My Almond- sick and thin

[odduckOasis]

So, I'm seeking some advice. My brown standard, Almond is only a little over a year old. Getting close to a year and a half. He's had a respiratory issue since almost when I brought him home. It had been maintained with Baytril, but now it's to the point that he's got good days and bad days and is on daily meds.
But he has lost a /lot/ of weight. The thing is, he still eats, relatively well. He'll grab food out of the fresh bowl and loves his treats still. His teeth are still good, so it's not like they're too long and he can't eat. I assumed his weight loss is due to his illness- the taxing issue of the heavy fast breathing on him causes him to not feel too well so he may not eat as much as he actually should, but he still eats.
I'm wondering, is there anything I can do to try and help him gain some weight back? He spends all his time in the cage laying under one of the over turned bins that sits above the heat lamp and in the play room, he usually spends his time puffed up and asleep in one of the boxes of the fort, or on my lap while I'm petting him.
Is there anything you'd recommend other than what I'm doing? I don't think he's quite ready for that final visit to the vet, as he still has times where he tries to do more and he's still eating and drinking.... but if anyone has any ideas/suggestions/advice- that would be grand.

Thanks.

(No pictures right now, at least none that show his thin state, but I'll try to get some tomorrow/Monday).

 

[Godmother]

Have you asked your vet about combinations of antibiotics? Sometimes a bad respiratory infection needs Doxycycline or Azithromycin added to the Baytril. And, à with humans, a bit of corticosteroid can reduce inflammation in the lungs.

 

[odduckOasis]

I hadn't. The meds he's on now is not Baytril, it says on the bottle: Smz-tmp Suspension. I could contact them and see if that's an option for sure about those meds you just mentioned. The fact that he seems to try to do things and be his old self tells me he's not quite ready to be finished with life yet, but I'd like to make things more comfortable for him. Sometimes he breathes w/out the rattling, but it's still heavy fast breathing and other times he'll just sit there and rattle and look worn out.
Thanks for the advice! If I can help him live a more full life, I'd like to do so.

 

[RattusNorvegicus]

Could you get a video of his breathing? As soon as you can I would definitely get some Baytril+Doxy or Baytril+Zithro.

As for weight you can supplement with Ensure. I hope he starts feeling better.

 

[*Rebel_Angel*]

What RattusNorvegicus said!
And I hope he feel's a bit better soon!!

 

[odduckOasis]

I got him some Baytril, he's been on that for about a week and a half now. He doesn't sound quite as bad now, but he still is a bit lethargic, which I think is due to his weight. I'll try that Ensure, hopefully that'll help.

And this is the best video I could take: http://oasisnuthouse.tumblr.com/post/29 ... -could-get

He's usually in a box in the play room, so it's hard to get a good shot of him, or hear it. The breathing isn't as ragged as it use to be, but he still will shake sometimes.

 

[jorats]

I would get him on a combo of baytril and zithromax asap.
As for fattening him up, my sister was successful with using baby cereal and olive oil. Try to add fat (good fat) to his diet. Have you heard of Booster? It's a supplement of fatty acids usually sold for birds but many have sworn by it for their rats. It's known to boost their immune system.

 

[odduckOasis]

I got him on some baytril alone and he seems to be doing better. I'm going to finish up the bottle that I have. It's a higher dosage than he was taking before, which is one reason why I think it's working more- but yes, I will keep monitoring him and get him on a better mixture asap.

I haven't heard of that Booster. Sounds interesting! I'll have to look into it. I'm going to be going to the store tomorrow and will pick up some Ensure too.

Thanks~