I'm in love....beautiful rat!

[JordanAng420]

For the record...Benadryl is an antihistamine, not an antibiotic. Regardless, it should only be used under direct supervision of a vet, as stated previously.

If you plan on keeping this rat, I would have it seen immediately rather than "waiting to see how things go". Small animals deteriorate very quickly, and things can go South in the blink of an eye if medical assistance is not provided at the right time. Many times, small animals come in too sick to save, and usually by the time they're showing a few symptoms, it's too late.

So hopefully, if you get this kid to the vet sooner rather than later, you can nip the possible resp. infection (if that's what it is) in the bud...While you're at it, bring a fresh stool sample for analysis.

Good luck, and yeah, she's really cute!

[shelliebear]

I have to rehome her anyway. I guess I'll tell whoever might want to adopt her on Craigslist that she needs to see a vet. She's so adorable, I love her.
My mom won't let me keep her. The only thing that scares her more than the snakes is a rat or mouse.

[shelliebear]

Also, she is still sneezing and we have had her since Thursday. It's less often than it was, I think.
I don't see any mucus out of her nose, her ears look fine but I'm no expert. She's acting normally and eating normally. Her stools also look healthy, no diarrhea or anything like that. I'm not sure if that makes a difference.

[rabernet]

For the record...Benadryl is an antihistamine, not an antibiotic. Regardless, it should only be used under direct supervision of a vet, as stated previously.

If you plan on keeping this rat, I would have it seen immediately rather than "waiting to see how things go". Small animals deteriorate very quickly, and things can go South in the blink of an eye if medical assistance is not provided at the right time. Many times, small animals come in too sick to save, and usually by the time they're showing a few symptoms, it's too late.

So hopefully, if you get this kid to the vet sooner rather than later, you can nip the possible resp. infection (if that's what it is) in the bud...While you're at it, bring a fresh stool sample for analysis.

Good luck, and yeah, she's really cute!

You are correct, and I meant to say Baytril, not Benadryl (I had Benadryl on the brain since I'm currently taking it for some allergies).

[Jay_Bunny]

You can also use Tetracycline (a fish antibiotic) to treat mild respiratory infections. (Please note I said MILD respiratory infections. A serious infection needs antibiotics prescribed by a veterinarian). I have used this medication to treat infections before with success.

It is a shame you have to re-home her. She is a cutie! That is the problem with rats. They are too darn cute for their own good! So many people see them as disgusting, disease carrying vermin and it is such a shame. They make great pets. I hope you find her a good home.

[shelliebear]

Where can I buy tetracycline? And how do I tell if it is mild or not? She has no mucus but she sneezes quite a bit. I changed her bedding to paper towels, she's still sneezing. A lady at a pet store said it might be vitamin A deficiency so we are giving her some parrot snacks that have red dried peppers in them, hoping it will help. Other than that I don't know what to do. She acts normal other than she seems to rub her nose a good bit, but my old mouse did that too.
Until we can find a home for her we bought her a companion female mouse. Since we named the white one this thread is about Chips, we named her new friend "Potato." They snuggle a lot.

[dr del]

Hi,

I thought rats normally killed mice?


dr del

[Theartisticgemini]

I rescued one of my feeders before. Turned him into a breeder and saved a ton of money on feeding since then.

More importantly tho i saved the lil guys life

[Elise.m]

Hi,

I thought rats normally killed mice?


dr del

Whenever I bring home mice and rats in the same box, 99% of the time I hear fighting in the box, and most of the time I just hear the mouse sqeaking. One time though, the mouse actually had all 3 rats huddled up in a corner. He had a big ego!

Hope everything goes well.