Help. Rat suddenly having trouble breathing

[smilez_n_hugs]

I would find a new vet personally, it sounds like the emergency vet you saw is much more knowledgeable than your vet. He should have stayed on the doxy and baytril combo for at least a month. I personally would give the doxy and baytril combo another shot and if you don't see an improvement after a couple of days then I would try an amoxicillin and doxy combo.

 

[Carol Weekes]

Other meds used for advanced respiratory issues are gentamycin or Chloramphenicol (also called chloropalm). I'm wondering if the vet should consider also giving you some dexamethasone once the Metacam wears off over a few days, as this can help really open airways. A broncodilator like amniophylline might also help with the other meds. Hope your little one is doing better. There's little worse than seeing them with respiratory distress.

 

[aranel05]

Vet gave me clavamox to use with the orbax, and a convenia injection. He gave the convenia injection because, after I tried to give him the Clavamox his breathing became worse, and it dripped out of his mouth. His breathing is extremely laboured and he is breathing through his mouth. The vet said to avoid giving him the clavomox (because of the last time I gave it to him) until tomorrow. Should I try anyway or will that make it worse. He will not eat anything. I tried to give him melted dark chocolate. I dont have a puffer. It looks like he is in a lot of pain, and he seemed to be doing so much better 24 hours ago. He's my favorite rat . I feel helplesss.

 

[aranel05]

I am not even sure if the medications that I have will be of any use. It seems like is a complete lack of medication for rats in this city.

 

[Joanne]

I'm sorry your baby is so sick.
Where are you located? Maybe someone here knows a rat vet in your area.
It sounds like your boy needs a rescue shot with steroids (Dex) to help with the immediate inflammation in his lungs, to give the antibiotics a chance to kick in.

 

[aranel05]

Do must vets have steroids?

 

[aranel05]

And has anyone had any luck with convenia?

 

[Joanne]

Eugene, Oregon. Do must vets have steroids?

Yes, it is a common drug.

 

[aranel05]

OK thanks. And how does it help?

 

[Joanne]

Dexamethasone is a steroid so it helps to reduce inflammation and swelling. There is a chance that the tubes in your boy's lungs are inflamed and therefore constricted. This may help him breathe easier. The injection can start to work quite quickly and you don't have to stress him out by trying to force-medicate him.

 

[Joanne]

Here is a link to info about the drug in rats:

http://ratguide.com/meds/endocrine_hormones/dexamethasone.php

 

[aranel05]

He is staying overnight in an oxygen tank in the emergency animal hospital, where they are hydrating him, feeding him, and administering baytril and doxy. Seems like every place I go has something different to say. The vet I saw this afternoon gave me the medications he did because the orbax (which I am told is basically baytril) and doxy did make him completely better over two weeks. Oh, and the clinic wouldn't give him a steroid shot because he still had metacam in his system, and did not want to suppress his immune system. I am going to make sure, if he pulls through this, I have him on medication for longer than two weeks. Hopefully he will be feeling better in the morning. Things aren't looking good, though, and I have been warned he might take a turn for the worst. And just a day ago he was gallopong around, chasing my fingers.

 

[aranel05]

He is back home now. Still not doing great, but doing better. He is still not breathing as well as he should be, but is no longer gasping for breath through his mouth. The vet at the emergency hospital took him out of the oxygen tank a few hours early because he was doing well. I was sent home with two weeks of baytril and doxy (She wants me to arrange with my vet long term medication before the two weeks is up. Only gave me two week's worth in cade we decide another antibiotic is better). Unfortunately, neither the baytril or the doxy is flavoured, so trying to get a very stressed, upset rat to take disgusting liquid will be pleasant. She also gave me Oxbow Critical Care for him to eat.

 

[aranel05]

Oh, and she thinks that he has pneumonia. Unfortunately, I could not afford xrays on top of all the money I had already spent on him at my regular vet, and his extremely overpriced overnight stay/check-up stay at the emergency animal hospital (Just the physical exam there is 100).

 

[Carol Weekes]

You can mix the baytril and the doxy with a bit of sweetener like honey or Nestle's strawberry syrup to try and make it more palatable. I hope your little guy can pull through. Perhaps, in a few days, they can give him the steroid shot to help reduce inflammation. All an xray would do is show you if there's scarring/consolidation in the lungs, but the other treatment would still be the same (antibiotics/anti-inflammatory), etc. He will likely have to be on baytril/doxy or some other mix of meds for quite a long time to manage this and keep it under control. This might also involve a bronchodilator like amniophylline or theophyline to help keep his airways open.

You've done what you can for him so far. Yes, vet care is very expensive, sadly, and rats, especially some, so medically-prone. Sounds like you're doing your best for the little one. Sending healing vibes your way.

 

[aranel05]

Thanks for the tip. I will look for something sweet to mix with the baytril later today. He likes cherry syrup. Maybe I will try that. I don't know if they will give him a steroid or not. If I can keep in at the state he is in now (ideally, have him improve) I don't know of a steriod will be necessary. His breathing has been getting better throughout the day since being home. I know there is talk of giving him a convenia shot in a few days. I am honestly not sure how he got better, as I know that baytril and doxy take around two days to work. Maybe the doctor was right about it being a fast acting shot, and that (combined with the oxygen) is what pulled him through.

