R.I./cold in ratties

[XxRachxX]

i know a fair few of you breed ratties for lunch, but i keep em for pets, and i think my rats have a cold or an infection but it doesnt seem serious at the moment. can you guys help me? i need to know what to do to stop it getting worse?

theyre by a wall next to the window, its double glazed so no drafts but i guess it gets a little cold? im gonna move them to the floor.
one seems to be a little worse than the other should i keep them apart or would it be ok to keep em together? i dont want to go to the vets yet, so is there anything i can do at home?
thanx alot

[Lisa]

All rats have microplasmia (ss?) which is a RI (they get it at birth). It's usually inactive but it can flare up when they're stressed. I don't know if keeping them apart will be good or not.

it could also be your substrait.

[Katt]

Mycoplasma is the correct spelling. It's terminal, you can't get rid of it, only supportive care and an easy life will increase his lifespan.

[rattekonigin]

I keep rats as pets too. Don't bother separating them, it'll probably be worse for them in the long run, they'll miss each other's company. What kind of bedding do you use? Sometimes changing the bedding will help relieve the symptoms a bit. Also, you can put a couple of drops of echinacea in their water, I've heard it can help boost their immune system. Although I did try this with a couple of my myco-rats and it didn't seem to help. You can take them to the vet if you are concerned (and I suggest that you do take them if they seem to get a lot worse and are in obvious distress because it might be something other than myco if it gets bad). The vet will probably prescribe baytril and doxycycline (antibiotics). But I had the same problem with my first rats and once the course of antibiotics was over, the symptoms came right back, and the drugs can be pretty expensive (I paid over 100$ for the vet visit and a 3 week course of those 2 antibiotics).

If it's any consolation, those same 2 rats lived for nearly 3 years and never seemed the worse for wear because of their myco, and when they finally had to be put down, it was because of old age complications (tumours and paralysis).

[aaron]

I agree with rattekonigin as i had the same prob back in dec. I went through the antibiotics but one of my rats still continues to sneeze!

aaron