lilspaz68
Well-Known Member
give her some time...she's still in recovery from the anesthetic. Offer her some soft liquidy foods (my vet does baby cereal).
More and more problems...stroke, pituitary tumor...?
- Thread starter Salem The Rat
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Salem The Rat
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I think I need some help again...
So far Salem drinks and eats, but she still doesn't eat as much as before the surgery. When I offer her some food, she instantly starts eating, but only a small quantity. I don't know if she eats during the night, but from what I can see, she doesn't eat a lot. Today I put her for a while back to her old cage, and she moved around a lot, while in her small cage all she does is stay in her sleeping box. She climbed the bars, started building a nest with the bedding, ''explored'' the cage, etc. Which seems like a good sign. BUT I have other problems now that I don't know how to deal with:
1) She has cataract in her one eye. According to the Rat Guide: A transient form of cataracts has been known to happen frequently in rodents when they are placed under anesthesia. It is believed to be due to the changing composition and temperature of the aqueous humor of the eye while open and unblinking. This does resolve once the animal recovers..
2) She scratches herself ALL THE TIME. I had put her in gauzes, which were obviously annoying, but now that I removed them to change them-and I couldn't get the new ones to stay on her, and she has nothing on right now- she still sctraches herself. She scratches her whole body, her head, and mostly her one side, thankfully not the one with the stitches.
3) She has diarhea after taking Baytril. The vet had said 1 drop twice a day, and I had put probably 2 or 3 small drops and she had diarhhea/soft stool. I only gave her 1 drop now, I'll see if that causes a problem too.
My questions now are:
1) Supposedly, the cataract will go away when the animal recovers. But when will that be? :?
2) Why all that itch? Is she in pain? After the surgery, the vet gave her a 48-hour injection for the pain. After that, she didn't take any kind of pain-killer. Does she need one? How long does the pain after a surgery last? (Considering that hers, wasn't a very simple one).
Sorry for all of these questions, but I have no idea what to do with her
So far Salem drinks and eats, but she still doesn't eat as much as before the surgery. When I offer her some food, she instantly starts eating, but only a small quantity. I don't know if she eats during the night, but from what I can see, she doesn't eat a lot. Today I put her for a while back to her old cage, and she moved around a lot, while in her small cage all she does is stay in her sleeping box. She climbed the bars, started building a nest with the bedding, ''explored'' the cage, etc. Which seems like a good sign. BUT I have other problems now that I don't know how to deal with:
1) She has cataract in her one eye. According to the Rat Guide: A transient form of cataracts has been known to happen frequently in rodents when they are placed under anesthesia. It is believed to be due to the changing composition and temperature of the aqueous humor of the eye while open and unblinking. This does resolve once the animal recovers..
2) She scratches herself ALL THE TIME. I had put her in gauzes, which were obviously annoying, but now that I removed them to change them-and I couldn't get the new ones to stay on her, and she has nothing on right now- she still sctraches herself. She scratches her whole body, her head, and mostly her one side, thankfully not the one with the stitches.
3) She has diarhea after taking Baytril. The vet had said 1 drop twice a day, and I had put probably 2 or 3 small drops and she had diarhhea/soft stool. I only gave her 1 drop now, I'll see if that causes a problem too.
My questions now are:
1) Supposedly, the cataract will go away when the animal recovers. But when will that be? :?
2) Why all that itch? Is she in pain? After the surgery, the vet gave her a 48-hour injection for the pain. After that, she didn't take any kind of pain-killer. Does she need one? How long does the pain after a surgery last? (Considering that hers, wasn't a very simple one).
Sorry for all of these questions, but I have no idea what to do with her
SQ
Senior Member - Vegan for the animals
She may still be in pain and so not feeling much like eating ... rats are in pain for several days to a week or so after surgery.
Usually oral medacam is given but some people give over the counter pain meds .... Lilspaz68 can tell you which ones and how much to give.
Signs of pain: viewtopic.php?f=26&t=18981
She may have mites (etc) since she is so itchy.
Are you tempting her with foods she likes, mushy lab blocks? baby cereal mixed up with ensure or soy infant formula?
Is she in with her friends?
Usually oral medacam is given but some people give over the counter pain meds .... Lilspaz68 can tell you which ones and how much to give.
Signs of pain: viewtopic.php?f=26&t=18981
She may have mites (etc) since she is so itchy.
Are you tempting her with foods she likes, mushy lab blocks? baby cereal mixed up with ensure or soy infant formula?
Is she in with her friends?
jorats
Loving rats since 2002.
It's fairly typical for rats to not have big appetite after surgery or especially if she's experiencing pain. Is she on metacam?
Why was she put on Baytril? If the Baytril is causing diarrhea, you can supplement with probiotics and make sure to give the baytril on a full stomach. If she continues to have issues, I'd stop the Baytril and ask for another abs.
Why was she put on Baytril? If the Baytril is causing diarrhea, you can supplement with probiotics and make sure to give the baytril on a full stomach. If she continues to have issues, I'd stop the Baytril and ask for another abs.
lilspaz68
Well-Known Member
As Holly said, she could still have some discomfort, she also may have mites.
There isn't a pain injection that lasts 48 hours...there's metacam that lasts 24 hours (and sometimes not even that), and they should've sent you home with oral pain meds.
