My rat is developing issues... Too soon, man. Way too soon.

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So glad you decided to go tonight - it sounds like he's really sick. Here's hoping the antibiotics will start working soon. Hang in there Ketchup!
 
jorats said:
He shouldn't have any red in his mouth unless he's grooming himself and he's got too much porphyrin.
Sending healing vibes to sweet Ketchup.

I think he has or had too much porphyrin. It seemed very weird that it would happen, but I guess not impossible. I think he would have been worse right now if it were actual blood, and he's not. So I think he's okay.

Still sounds clicky when he breathes, but it's usually closed mouthed still. He took his meds and drank some water... I think he wants something mushy and easy to eat now. He seems crazy about the smell of food, but won't eat hard stuff yet.

I hope this is the official road to recovery.
 
Sorry for bumping the thread, but I have some important questions. I hope somebody sees this.

1. Ketchup hasn't been eating much. Drinking lots, but not eating much. I'm warming up a plate of mashed taters, peas, bits of meat and peanut butter for him as much as I can when I'm home. He takes litte bits and then stops. I don't have Ensure, where can I get it? The vet offered me "something you can mix into a porridge type paste", is this what it is? Should I get it?

2. How do I get him to take his antibiotics? He won't take them at all. I have to force it in him when he's not expecting it, and he hardly even gets it all... I miss a lot. If he won't eat, there's no way to trick him into taking them. I tried mixing them with a bit of gatorade but he still didn't buy it.

Btw his meds are: Doxycycline Susp and Enrofloxacin. I'm to give him 0.09ml which is a very tiny amount. But he still struggles like hell, when I want him to get it ALL.

3. He still breathes with his mouth open, clicking like a clock, and looking like a fish out of water. How long can a rat go like this? Is it normal or will it kill him? Will he get better, and when?

Thank you. I'm really worried about him.
 
Ensure is a meal replacement drink sold at Shoppers (it's a human thing, not a pet thing). You can get generic brand ones as well, but strawberry flavor is usually the favorite. You can also try lots of fresh veggies, fruit, oatmeal, mushy lab blocks, baby cereal, etc.

Is the medication flavored? If not, strawberry nesquick will generally make rats take the meds, though you might have to pin him on his back and force it in his mouth (a little at a time, so he doesn't aspirate it). You can also try wrapping him sort of tight in a towel to "pin" his arms and legs down.

The open mouth breathing is pretty serious, it means his lungs are so full, he's gasping for air. It's not good at all, and when rats I have get to this stage and meds stop working, I consider euthanasia.

Have you tried steaming him to break up some of the gunk in his lungs? What antibiotics is he on?

Edit: If he's having trouble breathing and gasping, it'll make it hard for him to eat. If he's gasping, don't force feed him or force him meds because he can aspirate it.
 
Thanks for replying.

He still drinks, and at times he calms down and breathes more quietly. (like right now I can't hear him at all) So this tells me he is capable of taking his antibiotics, AND eating, which he tries to do rarely... Though for some reason he is still reluctant.

But there are also times where he breathes with his mouth open, which scares me... I think trying to feed him his antibiotics really stresses him out and causes him to breathe like this even more.

I've tried steaming him, and it doesn't seem to help much... I'll have a shower now and take his cage in with me. Any idea if I should leave it on the floor or have him on the sink counter? The steam rises so I was unsure which is better.

Also I named the antibiotics in my last post. again it is: Doxycycline Susp and Enrofloxacin. 0.09ml every 12 hours for 7 days.

Tomorrow on my way back from school, I'm so calling my vet, picking up Ensure and strawberry nesquik. -_- Hope he'll be okay 'til then
 
Sorry, I'm too tired... didn't realize you already named the abs. 7 days is much too short, we do minimum of three weeks here.
 
They told me to follow up with my vet to get another dose, they only gave me a weeks worth since it expires after a week.

No word on the cage being on the floor or higher area when I'm in the shower steaming him?
 
I would use fleece on my cage *since I have a CN* but molly chews EVERYTHING. So I just use old towels, and change out the towel every time I super clean her cage. If I had the money I'd use bright pretty towels to make it look nicer, but that gets expensive and wasteful so I use a ready supply of old holey ones.

Yeah ensure is good, the strawberry kind is the best. Sometimes it's by the pharmacy too. I would say use a VICKS machine but I don't know if rats are allowed to breathe in the medicinal vapor from VICKS. Hope he gets betters.
 
Be careful with towels, the little loops can grab and rip off toenails.

I know lots of people use towels, but I was warn to steer clear of them, as I've seen lots of blood loss due to towels ripping off tails. :(

Edit: Also, you can get super cheap fleece from the dollar store. For $2, you get a big blanket big enough to do two pan liners, or four shelf liners, or a pan and two shelves. And if she chews it, oh well, it was cheap.
 
xxchelle said:
Be careful with towels, the little loops can grab and rip off toenails.

