Rats with "the sniffles"

[emroul]

Hey everyone,

I recently decided to start a small breeding group of rats since some of my ball pythons are being pickier than usual. :mad: Anyway, I had acquired 1.3, and I think one has been sneezing since I brought her home. I was thinking about putting her down in case she passes it on to the others, but then figured it probably didn't matter too much, and it's probably common. Well now, 3 weeks later, they all have the sniffles, and it's kind of an aggrevating noise (since they are in the room that I sleep in) not to mention I don't really know if it is dangerous for them. I guess my overall question is, should I start all over with 1.3 different rats so they do not pass this on to their future litters, or is it like a 'common cold' that passes after it has run its course?

Thanks in advance,
Jennifer

[Lisa]

what substrate are you using? if you are using cedar or pine that could be causing the issue.

[emroul]

Well, ever since they have been in my care, the substrate has been newspaper. But I got them from my work (a reptile center) and there they were kept on aspen.

Jennifer

[annieb_mice]

It sounds like they have "myco" which is common among almost all domesticated rodents. Normally myco is present in over 95% of rats/mice and you don't notice it too much, however it can flare up if you are using pine or cedar shavings, both of which contain phenols (though cedar is much worse) which irritates the respiratory tract.
Other things that can cause myco to flare up include certain foods, poor ventilation, and overcrowding.
There are medications you can use to help alleviate the symptoms, Baytril being the most common. But as these are feeder animals, I would suggest checking everything out to make sure there is nothing that could aggrivate the condition, and if it doesn't clear up soon, start over with fresh rats.
Good luck.
Annie B. <:3 )~~

[RICHJ]

Is there any truth in that rats can catch human colds ?
I read it in a care sheet somewhere.
Does anyone in your works have a cold ?

[emroul]

Originally posted by RICHJ
Does anyone in your works have a cold ?

I don't believe so. :confused:

[mice4you]

They have SDAV. It's fairly common in rats. Labs guarantee their stock but they aren't cheap.

The rats can live with it. They will just constantly sniffle

[Linds]

Originally posted by RICHJ
Is there any truth in that rats can catch human colds ?
I read it in a care sheet somewhere.
Does anyone in your works have a cold ?

Rats cannot catch human colds, nor can dogs or cats. Most viruses are species-specific.