You can pick up infant ibuprofen liquid to see if she's still hurting. Is she licking at the incision site at all? How is it closed? (sutures, glue, staples?), is she in witha friend or more? and also can you post a pic?
There isn't a pain injection that lasts 48 hours...there's metacam that lasts 24 hours (and sometimes not even that), and they should've sent you home with oral pain meds.
You can pick up infant ibuprofen liquid to see if she's still hurting. Is she licking at the incision site at all? How is it closed? (sutures, glue, staples?), is she in witha friend or more? and also can you post a pic?
Salem The Rat
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SQ: These days I don't give her any lab blocks, but rather soft and tasty food, like soft bread, rice, etc. She is alone unfortunately, since each time she meets with the other rats they all want to check out her stitches and I don't want to risk it. The vet saw her today and said that they're healing quite good, and we didn't put her in gauzes again (they're stressing her out). Mites isn't impossible at all, I had a rat that sctratched a lot as well...
jorats: I don't know why, this is what the vet gave me. I reduced it to one drop, and if the problem persists, I'll contact the vet.
lilspaz68: I think it was my mistake. I'm not sure if I had heard the 48 hours correctly, but the vet today mentioned he had given her metacam...so, yes, my mistake. The wound is closed with sutures and so far it looks good. Tomorrow I'll make sure to take some photos.
I guess it wasn't easy for her...I mean, considering her age (2 years old) and the tumor size, and the subsequent vet visits, the gauzes, being alone...it must have stressed her out. :?
jorats: I don't know why, this is what the vet gave me. I reduced it to one drop, and if the problem persists, I'll contact the vet.
lilspaz68: I think it was my mistake. I'm not sure if I had heard the 48 hours correctly, but the vet today mentioned he had given her metacam...so, yes, my mistake. The wound is closed with sutures and so far it looks good. Tomorrow I'll make sure to take some photos.
I guess it wasn't easy for her...I mean, considering her age (2 years old) and the tumor size, and the subsequent vet visits, the gauzes, being alone...it must have stressed her out. :?
Unepuce
Well-Known Member
What seems odd to me is measuring the Baytril by drop??? If you gave her more than necessary, I am not surprised at all that it could be causing diarrhea. Do you have a serynge you can measure out a dose from? Please provide her weight so someone can dose the antibiotics, this part is actually scaring me!
Salem The Rat
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No, actually the dosage was 1ml of Baytril in 10ml of water, or 1 drop twice a day, which I figured is what the rat would daily get from drinking from her water bottle. I'm not sure what her weight is. Are the antibiotics really necessary? Can't she recover without them?Unepuce said:
Unepuce
Well-Known Member
My gosh... I just got back to this thread and realized it had stopped completely... how's your baby? Is she recovering ok?
I believe (but this is more intuition than knowledge, so health experts out there correct me if I'm wrong!) that the antibiotics is prescribed to avoid infection and/or abcess following surgery.
Not a typical way of prescribing antibiotics, at least in my experience. I have always either seringed the dose directly in my ratties' mouth or mixed it in a little bit of yummy food (avoiding yogourt) to make sure they get their complete dose - and I believe that's what everyone else does. The instructions you were given for antibiotics do make me uncomfortable... :? Wonder if I am the only one?
Salem The Rat said:
I believe (but this is more intuition than knowledge, so health experts out there correct me if I'm wrong!) that the antibiotics is prescribed to avoid infection and/or abcess following surgery.
Not a typical way of prescribing antibiotics, at least in my experience. I have always either seringed the dose directly in my ratties' mouth or mixed it in a little bit of yummy food (avoiding yogourt) to make sure they get their complete dose - and I believe that's what everyone else does. The instructions you were given for antibiotics do make me uncomfortable... :? Wonder if I am the only one?
lilspaz68
Well-Known Member
I too am very uncomfortable with this method and inexact dosing. :shock:
Salem The Rat
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Okay, here are the latest news from Salem!
She had a bit of swelling in the incision area, which is now better, but otherwise I'm very happy to say that she looks to have completely recovered! She has a big appetite like before, re-established her position as the alpha rat again, the wounds are healing fine, and she is very active, climbs, runs around, and even comes when I call her, which she had stopped doing months ago! I stopped Baytril and I now give her meds for her minor swelling but generally I'm very satisfied with how she is now :nod:
She had a bit of swelling in the incision area, which is now better, but otherwise I'm very happy to say that she looks to have completely recovered! She has a big appetite like before, re-established her position as the alpha rat again, the wounds are healing fine, and she is very active, climbs, runs around, and even comes when I call her, which she had stopped doing months ago! I stopped Baytril and I now give her meds for her minor swelling but generally I'm very satisfied with how she is now :nod:
Unepuce
Well-Known Member
Great news! Very happy to know Salem has made a full recovery! :joy:
And Lilspaz - thank you! I was worried I was the only one that got her mind worked up by that Baytril thing...
And Lilspaz - thank you! I was worried I was the only one that got her mind worked up by that Baytril thing...
Salem The Rat
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Again-like all these problems weren't enough, I now find blood in the cage (shared with 5 rats). Pinkish red dots mostly where they pee. I'm going to keep each one in turns in a separate cage to see who has the problem....
