Quote Originally Posted by ch312 View Post
i have a homemade cage in our bedroom for our 2 pet rats. they have been sneezing for over a month now but it seems to have slowed down since i started using aspen instead of the horse bedding pellets.

behind the cage, the wall has a bunch of red spots which looks like blood on the wall but im assuming its not blood? the female has red crusty stuff around her nose.

the male tried to breed her a week ago and was trying to breed her again last night so im guessing she didnt get pregnant the first time or could he just be frisky? im guessing her illness may be preventing her from conceiving?
WHY are you breeding a rat that is possibly sick and stressed? That's just going to put even more stress on her and she will likely just resorb the babies or have a miscarriage from it. Separate her and give her a dose of Children's Benadryl(0.1-0.2mL) every 4-6 hours. Getting them off of those pine pellets was a good thing. It's too dusty for them when it breaks down and pine affects rats more than it affects mice. Their respiratory systems are just too fragile.

Main thing is to get her away from the male so she doesn't end up pregnant. Get her on some low-dust bedding, like the aspen, and try the antihistamines. If she doesn't respond to those, then she'll need to see the vet for some antibiotics.