Depression issues?

[sickpink]

This post might be a little all over the place but here we go.

I had two males living as cage mates (Gizmo 2.5 years, Moggy 1.5 years) for well over a year before I started having aggression issues with Moggy.
One day out of the blue he had left a large gash on Gizmos neck and I could not figure out why.
Eventually, I figured out it was a food issue and separated the two.
They still had supervised play time, but keeping them in the same cage kept turning into nasty fights.
Recently I had lost Gizmo, and I am assuming Moggy has noticed.
Since then he has not been eating very much, if at all. Very lethargic, just sits in his hammock.
I had taken the two to the vet a few weeks prior to losing Giz and they both had been losing weight at the time. Moggy has been battling some respiratory issues as well.
He does not touch solid foods, I can sometimes get some baby food into him. He's also not cleaning himself very well, and I am at a loss because I fear he will also be aggressive to another rat if I were to try and get him a friend.
Does anyone have any advice for me?

 

[Tazy]

It sounds like both your rats had some health (perhaps respiratory) issues going on even prior to Gizmo passing. Respiratory problems in rats can start out extremely subtle, without hardly any notice by the owner, before the symptoms get more pronounced. Maybe Moggy took a turn for the worse after he lost his buddy, even though they would fight a lot.

Are you still treating him for the respiratory problems?

Also, have you tried giving him more cage-free time, and more one-on-one play time with you? maybe see if you can increase giving him more attention with you to get him engaged.

I made chicken broth for my rats when they were not feeling well, did not want to eat much, and became lethargic. They liked the chicken broth. It made sure they stayed hydrated and still received nutrients. Then I would just give them a whole, slightly meaty, chicken leg bone from the soup, and they loved nibbling on that.

 

[SQ]

Has Moggy been to see a good knowledgeable vet?
He sounds very ill.
Is his breathing laboured? When you hold him up and listen to both sides of his chest can you hear sounds?

It sounds like he needs to be on proper antibiotics asap or he will die. He may also need Lasix in the short term, depending upon what is wrong.
He likely needs baytril or baytril + doxycycline or baytril + azithromycin (10 mg/Ib), orally twice a day for at least 6 weeks if it is helping. If antibiotics do not help within a few days then you need to try a different antibiotic or combo.
Please taken him to a good vet asap

He probably is not eating because it is hard to breath and eat at the same time
Rats become ill and die fast so when you notice they at ill, they need immediate medical care

(and yes you are right to be concerned about him living alone but it sounds like right now he needs to get medical care asap)
http://ratguide.com/health/bacteria/mycoplasma_mycoplasmosis.php
http://ratguide.com/health/cardiovascular/congestive_heart_failure.php

 

[sickpink]

I have been taking my rats to the same vet for a couple years, they have normally been very good in treating them. (I also had two girls a bit ago)
I sometimes hear squeaking in his lungs, some days its subtle others i can hear it pretty well.
When he is out for a bit like running around it seems to get worst.
He was being treated with Clavamox I believe for a bit, it seemed to be helping but then when Gizmo passed he just went back to the same way again.
I am going to try to get some Baytril and see if that helps (That's what my girls were on when they had some issues) and it cleared up after a week or so.

 

[sickpink]

Yeah I am thinking that losing Gizmo probably stressed him out and caused him to get worse.
Gizmo never had any respiratory issues, the vet could not find anything wrong health-wise other than he had been paralyzed in his back legs for a couple months before he passed.
I am going to try the chicken broth, he used to really love chicken as a treat so hopefully he will drink it.
And I am going to try to get my hands on some baytril and see if that helps at all. He was on clavamox for a bit and I'm not really sure if that helped much if at all.

 

[SQ]

http://ratguide.com/meds/antimicrobial_agents/enrofloxacin_baytril.php
http://ratguide.com/meds/antimicrobial_agents/doxycycline.php
http://ratguide.com/meds/antimicrobial_agents/azithromycin.php

In order to recover from a resp infection, rats need to be on antibiotics that are helping for at least 4 weeks, and I and some others have found that they need to be on antibiotics for at least 6 weeks. One week on antibiotics is not enough and while symptoms may be reduced or absent, they are not well and symptoms will reappear

Clavamox works well for secondary infections and some other issues
Sometimes several antibiotics or combos need to be tried (unless you have a culture tested to see what antibiotics it is sensitive to) before you find the antibiotic or combo that will work - I would suggest that he immediately see a vet and try baytil + another antibiotic because it doesn't sound like he has much time left