Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my guy sneezes alot...is this a serious problem? if so wat can i do about it?? should i not breed him if hes sneezinglike this?

>>my guy sneezes alot...is this a serious problem? if so wat can i do about it?? should i not breed him if hes sneezinglike this?

I will answer with the assumption that this is a rat. Rats sneeze, especially on dusty or wood based bedding many many rats sneeze. I am thinking he is one of the many. You could try to get another to replace him. You could switch to a less dusty, pelleted bedding that is not wood. (alfalfa, cell sorb or yesterdays news sorts) Or you could go on with him as he is and see if it is something he will get over. He likely has a more obvious chronic mycoplasmosis. If he has blood staining around his nose and or eyes he is getting worse. Are you raising the young up? Or will you freeze or feed them before they get to a point of manifesting similar symptoms? Things to think about.
-----
Sonya

well he doesnt have any bloody nose or red eyes right now. and the babies on the way may not even be his. i use pine right now ill try to find this 'yesterdays news' stuff. thanks

Try using the shredded paper stuff that looks really fluffy. Its real cheap ($3 for a huge bag of it). Theres no dust in it.
-----
irtBikeBoy50@aol.com" target="_blank">DirtBikeBoy50@aol.comMy pets: Savanna Monitor, 2 pictus geckos,hamster,cat,and 6 goldfish.

>>well he doesnt have any bloody nose or red eyes right now. and the babies on the way may not even be his. i use pine right now ill try to find this 'yesterdays news' stuff. thanks

Your cheapest bet is rabbit pellets (as in alfalfa you feed to rabbits) here it is 50# for $8 Use about half an inch or so and it is as absorbant as any pelleted bedding. If you have a great feed store nearby you might be able to talk them in to carrying Cell Sorb Plus which is great but pricier. The cheapest I have seen it is $16 for 40#. Pine is a huge no no in the pet rat circles and since all rats but lab raised strains have chronic myco it manifests itself under stress. Some will cull out the sneezers but I found that is not always the best way to get good production.
-----
Sonya

I use aspen bedding, aside from right after I change the bedding I dont have any problems with it. The only time mine sneeze for for maybe an hour after switching the bedding out. I had a closed colony for 5 yrs and last year made the mistake of bringing someone else rats into my colony for an order I couldnt fill. This other person rats were in my facility for a day and two weeks later mine started dropping like flies from myco. I lost a 1/3 within 10 days so I gassed the rest and started over. I got rid of all the old caging, sterilzed everything with bleach and freezing, we had about 2 weeks here it was below -10 degrees so I opened the building up and let everything freeze solid after bleaching it. Then I got all my rats and mice from the labs. First generation out of the labs suck. They have a hard time adjusting from sterile enviros to normal conditions but once you get down a generation or two there awesome. I get alot higher production from them. Id get rid of those and seek lab strains if you can. Meds for myco are a waste of time I tried, I had no luck at all. At best theyll send the bacteria into remission for a while only to pop out agian in time. anyway hope this helps Jason
-----
Jason & Danica
Have you ever been so close to tragedy Or been close to folks who have..Have you ever felt a pain so powerful so heavy you collapse..I've never had to knock on wood but I know someone who has..Which makes me wonder if I could if I ever had to knock on wood..And I'm glad I havnt yet because I'm sure it isnt good..Thats the Impression that I get. By The Mighty Mighty Bosstones.
Classic Dums