Rat is falling over, losing balance and lethargic...

[Sabelline]

Thanks, believe me I have no intentions of giving up on my little boy! <3 Hope your rattie gets better as well, dspch911.

 

[Sabelline]

Okay so they wrote his weight as 0.9, which I'm assuming is in pounds. So, 408 in grams. As for the Baytril, it just says 22.7mg/ml, and give 0.3cc per day by mouth. I have given him the first dose of that, but they only gave a three day supply.

 

[victoria]

Sorry this is a little late, his dose should be .18 cc twice per day. (10 mg/kg) If you can get an appointment tomorrow, then you can up his dose since you will hopefully be getting more meds.

His eyes moving side to side indicates a serious ear infection if that's what it is. He may be dizzy and nauseous as a result, which is probably why he's not moving around. I hope the antibiotics help :hugs:

 

[victoria]

I forgot to answer the question about Advil/Motrin, it's an anti-inflammatory and would help relieve some of the balance issues that are caused by swelling in/around the brain. The dose is 10-30 mg/kg every 4-6 hours. If you have infant liquid (40 mg/ml or 200 mg/5 ml) the dose would be .2 cc at the mid range. If you have the children's formula (20 mg/ml), double the dose.

 

[Joanne]

I too think he probably has an inner ear infection because he looks like he can use both sides of his body, but is just really dizzy. The eyes moving is called nystagmus, and is very common when you have vertigo.
It is important to get him on proper antibiotics that will treat an inner ear infection well, and a steroid to reduce inflammation.
This is something that he CAN recover from if treated promptly.
I hope you can see your vet today!

 

[Sabelline]

So I did get him into a proper vet yesterday, and got several medications for him, two antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory. They also confirmed he had an ear infection, cleaned out his ear, and gave him some fluids since he was dehydrated. They said its still possible he may also have a tumor, due to the way his left eye was so bugged out.

He is at home now, and I've been giving the medications as well as food via syringe, but he has not improved. His one eye has turned a foggy blue color and I fear he may have lost vision in it. His other eye is normal colored but looks hazy, not as clear as before. He can barely move. I'm worried, but hoping for the best, that he will get well soon.

Thank you all for your advice and input.

 

[victoria]

Can you take a picture of the eye? It sounds like it's infected also. Sometimes serious ear infections travel to the eye, there have been a few members that have had that happen.

What medication are you giving? What are the doses and concentration?

 

[Joanne]

I really hope he starts to respond to the medication soon. Remember that it takes 24 to 48 hours for antibiotics to start to kick in, so don't lose hope yet! Fingers crossed for your boy... :hugs:

 

[Sabelline]

Thanks, yeah I'm really hoping to see some sort of improvement tomorrow!

He is on Baytril (does not say concentration, just 0.1 ml every 12 hrs), Doxycycline (50mg/ml, 0.07ml every 12 hrs), and Metacam (label does not say concentration, just 0.04 ml every 12 hrs). I'm feeding him Oxbow critical care. I also gave him a small amount of children's motrin today.

Here is his eye:

If the eye is also infected, do I need to up the doses of antibiotic, or keep on the same regimen? Will he lose vision?

 

[victoria]

It looks like his eye is bleeding inside (definitely not caused by a pituitary tumour), you need to send that picture to the vet ASAP. He needs a drug that's more effective against anaerobic bacteria. I hate Chlorpalm because it causes diarrhea but it, along with Baytril, are the best choice here.

I'll message Shelagh to look at this thread, she has far more experience with and knowledge of eye issues than anyone else on the forum.

 

[lilspaz68]

The metacam dose should be a lot higher. It should be .21 cc every 24 hours (once a day good dose is better than 2 small ones every 24 hours).

That is definitely bleeding into the ocular bulb, and it will sometimes resolve on its own very slowly, just remember he is blind in that eye right now. Poor bubby, hopefully the metacam makes him feel better and let the antibiotics do their work on the inner ear infection.

 

[dspch911]

:heart: :cuddle: Healing vibes from all of us :cuddle: :heart:

 

[Sabelline]

Thanks all, took him to the vet once again to have the eyes looked at. He's on more meds now, including one for the dizziness, and got him some more fluids, as he is still dehydrated. The vet said he was looking worse than last time.

I'm not seeing much of a change today, he's still mostly immobile and is looking pretty bad. I'm having trouble getting him to eat anything, except for a bit of ensure and baby food. Still hoping to see some sort of improvement soon, I feel bad for putting him through all of this.

 

[Sabelline]

So I just gave him his second dose of meds for the night and actually got him to eat some food Not much, but he didn't just spit it out like before. Perhaps he's getting a little better.

 

[Joanne]

It's hard to watch them when they're struggling. You will have to decide if he is doing better, or enough is enough. I hope he is starting to turn the corner!

 

[UhHuhHer]

I really hope your baby gets better soon. I came to this kind of late. I had one with an awful ear infection a few months ago and it's really hard to watch how disoriented and weak they are. With persistent medication, mine recovered just fine. I really hope things look up for you and you don't have to make any hard choices just yet.

 

[Sabelline]

Yes, I think thats been the toughest part, watching his health degrade so much and not being able to help. I'm glad yours made it out okay, UhHuhHer! Thank you.

Today, I've seen the first big improvements in him since he fell ill. This morning he was moving about more, seems more energetic, still has a severe head tilt but was able to sit on his own for a few minutes. He also is eating solid foods again with a little help His one eye is still looking quite bad, but the other is mostly clear. I do believe he will pull through though, he's putting up quite a good fight!

Thanks, all!

 

[mamarat]

Sending healing vibes to your sweetie.

 

[dspch911]

Hope your rattie is continuing to improve :heart:

 

[Joanne]

How is Bentley doing today? Is he coming around?