Robos dying

[iamkc]

Hello! First post! Unfortunately, it’s a sad one. We are very familiar with hamsters, Robos, rodents, and exotics. We have lots of experience with all of them. My son got a Robo a week ago, and within 3 days, she was dead. Red mucus around her nose. Vet and store concluded that she was likely sick when we got her, and the stress of her moving may have been the final straw. We have no options where we are, so we bought the two Robos the store had. They were from a different shipment, but housed in the same cage we bought the first from. They both seemed healthy and pretty chill. We had all new stuff for them, washed properly, and let them begin their acclimation with no handling or stress from us. My son offered a treat yesterday, and one didn’t eat it. Otherwise she seemed OK. Our hedgehog hates anything but her pellet food, so we didn’t think too much of it. Tonight, my son walked in and watched that one die. The other seems fine, but we are all paranoid. I was taking my other son to the doctor 3 hours away, but stopped and started calling all the vets and hospitals. All the ones familiar with Robos confirmed that everything seemed right with our setup and care. They are worried about it having caught a respiratory illness at the store. The remaining Robo seems fine for now, but I’m so paranoid. My son is devastated. No one in our town is familiar with them, so even if I were home, I would have nowhere to take her to have her checked and to get antibiotics. One local vet is willing to look at her in the morning and see if he can prescribe something preventively. I have more knowledge than he does. I can try to take her to the vet 3 hours away. But in the meantime, what can I do? I think that I know the answer, given past experience, but, ugh. Even with everything I know, I’m so afraid that I’m missing the simplest thing I can do. Everything will be sanitized once I’m home. Oh, the second one didn’t have the red mucus, so of course, it could be not showing, or a crappy coincidence of poor genetics in the little guy. I’m crying more than anyone. I just feel so sad for my son and for these tiny animals. Thank you!

[souffle]

It does sound like this is a respiratory infection. Their airways are so tiny that they have little chance if this takes hold as they cannot get enough oxygen in to their bodies and will pass away quite quickly. They spread really easily as well.
I would see the local vet and get a precautionary antibiotic. They usually give baytril and for a Robo is it literally a minute drop. I'd try mixing it in a teeny half teaspoon of babyfood .
It's best to avoid putting it in water as that can cause them to stop drinking it as it does not taste nice at all.
Hopefully this one will be OK. Don't overclean the cage just now and avoid dusty bedding. Good luck