as well?

No, too drafty. You want air circulation in the room, not blowing on the rats themselves.

no no no, The air is being pulled from the top of the cage/tank/what have you. also the fan is set to 1 out of 5. 5 being for super servers with with very large and hot CPUs. 1 being for very light air movement for cpus with cooler cases around them. For the ones who have CPU fans with lights, it would be the setting only for show, cooler CPU boxes dont need fans.

in short it would be less air flow then a mild breeze out side.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

It's just stress and can last a few weeks to a month or better. If it stays with sneezing and a bit of porphyrin around the nose and eyes, it's ok. But if they get to the point to where they are hunched up, working to breathe(sides caving in) or aren't eating, then get them to the vet. Antibiotics are overused as it is and we don't want them to become resistant to the last few good ones out there.

So, as I said before, separate them, get them each a same-sex buddy, make sure they have good food and high-quality lab blocks, and leave them alone.

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Becky, are you saying that the sneezing is just stress? Mrs. Snuggles (the b/w one) is very sneezy, but doesn't have any porphyrin around the nose or eyes. She has a great appetite (eats better than Scarlett - as in she'll try most anything I offer, but not Scarlett), nice smooth coat, etc. I was getting a little concerned about her and wondered if I should return her and get one that's not sneezy - but I'm already attached to her.

No sneezies from Scarlett (but she trembles when I hold her). She's not working to breath (Mrs. Snuggles) and is not hunched over. No runny nose. And they're on your diet on your sticky.

No, they all get the stress-sneezies. Sometimes it can be allergies. But if the sneezes don't go any further than JUST sneezing, it's ok.

I always take fecal samples from Pet store rats/mice and get them checked for internal parasites. Regardless of the source. Although I've never had one have parasites from Petsmart. Petco is another story, as are small mom and pop stores.

These two came from PetSmart, and they were kept 2 to a cage (two fancy blues) and 3 to a cage (three hoodeds). One of the smaller hoodeds seemed to have some labored breathing, which now has me worried about Mrs. Snuggles. But the girl was chasing the little one around the enclosure, but I thought it could be fear breathing - but still skipped over her.


I'm keeping a hawk eye on Mrs. Snuggles. But like I said, eating well, smooth coat, clean ears, no discharge at all.

I wouldn't worry, Robin. It's not contagious, so if one in the cage had a breathing issue(probably from being too young and being stressed out from the shipping, etc), your beeb wouldn't have contracted anything from that little girl.

I've had alot of PMart rats, and they all turn out to be exceptionally sweet and calm(well... Harry has her moments and Millie is a crazy nutball of nekkidness, but you know how that goes, LoL).