I think 1 of my rats is dying? :(

[ratazana]

Hello, everyone
So my rat is 2years and 8 months old. In the last 2 weeks he started getting sick. It all started with some noises when breathing, i took him to the vet and was prescribed azithromycin and also nebulization with 3 other meds.
i did that for 2 weeks and then returned to the vet. He lost 100 grams during the treatment (was 460g and now is 360g) because he started eating less. We did an Xray and vet said one of his lungs is "pretty bad" (no more info, but will try to upload the xray pics) and said theres lots of gas in his intestine probably because he is having difficulty when breathing so may have used mouth to help and air ended up going to the wrong place.
Vet said if he started breathing with his mouth or showing signs of severe pain to take him back immediately.
Alright went back to my house, gave him the meds prescribed, also fed him food/water by hand with some treats.

The problem is that 2 days after thar my rat started refusing food, water and also medicine. Me and my gf tried everything to make him interested in food, gave him the fruits and vegetables he likes the most, but nothing is working.
He is still moving and enjoy going out of the cage in the free-range time, however it's almost impossible to make him put something into his skinny body - even water. Nebulization is still going on, but his breathing is still noisy. I'm super worried he ends up dying because of this situation. I'm desperate, should i just prepare myself for the worst? What should i do? I just want him not to suffer

 

[Dena]

I may be wrong, but could a steroid help in this case? Maybe it's a pulmonary abscess? When they can't breathe, they will eat less. They choose to breathe. Have you tried making his rat blocks into a mush with water, so he can luck it up? Or even infant formula mixed with infant rice cereal for the calories and that will help hydrate him as well. Also, message lilspaz, and have her read this thread. She is way more experienced in this stuff. I'd say add baytril (enrofloxacin) to the zithro as well. And he needs to be taking the antibiotics for probably 6 weeks to actually get rid of the infection. Hope your baby feels better soon.

 

[lilspaz68]

Everything Dena said I totally agree with. Azithromycin is a good antibiotic for babies given alone but older rats usually need Baytril or doxycycline added as well. A steroid could definitely help him breathe and open up his lungs. What antibiotics/medications are you nebulizing with?

 

[ratazana]

Thank you so much for the responses! Me and my rattie boy send you all lots of hugs ♡

Since he was refusing to eat i took him the last 2 days to the vet so they could give him medication via injection - he seems to be getting a little better since then and started accepting really small quantities of food (but started eating so i'm glad)

Yes, I've been trying to mix the rat food with some baby food, he ate a considerable amount today but he still loses interest really fast.

I'm trying to offer food whenever I can. I will sure try to mush the rat blocks with water that seem to be a great ideia! And will try to contact this user you mentioned ♡

I'm nebulizing with beclometasone dipropionate, penetro (which is a medicine in my country containing eucalyptol, levomenthol and terpin) and saline