How do i help my baby with his breathing

[gottalovethis]

Took Baby Bear ( 7month old rattie ) to emergency vet last night, they diagnosed an infection ,and prescribed baytril... But his breathing is still so hard , although he did well while on oxygen at the vets. I have him in a steamy bathroom right now and that seems to be helping ..along with ( and im not sure if this is ok) little noses saline spray ( its for babies with stuffy noses ). I love Baby Bear, he is the sweetest rat..( started life as a feeder for my sons snake ..yes i know..but snake didnt eat him, and i hand raised him from a pinky..with feedings every hour until he opened his eyes), he comes to his name, watches movies!!! and just is a sweetie, loves to cuddle. I will do anything for this rat..no matter the cost. If anyone has any info , advice, anything...that would help until the meds kick in..i hate to see him like this...the vet said his prognosis was good...and im hoping that is the case because i would be devastated if he passed away so young.

 

[lilspaz68]

Can you take a video of how his breathing is?...full rat not just a closeup of his sides. Or even pics will tell us a little how he's feeling?

Do you want us to double check his baytril dosage and make sure it is right for him? We would need the baytril concentration (mg/ml) and his approx. weight.

 

[gottalovethis]

I cant take a video of his breathing, have no way to do that, but it is labored, his not panicking, just calm ( but his always been calm).. His dosage 0.2mls every 12 hours, while at the vet they did give him fluids ( under the skin and oxygen like i said did help but by time we were home he was breathing hard again )..im a worrier, i just know his not himself.

 

[gottalovethis]

will post a pic in a few mins.

 

[EDK]

When my boy had labored breathing (he was about 3months however) he was put under doxy and Nebulization Therapy, which is basically steam therapy with antibiotics (not baytril as my vet felt he was too young and would cause more harm then good). The machine isn't cheap, but it enables you to steam your rat with antibiotics they inhale, its more effective. If his breathing is labored and you can actually hear it, then I think you should treat him more aggressively meaning Baytril/Doxy and Nebulization Therapy. My boy didn't make it, granted he was much younger then yours, and my previous vet treated him with the new antibiotics that is a 'cousien' to baytril, known as orbax, which is still new on the market and wasn't effective with my boy, and frankly my previous vet just didn't treat this aggressivly enough. I took him to another vet (who remains as my vet to this day) and he was perscribed with doxy and Neb therapy, sadly he was too far gone and was suffering and we were forced to put him down. I'm not saying your boy is in danger, but I would treat this more aggressievly if you can hear his breathing being labored.

 

[gottalovethis]

 

[gottalovethis]

If he is in the steamy bathroom, he acts like his normal self, but once out of that enviroment his back to labored breathing...is his dose high enough, is it often enough, his reg vet is closed on wkends..and so this is the only emergency vet in our part of town, ( so its not cheap..150.00 for last nights visit )

 

[lilspaz68]

What was the mg/ml on your bottle of baytril? 20 mg/ml? 50 mg/.ml and do you hvae a guess at his weight?

His eyes aren't dull, he looks like he may be sick but not deathly ill.

What do you his lungs sound like when you listen to them (hold his sides to your ear and tell us what you here...we call this rat phoning).

When you say laboured, is he really struggling to breathe or is it just rapid, or different than his usual. Laboured to us is a desperate situation and means the rat is struggling for each breath it takes.

 

[gottalovethis]

I just hear his heart, when i listen to his sides, ..when he breathes his sides go in, he is always making noise..the sound his making right now is like a kitten purring..the Baytril is 12mg/ml and he takes 0.2ml every 12 hours, he has only had one dose he is due a 2nd around 12.30 today, the saline to the nose seems to help, so does the steamy bathroom...again im a worrier when it comes to sick pets, he moves around, but not away from me, he wants to be next to me, or on me, ( he does have cage mates, but he doesnt care for them prefers me and begs to get out of the cage), to the point i had him free roaming ( he uses a litter box ) hate to say it ..because i know someone will say different...but he doesnt think his a rat... he doesnt play with the other rats, nor does he want to be with them ..i am his rat of choice.

 

[lilspaz68]

Well that is a good sign, with no lung sounds so you can breathe a little easier now.

He might just have nasal congestion. Any way that the "purring" is bruxxing when he's grinding his teeth together or is the sound coming from his nose? Does he have any porphryin (red discharge) coming from his nose or his eyes? Does he sneeze a lot?

