Please help my rat is possibly dying and I can't take her to a vet please help me

[Jeremy Commier]

Yesterday I noticed that my 1 1/2-year-old female rat's jaw was a bit crooked. And she seemed to have been flexing her arms out and trying to back away I guess you could day. A few hours later, maybe one or two, I then noticed a white lump on the inside area of her lip. You have to understand we are having financial problems so we cannot afford to make an appointment with a vet. Then a few minutes later, a few meaning about 45 minutes, I noticed the white lump was gone, replaced by a missing piece of her lip. Today, I came home to find her left eye surrounded by an orangy-brown substance and the hole in her lip stained with dried blood. She then sneezed something bright red, and I'm sure it wasn't blood since it was too bright to be that. I wiped off the orange substance with a warm cloth and it hasn't returned since. I've listened to her breathing and I heard some wheezing I guess you could say. I'm really scared and I don't know what to do. We bought a Critical Care recovery food that can be given to herbivores with poor nutritional status resulting from illness. But I don't believe that will help. I've researched a lot and haven't found any case the same as my poor Zoe. Please help me, this is my only hope to get her to possibly recover. Heres a photo of her mouth to better help

 

[Jeremy Commier]

I can try and get better photos if they are too blurry anything to help you help me please im begging everyone

 

[Dena]

The orange stuff around her eye, and the stuff she sneezed out is porphorine. It's kinda like a rat's version of snot. They have it all the time, but most groom it off. It is totally normal, unless it's accompanied by crackly sounds in their lungs, or its excessive. You can help her for now by wiping it off with a warm wet cloth like you did.

Now her lip. Is it possible she could have cut it on a part of her cage? Any parts that stick out, or are sharp. Does she have cagemates? Could one of them or possibly another animal have bit it? You can make a salt solution about as salty as your tears and wash it carefully with that. Be careful not to make her inhale the water. Rats heal super fast, so just keep washing it twice a day for now. It could have been an abscess that popped. How do her teeth look? They shouldn't be too long for her to comfortably close her mouth, or be too far apart. Rats teeth naturally make a very small v, so more than that, curved, or super long would be an issue. If so, she may need them trimmed. A vet would need to do this. But make sure she has plenty of healthy chew toys (wooden or plastic like baby toys or bird toys are fantastic).

As far as critical care, she may never need that. As long as you're feeding her a good diet (like oxbow adult rat food) then she should be fine. You can make it into a mush by soaking it in cool water. It makes it easier to eat. Also, there's lots of healthy soft foods you can give her if need be.

How is she acting right now? Eating and drinking OK? Is her hair puffy? Any other things out of the norm for her?

 

[Jeremy Commier]

The orange stuff around her eye, and the stuff she sneezed out is porphorine. It's kinda like a rat's version of snot. They have it all the time, but most groom it off. It is totally normal, unless it's accompanied by crackly sounds in their lungs, or its excessive. You can help her for now by wiping it off with a warm wet cloth like you did.

Now her lip. Is it possible she could have cut it on a part of her cage? Any parts that stick out, or are sharp. Does she have cagemates? Could one of them or possibly another animal have bit it? You can make a salt solution about as salty as your tears and wash it carefully with that. Be careful not to make her inhale the water. Rats heal super fast, so just keep washing it twice a day for now. It could have been an abscess that popped. How do her teeth look? They shouldn't be too long for her to comfortably close her mouth, or be too far apart. Rats teeth naturally make a very small v, so more than that, curved, or super long would be an issue. If so, she may need them trimmed. A vet would need to do this. But make sure she has plenty of healthy chew toys (wooden or plastic like baby toys or bird toys are fantastic).

As far as critical care, she may never need that. As long as you're feeding her a good diet (like oxbow adult rat food) then she should be fine. You can make it into a mush by soaking it in cool water. It makes it easier to eat. Also, there's lots of healthy soft foods you can give her if need be.

How is she acting right now? Eating and drinking OK? Is her hair puffy? Any other things out of the norm for her?

