my rat lennie has scabby paws and is sneezing constantly and also sounds really snotty! im worried but what can i do for him?

ok i have isolated him in another cage now

I would pop him along to the vets, it sounds like a respiratory infection to me

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I would not seperate him from his cage mates as this is only gona stress him and may make him worse.

I would get him to the vets first thing on monday. He may have a respritory infection. Dunno about scabs on his feet but might be mites. You can get mite stuff from most pet shops but in the mean time if you have olive oil in the house put a small drop on him and it will sooth the itching.

Hope hes on the mend soon.

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I wouldnt seperate him either as the stress could be harmful to him. With the respiratory problems and the scabs on the feet it could suggest an allergy to the bedding that you are using, or maybe the washing powder you use to wash the hammocks. Hope the vet is able to sort it out for you.

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gsds (Henrick and Bella), the cats (Syd, Lilly, Elvis and Dizzy), the gerbils (Honey, Lisa, crusty, Millhouse, Flanders, Bart and Homer), the rats (Valentine, Flower, Petal, Blossom, Koda, Cava, George), the mice (Minnie, Pop, Seudag, Caraid, Silver, Trouble, Athena, Pandora, Aphrodite, Meep, and Springtime)

What type of cage are you using?

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thank you for the advise! thought i was doing the best thing by isolating him to stop whatever it is spreading but have now put him back! he also has not grown!! he is smaller than his sons??

How old is he? Do you have any pics of him?

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take to the vets immediately.

rats shouldn't be isolated at any point unless they are badly injured, in which case they should be taken to vets asap and then if needed housed separately with a friendly rat until healed.

he could be the runt of his litter, any offspring wouldn't necessarily be as small as him. if he is a criminal-genius then he's a runt.

make sure you don't have anything in/on the cage that could cause chaffing on their skin, such as rough plastic edges, lots of broken plasticote on the bars where they climb, some bird perches are too abrasive for rat feet so shouldn't be used etc..check the others out too for any skin problems.

what sort of bedding are you using?

how often do you clean the cage/poo trayout? he could be getting sores from wet bedding, faeces or old bedding could just making them worse (not saying you don't clean out often enough, just saying more often might be helpful for his broken skin to heal quicker once you find out the cause).

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You can give him a tiny piece of garlic (about a quater of a clove) it helps them breath a bit better. If you use a dust free wood cat litter it could help the sneezing.