Allergies to Rats
My poor boyfriend is definitely allergic to the rats! He’s having horrendous early morning asthma attacks. I’m cleaning the rats’ cage out about every 4 days now, to keep allergen build up to a minimum, and changing their toilet litter every day. Apparently the main cause of allergic reaction to rats is their wee! Proteins from the rats’ wee are released into the air, which can drift all over your home and remain on furnishings for years!. If you clean it up before the (stinky) ammonia smell settles in, then you can minimise the allergen content. We keep the ‘rat-room’ door shut at all times, and luckily it’s got a laminate floor, so I can easily mop up any ratty pee. Even so, it’s impossible to keep all the allergen particles out of the rest of the house, so we have decided to buy a big shed for the rats. They’re turning out to be very expensive pets! Another cause for allergic reaction to small animals is their dander (flakes of skin under the fur), so I’d advise anyone with this type of allergy to get a pet lizard instead!
Today my rats have been mostly eating toasted bagel pieces with butter!
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I love ratties, but I recently developed a rat allergy. I began feeling sick about 7 months ago and now I know that it is because of my babies! I keep getting horrible rashes but I love them so much. I am on prescription allergy medication and all different inhalers. Also, we recently got a rat from a woman who could not care for her only to find out that she was pregnant! (By finding a bundle of 12 babies last night!
Hi Alice,
Oh dear - it sounds like you’ve got a monumental problem there! All I can think of off-hand is to try and minimise the amount of allergens from your rats, and find some prospectus
owners for most, if not all of the babies.
It’s heartbreaking to find out you are allergic to your much-loved pets - I know b/c I have had to make the tough decision not to get any more rats after my current group have gone. Even though I have gone to extreme lengths to stop my boyfriend from having any contact with the rats - I have them in a heated shed - it’s just not ideal.
Here’s some ideas - keep the rats in a separate room, preferably as far away as your living/bedroom as possible.
I keep a spare full-sleeved top to put on when I’m playing with the rats, and wash it regularly. I also throw a thin fleece over my legs. Tie your hair back if it’s long. Wash as soon as you’ve finished handling the rats. I jump in the shower.
Oh and most important - keep the rats’ cage as clean as you can - you are probably allergic to their urine.
Bathing your rats might help - but some hate water.
I’m ever so sorry to hear your plight - i hope you can sort something out.
In the mean time I will try and put a blog together about this subject, I’m sure lots of people have the same problem.
Julie
I know Im a little late on the subject, but I have asthma. I bought a rex dumbo from a small pet shop when I was on vacation. I did not have a problem for the longest time. I stopped taking my allergy medication a long time before the rat, as well as my inhaler. I suffered through all of my pets and became immune to them. But now lol with my rat (Dumbar) and my new rat (Payton) I am having terrible asthma attacks and sneezing. I figured I would help out with this forum for people like me.
PS: I love my rats and they are not going anywhere lol. God gave me these things and the love for animals, ill love them until the day I die (but not soon im only 19).
I can totally understand that.. I couldn’t live without some sort of animal in my life - they can give us such a great sense of calm - and never cease entertaining us!
All the best to you - I hope you build up more immunity to your ratties.
Julie
I have a cute little rattie named Kate, and the past two nights i’ve stayed up with my right eye itching and burning and watering like crazy. I took some benadryl and it didnt help but i just tried some Claritin and it works really well.
Does anyone else have other pets that are allergic to ratties?
I recieved a pet rattie for christmas and I absolutely love her!! I never experienced any allergies to her for the 2 weeks I had just her. I decided she needed some rattie friends so today I rescued 2 ratties and baught a huge cage. I brought them home and ever since then, i have been sneezing, caughing, itching, and sniffling :(. I have never been allergic to anything before, so I don’t know why I would be allergic to these little cuties now….I really don’t want to get rid of them but are there any medications I could take for this?? So sad!!!
