Rat People: Need Advice / vet in North Mississippi

[AnnShh]

Question for those of you who have rats. Rebel sneezes or makes little "pfft" sounds quite frequently. Remy does once in awhile but nowhere near the amount that Reb does. I'm assuming the "pfft" sound is due to sickness (upper respatory?) and not normal rat sounds?

I'd love to get him to a vet for an exam, but I'm having a hard time finding one to treat rats. I never would have guessed it would be so hard to find a vet to treat a rat. Does anyone know of any around? All the ones in Oxford don't treat them. The ones I've called in Tupelo (an hours drive) don't treat them. I was told from one vet that the closest one that might treat them is in Memphis, which is 1.5 hours away. If he needs a vet then I guess I'll drive to Memphis, but I first wanted to ask in the off chance that this is just a sound they make.

He's eating/drinking normally, interested in his surroundings/exploring, etc.

 

[menagerie]

Occasional sneezing is usually just sneezing. Chronic sneezing could very well be a respiratory problem.

How close are you to Little Rock, AR? This vet comes highly recommended.

Little Rock, AR
Dr. Marilynn Baeyens
North Hills Animal Clinic
7801 JFK Blvd
North Little Rock, AR 72116
Phone: (501)835-3577

Here's one in TN

Collierville Animal Clinic
S.B. McGee, D.V.M.
474 US Highway 72
Collierville, Tennessee
38017-2516 USA
Tel: 901-853-8519
Fax: 901-853-4087

 

[AnnShh]

Unfortunately Little Rock is over 3 hours away from where I'm at. The one in Collierville is a little over an hour away so I will call them in the morning. I don't have a good feeling about him... the more I watch him the more I think it's a respatory issue so I am going to try to get him seen as soon as possible. Hopefully they treat rats (I never realized how difficult it would be to find a vet to treat them...) and have appointments available. I pray that I never have an emergency that requires them to be seen quickly...

 

[menagerie]

Exactly where are you located?

 

[AnnShh]

I'm in Oxford, MS.

 

[AnnShh]

I called Collierville Animal Clinic and made an appointment for Monday at 3pm. They were the first vet out of about the 10 I called that took rats and that was the soonest they could get me in. He now has some nose crusties... hopefully Monday is soon enough.