'oinky' sound...?

[Krystal]

I took my 2 girls (almost 4 months old) to the vet last Thursday and they got a clean bill of health. 

Over last weekend I noticed Arsenic started making an.....oinky sound.  Almost a squeak, almost an oink.   A deep squeak maybe?  It doesn't seem to have anything to do with when she inhales or exhales, and sometimes she doesn't do it at all.  Other times, it's all she does.  She also seems a little sneezy.

Is this an excited squeak?  Is this a known serious issue?  She JUST got her lungs listened to by her vet ( who is very good).  I'm worried but don't want to run back RIGHT away like a paranoid mom

[Sugarfoxx]

Nope she sounds congested to me......call the vet.
You arent being paranoid.

You said last week right?  Alot can change in a week.  Myco flare ups creep up so fast on our rats it isnt even funny!
Waiting to see if she develops other symptoms may mean her illness is progressing and once they stop eating and drinking its real hard to get them to turn around and get well as easy as it is when they first exhibit signs.

I am super paranoid but this time I think a  return vet visit is warranted.

[scout]

And if she gets another clean bill of health, it's a noise she's deciding to make. A few of the rats I've had over the years have made a sound that I've described as warbling or cooing when they're excited or interested in something. Some get really loud and when they first start doing it are so intrigued by their own "music" that they do it constantly. Most of them have tapered down eventually as the novelty of it wears off. But I still have a couple that do it when they get very excited.

[RNPaulie]

When Ben is in the beginning stages of a flareup he makes a "grunty" piggy snort that comes through his nose and gets worse as he is running aroung..  Has been on meds four times and Baytril/Doxy combo seems to help.. Sounds like a little kid with a nose full of snot!!!!  Hope this helps

[Sugarfoxx]

The difference between congested rats and rats that are "talkers" is that the sound is coming from their chest.....which is what we dont want.  Also, when there is sneezing that is out of the ordinary (rats sneeze of course, but when they sneeze more than normal that I am talking about) along with the oinking sounds...thats another "uh oh Vet here we come!" situation.

[RNPaulie]

Just wanted to mention that every time Ben has been ill the sound only comes from his nose!!  His lungs are always clear, I don't know if it's because I get him on the meds asap or what but never congested in his lungs.  It's like a precursor to getting worse and I try to nip it in the bud.

[Siana]

Just wanted to mention that every time Ben has been ill the sound only comes from his nose!!  His lungs are always clear, I don't know if it's because I get him on the meds asap or what but never congested in his lungs.  It's like a precursor to getting worse and I try to nip it in the bud.

That's exactly what happens with my female, Buttercup.  She's been on meds 4 times now, for a recurring URI.  The first sign of a flare up is a little oinky grunty sound, however it's not coming from her chest, more from her nose.   Like your rat, it's always an indication of things to come. 

[Sugarfoxx]

Right.....when the nose is congested, its a URI and they get kind of gaggy and clogged but when its in the lungs its more like a pnemonia or bronchitis (spelling..RNPaulie you know what I mean though since your a nurse) but sometimes my rats have had what the vet thought was clear lungs and lo and behold they would end up dying and the necropsy showed pus and fluid in the lungs. 
When Twizzler died a few weeks ago, it showed he had heart failure due to a previous infection probably from SDA that damaged his heart valves.   His lungs were also full of fluid and pus from infection.  Not once did he wheeze, gasp, grunt, sneeze, have porphyrin discharge nor did he show outward signs like loss of appetite.  He was not acting one bit sick.  These rats hide it so well!!  My poor big lab rattie.  I miss his grumpy expression and his big white head poking out of the hammock when I shook the yogi box! 
Sigh
sorry to get off track.
Right now I have a congested rat, Mocha.  She had SDA and was pretty sick back in September so I am pretty worried about her despite the fact she is eating like a horse and full of energy.  I can hear her grunting and gurgling and oinking from across the room, especially when she is in her plastic waffle house......since it has an echo.
She is on baytril/amoxil combo (higher dose baytril to get her started) for now.  Hopefully by Tuesday I see some improvements or she will be changed to another antibiotic.  Like I say all the time (and Dearpie says it too!!) if your rat does not show any positive response to their medication within 72 hours, its time to change meds because its obvious that the bacteria is not responding to the medication.  Time is against us and our ratties since their health declines so fast depending on the type of infection they have. Another lousy hand dealt to our rats to go along with their short life span.
It sucks!

[liza]

As sugarfoxx said, if the sound comes from inside of her (the lungs), than that is not good. Hold your ear by her chest and see if you can hear where it's coming from. If she is just happy or excited, then maybe that's a noise she likes to utter. My darling Dante used to make fairly loud grunting noises. Almost like a piggy. Whenever I showed him a peanutcookie, he would go banana in his condo and grunt his way to Europe! Isolde makes this noise when she is really happy and just about to fall asleep on my lap. There is nothing wrong with my rats, it's just a noise they make when they are happy.
If it comes from deep down, from the chest area, that's not good and a vet visit is necessary.

[Snowy_Rats]

you should take her to the vet, if its clean, then its her choice to oink. 1 of my rats "oink"