She has one cagemate around the same age, but I've never seen any of them hurt each other. I do have cats, but I always close my door when I leave, so that possibility is out of the question. Also if it were the cats, my rats would surely be dead. As for the cage, it's a 55-gallon fish tank. I empty it out every two weeks and clean it with a mix of water and white vinegar. I just researched it and found that the cage is bad for ventilation so I will be changing it shortly. There isn't anything sharp or sticking out that I could find. Her teeth look fine to me, but I did have a theory that she accidentally fell and her teeth caught her lip, but I denied it because of the white lump. I'm not sure if I mentioned it, but she smells sick and she has lost a lot of weight recently. She used to be roundly plump, not fat, plump and now she's gotten just a bit bigger than Stella. For example, I remember weighing her in grams about half a year ago, and she was about 4oo grams, now she is 350... Her diet has dropped drastically, but I'm assuming it's because it hurts to eat because of the injury. I put about a quarter packet of powdered vitamin C in their water to help. Also, there was and still is the occasional twitch. Not really a twitch, but her arms extend and flex and she sets her jaw back and her head goes back. I also listened to her breathing and heard some wheezing. Does that go with the porphorine or not? It was very worrying. My mother recently showed a picture of Zoey's teeth to a vet tech and apparently the size is okay.
Here's a better photo of her mouth.

 

[lilspaz68]

Does your girl seem to be pushing back with her front legs? Does she seem confused, move loosely or clumsily?

 

[Ev Mull]

Hey there.

Dena is right about the porphyryn, it is normal when rats are stressed. Dena is also right about using a saline solution to clean your rattie's lip.

Based on your description, my guess would be that she suffered an abscess, they can come up and also be "popped" rather quickly, especially if she pressed her teeth on it shortly after it came to a head (abscesses are basically giant zits). As for her smelling sick, abscesses give off a foul odor that could definitely make her smell that way, it's the smell of infection/pus.

And it is likely she has been trouble eating because of this. i am not sure what is going on with her body language but it could be a result of a stroke/fall that affected her in multiple ways. Also, if her front teeth are overgrown, that could possibly be causing her issues.

If you can, get her some baby food. Mine love vegetable chicken and pumpkin. If you have a couple of extra bucks, get the powdered baby cereal and mix them together with a bit of water.

Good luck to you and your baby! I hope all is well!

 

[SQ]

Please answer lilspaz68 questions immediately

If she is wheezing she could have a resp. infection or a myco flare up and she may have fluid in her lungs - she will need proper antibiotics etc immediately … and for that she needs to see a good vet with the knowledge and experience to treat rats. (use a credit card, sell things, borrow money, see if your vet will let you make payments etc)
She may be losing weight because it is difficult to eat and breath at the same time.

When you hold her up to your ear and listen to both sides of her chest what does it sound like.
Is she working harder then normal to breath, elevating her head or hanging it down?
Can you post videos of her breathing and walking and flexing her arms and putting her head back as you described - post to youtube and then put the links on here

When you hand her something small to eat such as a cheerio is she able to hold it in both paws and eat it?
Do her front teeth look and feel normal? - Sometimes there can be a jagged piece not wore down properly that is difficult to see. They could be over grown and misaligned - especially since you said her jaw is twisted. If she had an abscess in her mouth she needs good antibiotics asap because all facial abscess are very dangerous - as previously mentioned a burst abscess could create the hole you see and also the odor.

Feed her soft foods such as her rat blocks soaked in cool water to make mush, or organic soy infant formula thickened with baby cereal
also cooked oatmeal, cooked grains, cooked quinoa, cooked vegs, baby food, etc ……………… these will be easier to eat with a sore mouth and with breathing issues ………… they will also help to keep her hydrated, dehydration kills

not sure why you gave vit C but you should never add anything to their water as it may deter them from drinking. All meds etc must be given to rats directly because they are all based on the weight of the rat and the strength of the med - otherwise the rat would be over dosed or under dosed

 

[Rocket99]

In your title you said there is no way you can take her to a vet, so the previous response seems a bit misguided. But ive seen enough of pet rat Q&A about not being avable see a vet and everyone saying to do just that than i can ever possibly remember. So O am going to answer your question. If there is no way to pay a vet or make a payment plan to repay borrowed money, then theres one thing left you can do. Personally, I would find someone to borrow money from a make sure this never happens again. But lets focus on the issue at hand. If theres no other option, find you nearest rat rescue and surrender your rat to them. They will either get the necessary vet help or humanely euthanise if it's a case of distress. Please do this immediately. Your choices are. .. let your pet suffer in distress until it dies a terrible, long, inhumame death (due to your inability to provide proper health care), or. .. surrender to a nonprofit rescue that WILL provide that care, at donator's expense. Either way, you don't deserve this pet so do the poor suffering rat one good thing and let him go get the treatment he deserves. Post your location and hopefully someone can post the name and number of a local (or not local, but they will drive hours to help your rat, and thereby helping YOU) rescue that will assume responsibility for your pet since you can not.

