Odd noise? -- Finally, an answer

[Riana]

Ah, I see. It has started since I moved into this apartment though, so it's certainly possible.

 

[Fidget]

Have you been to the vet yet? When I went I took my little movies on my laptop to show the vet in case Summer wasn't making them at the time... you could put it on a CD if you don't have a laptop to show the vet?

If you've been already, how is Rose (other than cute as all-get-out)

 

[Riana]

Thanks for asking :3

I just got home from the vet, the two boys spent the day in observation. Nothing showed up. At all. He didn't make the sound, she once again checked his breathing, body condition, teeth, eyes, hydration, and everything else, and he's perfectly okay in her book. She said to keep an eye on it and keep logging how often it happens. I'm emailing her the video right now so that she can hear it once and for all.

They had a blast in there with the boys today! They were excellent for their nail trims, and they were certainly a favorite

I'll certainly keep you guys updated, but as it looks right now, he's not 'sick' enough to need any medication.

 

[Fidget]

Why are they always at their very healthiest at the vets? :roll:
I hope everything is indeed ok, is Guild making the same noise?

 

[Riana]

Not at all. I did have guild checked over while he was there too, because he has had a small amount of porphorin (sp?) around his eyes every so often, and his hair seems to stick out more than Rose's. He checked out okay for lungs, heart, breathing, etc etc etc, just like Rose, so she couldn't understand why he may have it. She just said to keep an eye on him. But the good news about that is that his sneezing has cleared up completely!

 

[Fidget]

And neither one is acting ill at all? That's good! I hope nothing ever comes of what either one is doing then

 

[user 78]

Just something to keep in mind, since we all heard the noise he's making in his video. Rats are prey animals, which means they will hide any symptoms in a new environment. Unless they're literally at Death's Door, most of them will not show their symptoms in a plain sort of way. They will do everything they can to seem perfectly normal. Some of the common symptoms that we all watch for [for any kind of illness] are excessive porphyrin, poofing of their fur, lethargy, and put off of food and/or water.

My girl Tully came down with several symptoms all at once. She was gurgling, wheezing, crackling, rolling, unbalanced, and very confused. I didn't know what was going on, but I rushed her into a vet, and she was acting perfectly fine. Like absolutely nothing was wrong. The vet thought I was over reacting and told me 'she's not doing it now', and sent me home with nothing but a weak antibiotic.

This isn't to say this is the case with your vet, but something to be mindful of. Hopefully after she hears your video she'll see that he really is congested. If it's in his nasal passage as I mentioned before, she may not be able to actually hear it in his lungs. It hasn't gotten down that far yet.

 

[Riana]

I really hope neither of them progress any further, if they are indeed ill. D: I'd prefer to treat just incase rather than wait until things actually happen, and have to backtrack. But the vet is very hesitant to do that unless they're actually showing something.

And Javakittie, I know exactly what you mean, and that unsettles me a little. As I just said, I don't feel very comfortable just waiting until something goes wrong, I'd rather try to boost them up as much as possible so it'll go away without it getting bad, but the vet doesn't want to do that, since I guess rats can get very immune to antibiotics, etc, quite quickly? I may ask one of my doctors at work about it, just to see if they agree, even though they don't deal with rats (I wonder what it would be about rats that could cause them to adapt so quickly to medication, and have the medication lose its effectiveness).

I haven't received a reply yet from the vet, so I'll call tomorrow to see if everything sent okay, and see what she thinks.

 

[user 78]

Any animal [humans included] develop a resistance to medications when they're used improperly. They don't develop a resistance just by being on the medications for illnesses.

The absolute minimum length of time for a course of antibiotics if 14days. Anything less than that, and they can develop a resistance to the medications. My vet and I go by The Week Rule. Medicate until all symptoms have stopped, then continue for another week.

If the dosage/concentration isn't done properly, they can develop a resistance. Giving them a too low of a dose only kills off the 'weaker' bacteria that's causing the infection, leaving the 'stronger' bacteria behind. Obviously, giving too high of a dose is just as bad, and can be very hazardous.

They can develop a resistance if you medicate without a reason to. There's no bacteria there, so there's nothing for the immune system or medication to go after. Just as with anything, when you have a constant source of something, you need more/stronger in order to make a difference. Like a non coffee drinker is good with one cup, whereas I can go through a whole pot. :wink: So long as you don't treat them for every single sneeze or hiccup, you'll do fine. I give my girls 3 days to either stop or continue. By 3 days, I figure it's actually something, and not just general dust/humidity/she shoved her nose into the lab block dust sort of thing.

 

[Riana]

I see, thankyou very much. :3 I'm still waiting to hear from the doctor, so hopefully she got my email. We'll decide from there how to proceed.

 

[lilspaz68]

I am starting to wonder if its the basement itself? It only started when you moved into the basement. Maybe there is mold or something that is triggering the problems? Something in their environment, since he always stops when he goes to the vet.

I would be careful though, that sounds like it could easily move into the lungs.