 

[gottalovethis]

I picked him up and the sound is a little from his nose, mainly then it is bruxing just louder than usual, as it increases when he climbs on me or is sitting on me..if i put him down it sounds like a snuffy nose sound NOT as loud. he has NO red discharge, it is clear...and just a sml amount from nose, eyes are free of discharge ( im starting to feel more at ease now ).. I do not know what he weighs, they didnt tell me.., he doesnt look like he has lost any weight to me..he only started showing signs yesterday, and as soon as i saw he wasnt himself...went to the emergency vet to get him checked, he is not interested in food as yet today, nor water, but i keep offering it to him..he was dehydrated last night, but so far when i gently pull his skin it bounces back..doesnt stay sticking out like it did last night...can i start breathing again now!!! this is the first time he has ever been sick..but i guess respiratory infections are common...OH BOY!! he eats a varied diet ( with the occasional sml treat..hate to say it but he loves a piece of oreo cookie once a month..) but i try to keep his diet as healthy as possible, lots of veg, and fruit, some organic dog food ( lady at petsmart with rats told me that?? ) no corn, no citrus...but he does like nuts, ( no peanuts ) and baby cereal ..occasionally some canned cat food??? again please tell me if this is all ok..i want him as healthy as possible..i occasionally let him have a healthy trail mix..with coconut in it..and nuts and seeds.

 

[lilspaz68]

Is his staple the dog food or do you feed a lab block? As for cat food, I would remove it entirely as its just too much protein and the overall idea is low protein, low fat, low sodium and low sugar as best as you can for a staple diet. The treats in moderation are fine Fresh corn is fine for rats, ground corn in things is fine, but whole dried corn like in feed mixes is not fine, as it can develop a fungi that is dangerous to rats.

As for the bruxxing more when he's on you it means he loves you

 

[gottalovethis]

his regular diet is a mix of everything, veggies, ( green beans, peas, squash a mixed veggie blend...vegetable lasagna, pasta, with a bit of the dry dog food thrown in..) occasionally hard boiled egg, I was told to stay away from Blocks, ( although i do buy alfalfa ? ) what he eats one day to the next changes but it is always something that he has had before..he does eat rice, he has eaten small amounts of chicken.....again please tell me if there is something here he shouldnt eat, he eats, apples, peaches, strawberries, grapes...( he cant stand raisons!! ) pears, yougurt with blueberrys...bannanas..
i know he loves me..but its nice to have it confirmed lol.

 

[SQ]

Can you find out his weight? (We can help figure out the correct dose)
At 12mg/ml, if he is getting 0.2 ml, then he is only getting 2.4 mg of baytril.

The baytril dosage for rats is 5mg/Ib (Rat Guide) or 10 mg/Ib (10 mg/454.4g) which is what we use.
If he is 7 months old, I would expect him to weigh a pound (454.4g) or more.
If it doesn't help once he is on the right dosage, there are combos of antibiotics your vet can try.
If antibiotics are helping, you will want to keep him on them for at least 6 weeks.

As for food,
80% of the diet is a good quality block (Harlan Tech 2014, Oxbow Regal Rat, or Living World hamster Extrusian) available at all times
20% of the diet is daily vegs, and occasional healthy treats such as a piece of fruit, cooked cereal, a cheerio, a piece of boiled egg, etc
There are also things you can add to the diet that are also supposed to be good. such as green mush.

The forbidden foods list can be found here: http://ratfanclub.org/diet.html
Suggest you buy a copy of the Rat Health Care book found in the book section of http://www.ratfanclub.org.
It is a useful resource, and costs less then $10. Just ignore the page on home euthanasia as research has shown that it is inhumane

Hope he is soon feeling better

 

[jorats]

As for his diet... Cat food is definitely a no no. It's too high in protein and fat and the source of energy is protein. That is bad with rats. Same deal with dog foods, especially a good quality dog food. Rats need their energy source to come from carbs.. Yes to corn! No to meats! You should switch to a good quality rat block for a healthy diet made especially for rats.

 

[EDK]

Ya I use oxbow personally, my boys love it they also get cherrioes as a treat only, when I was worried about one of them in regards to their weight I increased their carb intake through oatmeal and cooked eggs without butter, their weight picked up then put them back fully into oxbow and they been eating it ever since hehe. Hope your boy feels better soon

 

[gottalovethis]

After Baby Bears 2nd dose of Baytril, he went into some kind of shock ans died in my arms as we rushed him to the emergency vet clinic.......I am heartbroken..and nothing will or could ever replace him.......................when i spoke to the vets office asking WHY their prognosis had said Good longterm..HOW the HELL he could die...when i told them last night that i would spend all that i had to make him better..didnt matter what tests they did..id pay....to some he may just be snake food, or something that can be replaced for a few bucks at the pet store...BUT to me..............baby Bear was priceless...he will remain in my heat always.......thank you for the advice i was given......i just cant understand how he could die in less than 10 mins of being given baytril........and how a vet...couldnt check 100 % for any underlying problems

 

[gottalovethis]

Forever in my heart my beautiful sweet loving baby bear..........

 

[lilspaz68]

I am so very very sorry. Rats can get so sick in a flash...I doubt it was the baytril especially since he was being underdosed on it.

How old was your boy?

 

[SQ]

I am so very very sorry.
Baby Bears sounds like a very special, wonderful little rattie boy.
I hope you and his rattie friends are able to comfort one another.
I am so very sorry .....