 

[Rocket99]

In your title you said there is no way you can take her to a vet, so the previous response seems a bit misguided. But ive seen enough of pet rat Q&A about not being avable see a vet and everyone saying to do just that than i can ever possibly remember. So O am going to answer your question. If there is no way to pay a vet or make a payment plan to repay borrowed money, then theres one thing left you can do. Personally, I would find someone to borrow money from a make sure this never happens again. But lets focus on the issue at hand. If theres no other option, find you nearest rat rescue and surrender your rat to them. They will either get the necessary vet help or humanely euthanise if it's a case of distress. Please do this immediately. Your choices are. .. let your pet suffer in distress until it dies a terrible, long, inhumame death (due to your inability to provide proper health care), or. .. surrender to a nonprofit rescue that WILL provide that care, at donator's expense. Either way, you don't deserve this pet so do the poor suffering rat one good thing and let him go get the treatment he deserves. Post your location and hopefully someone can post the name and number of a local (or not local, but they will drive hours to help your rat, and thereby helping YOU) rescue that will assume responsibility for your pet since you can not.

After rereading this thread, i may be overreacting, and apologize if i offended you. Your rat is not suffering too badly, just had an apparent infection. Dont let it continue. Get some antibiotics, theyre cheap online. Jedds.com
Give her the ABs with Ensure as directed. Theres people who will help with dosing. She should be ok with a good course of ABs.

 

[PiddlePod]

How is she doing? Did you get a chance to try SQ's suggestion to give her a cheerio to see how she grasps and holds it? Please read LilSpaz's questions and respond when you are able. I'm in the agreeance that the disorientation and unusual arm movements sound like you may be dealing with a Pituitary Adenoma in addition to what else may be going on with your little lady.

Please try to take a look at how her top and bottom teeth are aligned. Did the picture that your Mom consulted with the vet tech show the top and bottom teeth clearly? When you're checking her teeth, are the top and bottom teeth even, straight across and do they touch properly or are the bottom incisors misaligned (eg one longer than the tooth next to it)? Just like SQ mentioned, her jaw may appear crooked because her teeth are overgrown, which requires veterinary intervention so that they can trim her teeth so that they are aligned. She will likely need this treatment for life if there is chronic malocclusion.

The open wound on her lip may have been an abscess that ruptured but since there are so many unknowns whether she had injured it, I wouldn't be comfortable with assuming that this is the cause. If the abscess isnt from a localized injury to the tissue of the lip, the infection could be originating from the bone (could be related to what you're seeing with her "crooked jaw" and/or misaligned teeth) or like SQ suggested, another type of facial infection/abscess. Both require veterinary intervention and antibiotics to treat the infection. Since this is happening in and around the head, you need to be aware that an infection, if left untreated, may travel to the brain and/or cause sepsis which will result in death. Whether this is malocclusion, a serious bone and/or head abscess or a Pituitary Adenoma (tumor), all of these medical emergencies require a visit to the vet and immediate veterinary treatment. You will not be able to treat her at home if she requires antibiotics or quality of life medications for a pituitary tumor.

I'm going to be straight forward with you since you have said that you are undoubtedly unable to afford veterinary treatment for your girl. You need to call your local animal welfare league or shelter as soon as possible and ask if they have any services or programs that are available that can offer you very minimal cost or free veterinary care. If they do not offer any services like that and they are unable to give you guidance on other options that may be available to you, you MUST do what is right for the companion animal in your care and surrender your rat to an animal welfare league, animal shelter or to a veterinary office so that she can receive proper veterinary care and treatment.

There is nothing to be embarrassed about, nothing to feel guilty about nor wrong in surrendering her to a shelter or veterinarian. It is absolutely praiseworthy and compassionate to surrender your beloved companion animal to an organization, veterinarian or another person when you are unable to provide proper care and veterinary treatment for them due to financial circumstances.

Please don't intentionally withhold her chance to thrive and live a long and happy life by receiving treatment. Please place her wellbeing and welfare foremost if she is in a medical crisis situation and please consider surrendering her if you absolutely are unable to provide her with proper veterinary care. ❤

 

[PiddlePod]

Hey Jeremy, how is Zoe?? Where you able to take her in for a vet visit, or get in contact with someone who was able to help you out? Please update us on little Zoe when you have a chance and let us know how she is doing. ❤

 

[FemineaDea]

How is Zoe doing? From.what I can see it looks like an abscess. She needs to have antibiotics asap. Where are you located?