a vet visit can make the difference between life and death
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I'd urge you to do whatever you guys can to get your girls to the vet, only there can you get prescriptions for the antibiotics that your girls need to regain their health.
In the meantime, your brother is right, once a rat falls ill with respiratory illness, it can be a very short time before the illness kills them. You can give echinacea (though it's not a cure, it may help their immune systems a bit while you save for that vet visit), and setting up a humidifier to put steam in the air can also help their lungs. Another way to get this effect is to take them in the bathroom when you take a hot steamy shower.
But, overall, they MUST go to the vet. They need medicine, and at the vets office is the only place to get it, as they are not available over the counter at the drugstore.
Check with some local vets and see if they will allow you to clean cages, or help in some way to help cut the cost of treatment....at least you can get them in to see someone while you save up money for further veterinary care.
Sadly, a lot of people don't realize that rats can be VERY costly pets that require as much vet care as a dog or cat. You really must get together the funds to get them in for medicine and a check-up or you might just loose your little friends.