I know lots of people use towels, but I was warn to steer clear of them, as I've seen lots of blood loss due to towels ripping off tails. :(

Edit: Also, you can get super cheap fleece from the dollar store. For $2, you get a big blanket big enough to do two pan liners, or four shelf liners, or a pan and two shelves. And if she chews it, oh well, it was cheap.

I'll have to look, I've never seen fleece at any of our dollar stores... That would be a lot prettier if I could find it though
What loops? I have no idea what loops would be in a towel....
 
The little threaded loops that a towel is made up of. Take a close look at the fabric of the towel, it's multiple loops over and over and over. And they're the perfect size for rattie toe nails :(

Edit:

This is the best picture I could find on Google:
400_F_11743508_wurvFmecATsJJ1aERKBSeXCKL2nN1mFo.jpg


See the loops?
 
We just got out and he's panting worse and the red stuff makes another appearance in his mouth again. Stress?

He's starting to get wobbly when he walks now too, probably weak from lack of food. No noticable weight loss yet. When he stops panting so much, I will warm him up something... He still drinks though. I also made the discovery that he hates blue gatorade.

I don't know what I can do for him anymore until tomorrow... I am sad.
 
larch said:
We just got out and he's panting worse and the red stuff makes another appearance in his mouth again. Stress?

He's starting to get wobbly when he walks now too, probably weak from lack of food. When he stops panting so much, I will warm him up something... He still drinks though. I also made the discovery that he hates blue gatorade.

I don't know what I can do for him anymore until tomorrow... I am sad.

does he like other flavors of gatorade? gatorade has a lot of salt in it, so maybe he don't like it because of that...
the other week the doctor had me drink nothing but gatorade when I was sick and it actually made me worse and put me in the hospital because I kept throwing it up
but then again a doctor at teh hospital told me water makes you throw up just as bad... but at least it don't have salt in it
 
Jenfoxworth said:
larch said:
We just got out and he's panting worse and the red stuff makes another appearance in his mouth again. Stress?

He's starting to get wobbly when he walks now too, probably weak from lack of food. When he stops panting so much, I will warm him up something... He still drinks though. I also made the discovery that he hates blue gatorade.

I don't know what I can do for him anymore until tomorrow... I am sad.

does he like other flavors of gatorade? gatorade has a lot of salt in it, so maybe he don't like it because of that...
the other week the doctor had me drink nothing but gatorade when I was sick and it actually made me worse and put me in the hospital because I kept throwing it up
but then again a doctor at teh hospital told me water makes you throw up just as bad... but at least it don't have salt in it

I hear it's excellent for hydration, more so than water, I dunno why. I also saw it suggested around here and there.

I don't have any other gatorade so I can't really test if he likes it. I just chose the blue one 'cause I like it, I figured he would too :(
 
xxchelle said:
The little threaded loops that a towel is made up of. Take a close look at the fabric of the towel, it's multiple loops over and over and over. And they're the perfect size for rattie toe nails :(

Edit:

This is the best picture I could find on Google:
400_F_11743508_wurvFmecATsJJ1aERKBSeXCKL2nN1mFo.jpg


See the loops?


ahhh yes I see. I don't know if it makes a difference since she chews the whole towel up and makes it into nests rather then walking on it. My nearest dollar store is an hour and a half away and I have to go over the ferry to get there.... I'm not allowed to go that far because I'm pregnant. Last thing they need is a pregnant woman on a ferry. Perhaps I can find it cheap somewhere else...
 
larch said:
Jenfoxworth said:
larch said:
We just got out and he's panting worse and the red stuff makes another appearance in his mouth again. Stress?

He's starting to get wobbly when he walks now too, probably weak from lack of food. When he stops panting so much, I will warm him up something... He still drinks though. I also made the discovery that he hates blue gatorade.

I don't know what I can do for him anymore until tomorrow... I am sad.

does he like other flavors of gatorade? gatorade has a lot of salt in it, so maybe he don't like it because of that...
the other week the doctor had me drink nothing but gatorade when I was sick and it actually made me worse and put me in the hospital because I kept throwing it up
but then again a doctor at teh hospital told me water makes you throw up just as bad... but at least it don't have salt in it

I hear it's excellent for hydration, more so than water, I dunno why. I also saw it suggested around here and there.

I don't have any other gatorade so I can't really test if he likes it. I just chose the blue one 'cause I like it, I figured he would too :(

yes it's definately good for rehydration in some cases, but not all. If he don't like it and won't drink it he can't rehydrate from it though. It was worth a try though. If it had worked that would have been good. They also have
I like the blue one too, and the yellowy green one.

http://pedialyte.com/
They have that stuff for human kids, but I don't know what it has in it exactly since they don't list the ingredients online. If you go to the store for the ensure though, it would be nearby, and you can check the ingredients yourself. I wouldn't give it to him unless you're sure the ingredients would be alright, I'm not sure everything ratties can have.
 

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