 

[AboutPetRats]

I am so glad you were able to have your rat on oxygen. That really can make all the difference.

I still think an Xray would be helpful, myself. There could be more going on than you can possibly know without seeing an Xray. I believe I already mentioned I just recently had a rat who was having difficulty breathing and had Xrays taken. The Xrays revealed she had a tumor inside her chest that was pushing her heart to one side.

Have any of the doctors recommended nebulizing? In addition to warm, steamy bathrooms, nebulization can be a huge help.

Here are a few nebulizer treatment links:

http://www.rmca.org/Articles/albuterol.htm
http://archietherat.com/nebulization.html

This is where I bought my nebulizer: http://www.lambertvetsupply.com/Schuco-S5000-Nebulizer_p_2430.html

In case it's helpful to know about, there are lots of variables with nebulization....many different ways to do it. What's worked best for my rats is to have them in the bathroom on my shoulder or in my arms while I steam it up with a hot shower for about 10 minutes. After the bathroom mirror is fogged up, I turn off the hot shower and stay in the bathroom with my rat(s) for the rest of the 10 minute period. (I use my cell phone as a timer and place it inside a drawer so it doesn't get steamed up, too!) The steamy bathroom helps open up their air passages so they can take in the nebulization treatment even better.

After the steamy bathroom treatment, I allow the rat to be in their cage while I get a small carrier pre-misted with my nebulizer. To do this, I place a large towel over a very small carrier. (I have one that's a little bigger than a loaf of bread.) I first mist the inside of the carrier without my rat(s) in it for 5-8 minutes. (I have a Schuco S5000 nebulizer.) Then I place my rat(s) inside the carrier (that's been pre-misted) for 5-8 minutes. While they're inside I feed them healthy treats so they are less stressed out. (Examples of the healthy treats I feed are frozen peas that have been heated up, giving them one pea at a time; dried edamame or soy or garbanzo beans---again one at a time.)

This is the mixture of medications I've found successful for nebulizing. I place the following into the nebulizer cup and have this all set to go before I begin the steamy shower treatment:

Gentamicin 0.25 ml
Albuterol 0.25 ml
Saline 3.5 mls

I have definitely seen significant improvement when doing the steamy bathroom followed by the nebulization. For my rats, sometimes just the steamy bathroom helps enough. But if the symptoms are severe, I add the nebulization. I only do these treatments when my rats' veterinarian recommends it. Usually my vet will say (if my rat is very sick) to go ahead and try it and see if it helps. Not every rat will respond....so it's usually worth a try. Obviously, if the rat seems worse at anytime during the treatment, I immediately stop.

I agree with what someone previously wrote----it does sound like your emergency vet is much better than your regular vet. Can you ask the emergency vet if they know of any great rat veterinarians in your area? Where I live, a lot of vets work part-time at emergency clinics and also work in day practices and they're usually happy to give advice on the best places to take your rats for veterinary care.

I also agree with the person who wrote that veterinary care is not inexpensive and, unfortunately, rats can have significant medical problems.

I'm sending positive, healing wishes for your beloved rattie. You are doing great things for him.

Almost forgot I have a blog post on mixing medications so they're appetizing: Recipes for Success: Making Pet Rat Medications Appetizing

 

[aranel05]

Thanks for all of the advice! I should not the the non-emergency vet I am currently seeing is a different vet than the one I originally went to. He isn't as good as the exotic pet veterinarian I was able to go to when I lived in Quebec, but is open to my suggestions for treatment/medication, and provided me with his email in case I need to get a hold of him when he is not at work (which he does very promptly). So not ideal, but much better the the original vet I went to here (who screwed up my other rat's teeth). It was he who suggested I take my rat to the emergency vet (I emailed him a few hours after his clinic closed to give him thr update he asked for). The emergency vet I went to herself told me that she was not very familiar with rats, and was relying was unfortunately mainly relying on textbooks to figure out how to treat him. But I agree with everyone else, she was good. Hopefully if I keep looking I will eventually find someone who actually specializes in rats, or is familiar with them.

Thanks for the tip about nubulizer. I will see how he is doing tomorrow, and consider it. Unfortunately, I am leaving the country in two days for two weeks, and have a friend watching my rats. I have complete faith that she will do a great job pet sitting and and medicating, and will be taking him back to the vet in about five days for a check up, etc. I just wish I could be here for him during this time.

The bread-cookie medicine concealor. looks like it would work for him. I will try it tomorrow morning! Non-flavoured baytril is the worst, especially when your rat is already upset with you.

 

[aranel05]

Oh, and I have been trying to figure this out: I should not be mixing doxy with dairy, right?

 

[Joanne]

Hi, glad to hear your little man is still with you!
Yes, Doxycycline has been known to bind with calcium, so it is prudent to avoid dairy if possible within a two hour window of the medicine.