rat depression and respritory problems

[sarunia]

i've been trying to find online some information about depression in rats and respiratory problems.

i'm not sure if this is "er" material right now, but i'm worried that it might become that way. the back story goes as follows: about a week and a half ago one of my rats, sasha, died quite unexpectedly. i'm not sure exactly what happened, but i know that he had a stubborn abscess on his neck that i think contributed to his death.

unfortunately, i recently moved and am unaware of any exotic vets in the area so when he took a turn (quickly) for the worst, i was unable to do anything about it.

since sasha died, i've been trying to monitor the two boys that survived him--slava and little rat. slava seems to be doing fine (and is the older of the two-- recently turning 2). little rat, on the other hand, has become very lethargic, eats (but with very little zeal) and mostly lies on my bed. recently i've noticed a bit more sound from his lungs that i've never really noticed before and also his breathing seems to be a bit more labored... little rat is a SWEET guy, so lying around on my bed is nothing new, however i'm worried that his character is becoming overwhelmingly docile (he's about 1.5 years by my best counts). his little rattie enthusiasm just isn't what it used to be :sad3:

slava (who is and always has been the alpha) remains relatively unaffected.

tomorrow i'm going to try to find a vet that has experience with rats within the area (lawrence, ks for any of you that might know of one here), although i'm not sure if i'll have any luck.

to say the least: after sasha went so fast, i'm probably a little paranoid, and frightened of how difficult it would be to lose another of my boys so soon. but if ya'll have any suggestions as to how to help a depressed rat, i'm would be so thankful. i am just starting to get worried sick :heart:

 

[SQ]

Sounds like he is very ill with a respir infection and needs to be on meds asap.
He sounds like he needs to be on a combo of antibiotics that will treat both myco and secondary infections.
If he has fluid in his lungs, he may need to be on lasix for awhile to give the antibiotics a chance to work.
Losing his cagemate would have increased his stress and made it more likely he would become ill.

I am sure he misses his cagemate and is depressed, however, he sounds like a very ill boy.

 

Sounds like he is stressed from losing his cage mate which in turn may have helped in him developing a respiratory infection. He needs to be put on meds asap!
Until you find a vet, try taking him in the bathroom when you shower, the steam will help clear his lungs. Sometimes a little bit of dark chocolate with coco in it will help too.
Try to keep fluids in him and if he is not eating try giving him some ensure mixed with baby cereal.
Hope you find a vet soon!

 

[jorats]

Like the others have mentioned, I'm sure it's a combination of the two. He might be ill and the stress of the loss is making it much worse.
Find a vet asap!

btw...sorry for your loss. I'm sure it was hard for all of you. :hugs:

 

[sarunia]

thanks!! i've gotten both of my boys an appointment. hopefully this will help!

 

[sarunia]

Took both of the boys in today, we just back from the vet with a (literal) box full of medication.

Here's the breakdown for the boys:
Slava (these doses are big, but he's big, approx. 750... all of this for 10 days)
*Baytril (.6ml) 2x daily)
*Vibrimycin (.6ml 2x daily)
*Metacam (1.5mg 1x daily)
*Ben Bac (.3ml 1x daily)

Little Rat (you guessed it: he's small!... all of this for 10 days)
*Baytril (.3ml 2x daily)
*Vibrimycin (.3ml 2x daily)
*Metacam (1.5mg 1x daily)
*Ben Bac (.25ml 1x daily)

The vet also suggested to take a chest x-ray for both of them, unfortunately I really could only barely afford all of these medications and the visit.

Little Rat was a bit dehydrated, so I got some Pedialyte and have already given some. Do any of you have any suggestions as to the amount/frequency with which Predialyte should be given? I also got some baby food to give them tonight to make sure they both had gotten enough to eat/drink.

If any of you have any suggestions, they would be greatly appreciated. Although they've been treated for respiratory problems before, they've never been given this much medication, and to say the least I'm pretty nervous/anxious for them.

We can use all the good thoughts/good vibrations sent this way that you can spare. Having recently lost Sasha, I think that between my boys and I there's been enough heartbreak of late... I'm just hoping that things look up for these little guys. :heart:

 

[mamarat]

Poor sweeties, hope the meds make them better.

 

[sarunia]

Me, too!! Right now they're sleeping on my pillow... I imagine today was pretty long!!

Do any of you have any reservations about using Metacam? I've around the internet that the med seems to have some controversy around it? What about the Ben-Bac?

thanks!!
sarah, slava and little rat

 

[Fidget]

I'm so sorry for your loss of your Sasha boy. Usually our remaining kids comfort us, hard when you have stuff to deal with rather than stuff to heal with. But Slava & Little Rat are gonna be just fine cause you're taking care of them, just a glitch. Even a move can cause a mild one in a kid, a loss of a cagemate is tougher on some, but respiratory problems are usually so easy to treat with antibiotics and all is well.
I hope you soon have 2 healty kids making you laugh and guard your favorite sheets & important papers...

 

[jorats]

Sounds like a thorough examination. Good vet!
I've used metacam on my guys and it's done some good in respiratory infections. It's primarily a pain reliever but also an anti-inflammatory.