Hi Torey
Oh dear, it’s sounds like you might be allergic to your rats. If the allergies aren’t too severe and you are willing to live with them, you could get antihistamines and try that. If you have full-blown asthma though, is it worth keeping pets that make you sick? It’s only a decision you can make. If you decide that you can live with your allergies, I would suggest keeping the rats in another room which is furthest from where you sleep, and keep their cage very clean. I mean change bedding and toilet area every day. It may help a little. The allergens are most probably coming from your rats’s wee, so bear this in mind. I had mine in a seperate room for a while and kept the door shut at all times, and wiped down the floor where they played regularly. This might seem extreme but my boyfriend had a severe allergic reaction to them at the time. I sincerely hope you can work something out and still be able to enjoy your rats
Julie
we got my children pet rats for christmas, and i was fine for about 2 months. Unfortunatley we got 2 girls and a boy, and ended up with 13 babies. I suffered for over a month with breathing problems. I cant bear to get rid of the rats as they are my children’s pets. My doctor has told me i have asthma. we switched from woodchips to carefresh bedding, and changing the cages every couple of days. unfortunately like you, we had to move the rats. they are now confined to the basement, which breaks my heart. but they will soon have their own room where the hubby and kids cantake them out to play whenever they want.
Glad you could sort something out and still keep your rats
Hi everyone,
I just want to say I know how everyone feels about their allergies as I have both asthma (since I was about a yr and a half my mom said) and really bad allergies, especially to cats. I’ve never been able to cuddle with a soft fuzzy animal, let alone even sit on a couch that had fur on it. I always had to wash my hands immediately after petting a cat or dog and if my arms touched them I would break out in a horrble rash.
Anyway, I had always wanted a rat but was afraid to have one. Well, my mom bought me one for my b-day after going to the pet store with her and fell in love with a white male dumbo. I noticed that where he scratched me a little was red welts and itchy, but I thought I can handle this I’ll just wash really good after holding him and never let him on my shoulder around my neck. At first I used the Care Fresh bedding and noticed I was sneezing from it and got all stuffy. So I got online to try and find something better that other people used and I did. So, if everybody loves their ratties as much as my fiance and I do and if you don’t mind spending the time to do this, it REALLY helps with the allergies and breathing trouble. We’ve stopped using the care fresh as bedding and instead we took some old sheets and cut them up into small pieces, not too small, and use that as bedding and change it EVERY day and use the care fresh in there litter boxes. Now, you’ll have more laundry to do but it’s worth it. We also bathe them every day after cleaning their cages. What we do is have a bucket with soapy water and one with rinse water, we take a wash cloth and with soapy water give them a good rub down, careful not to get water in their ears, then a wash cloth in the rinse water and rub them down really good, then of course a dry towel to dry them really good. They do squirm a lot though, that’s why my fiance does it, he’s got bigger hands and tougher skin. So, like I said, if everybody loves their ratties as much as we do, then all that work is worth it. And guess what? Not one problem with my allergies, except when they scratch me really good, and no breathing problems.
Sorry that was so long.
Hi Tonya,
Reading your post might help other people with the same problem too, so thanks for taking the time to write down your experience.
So glad to hear you could sort something out so that you could enjoy your rats without suffering too much with your allergies
Have fun with your ratties,
Julie x
Hi I have 3 male rats and have had them over a year now. For the first 6 months I was absolutely fine no allergy or anything. One day I woke up really struggling to breathe, sneezing all the time, blocked up and runny nose, puffy eyes the usual.. I went to my GP who said I had asthma brought on by an allergy.. I was put on antihistemines, steroids and inhalers.. I then noticed everytime I handled my beloved rats I had a red rash with white raised dots all over my arms, neck , chest and shoulders.. I then found out this was another allergic reaction called hives
I can’t bare to part with my babies so I take my prescribed meds and make sure I have an inhaler to hand.. I still have cuddles and kisses with my boys but make sure I wash my hands straight away…
I bath them regularly and have changed their bedding for towelling and old sheets and changed to cat litter and it’s made a huge difference!!
Good luck rattie lovers x
So glad to hear you have managed to find a way to live with your rats and minimize your allergies
The toweling and old sheets is a good idea - not so much dust is created, hopefully this will help others too 