Re: Oskar - Lethargic, Eating Less - Doing Much Better!

[TorachiKatashi]

My poor boy Oskar started acting strangely last night - he's become quite lethargic. Normally he'd spend the better part of the day running around with his brother, but since late last night, he's mostly just been laying around flat as a pancake in his cage. In particular he seems to be favouring the corner of his top shelf where he's laying on his belly, with his head and front legs hanging low over the edge of the shelf. He won't take treats from me (or if he takes one, he'll eat a little bit of it and drop it,) and it's hard to tell if he's eating his regular food. He is drinking, however. He doesn't seem to be in pain at all and he IS able to run around, he just seems to be choosing not to. If I put him on the bottom of the cage, he'll climb up the bars to get back to the top shelf, and while I had him out with me, he was climbing around my desk and over my shoulders, but he still wasn't nearly as energetic as he usually is. I cooked some scrambled egg for him last night which he ate a good amount of, but since then he's only been picking at his food. My "rat vet" is usually a week or two out with his appointments, so if I can figure out what is going on with him, I can at least take him in to see a non-rat vet who can see him much sooner and hopefully get anything that might help him feel better.

 

[mamarat]

Is he choking? Could he have fallen?

 

[Dazzle87]

Sometimes them leaning over the shelf is an attempt to breathe easier. Have you done the rat telephone?

 

[TorachiKatashi]

I was talking to Renee in PMs so I'll mention the things here that I did there. The one symptom I forgot to mention is that his fur seems poofy and on-end, which Renee told me is definitely a sign of illness. She also told me that the hanging over the shelf would likely mean a resp. infection or a heart problem. I'm leaning towards heart problem at this point, honestly, because it all happened so suddenly - he was perfectly healthy up until I was going to bed last night, no sneezing or porph or funny lung sounds or anything that would have made me think he had a resp. infection. I'm going to call in sick to work tomorrow and bring him out to see Dr. D as soon as Mom gets off work. I'm hoping someone may have a suggestion as to what I can do to help him in the meantime, and if Dr. D turns out to not be working tomorrow.

Mamarat - Not so far as I can tell. I poked him all over to see if anything was tender, and nothing seemed to be. He's not doing anything that would indicate to me that he were choking, and I couldn't see anything in his mouth.

Dazzle87 - Yes, I did. I'm not really sure what to be listening for, but he sounds the same as his brother, who is perfectly fine. The only difference is that Oskar is breathing slower and harder.

 

[Dahlas]

Does he seem dehydrated at all?....a vet visit with a non rat vet is better then no vet visit I would think....
Try to keep him eating and drinking.....

 

[TorachiKatashi]

Does he seem dehydrated at all?....a vet visit with a non rat vet is better then no vet visit I would think....
Try to keep him eating and drinking.....

Renee thought that, too. I did see him drinking earlier, but I'm going to start syringing some water into him, at least until I go to bed. I'm trying to get a hold of my mom to see if she can pick me up a bottle of Ensure on her way home, but so far no luck.

Would it help if mushed up some of his food in water, like, maybe it would get him to eat?

Edit: I went ahead and mushed up some food for him, and he seems to be eating it, albeit slowly. That will at least get some food and water into him.

 

[jorats]

A non rat vet might be able to listen to the lungs and prescribe antibiotics, unless you have vets like I have over here who won't even look at rats in which case, it would be best to make your rat as comfortable as possible. Keep hydrated and offer soft foods.

 

[TorachiKatashi]

A non rat vet might be able to listen to the lungs and prescribe antibiotics, unless you have vets like I have over here who won't even look at rats in which case, it would be best to make your rat as comfortable as possible. Keep hydrated and offer soft foods.

Yeah, if Dr. D isn't working tomorrow, I'll take him in to see one of the other vets. I've seen a different vet before to get a prescription for a URI, so I'm sure someone will be there to see him, even if all they can do is listen to his breathing and look up something in a book.

I've been trying to syringe water into him (though he seems to suddenly be full of energy when I do that to try to squirm away,) and I mushed up some of his food with some water, which he picked at a little bit. I'll make him take more water now before I go to bed, and put in some new mushed food in the morning, so hopefully that'll help.

Edit: I was just speaking with the receptionist at the vet's office. I'm taking Oskar out for a walk-in appointment around three (the earliest I'm able to get a ride, but it doesn't matter since Dr. D is in surgery until two anyways,) so I'll post again when we get back to let you all know how it went. I'm really glad I can see him and not some other vet - he's probably the only vet on this island who could actually tell me something about Oskar's condition that I don't already know.

On the plus side, someone ate a lot of that soft food I left for them last night. Whether it was Oskar or his brother, I don't really know, but I placed the bowl close to the hidey-hole Oskar was/is sleeping in and the food is scraped clean from the bowl on the side nearest where Oskar was sleeping, so hopefully it was him.

 

[rattytat]

Good Luck, Oskar. :hugs: Hope Dr. D. can help. Let us know how things go. Also, if you're ever stuck for a drive, let me know. I might be able to help.

 

[TorachiKatashi]

Good Luck, Oskar. :hugs: Hope Dr. D. can help. Let us know how things go. Also, if you're ever stuck for a drive, let me know. I might be able to help.

Thanks. <3 He doesn't seem any better this morning, but he doesn't seem any worse, either. He's eating small amounts of the mushed up food in between naps.

I think Vin can tell that he's not feeling good, too. He's been cuddled in a big ball with Oskar in their dome all morning, and when he does leave, it's to drag their loose blankies up there to use to stuff into the entrance of the dome. It's a guess, but all I can figure is that he's trying to keep Oskar safe. <3

 

[temblabamomo]

I hope whatever vet he sees is able to do something for him. I have known a couple of rats who came down with pneumonia very quickly as well, so that is another possibility. Keeping my fingers crossed for him.

 

[mamarat]

Good luck at the vet!

 

[Joanne]

Good luck at the vet's this afternoon. I hope he can help Oskar to recover. How old is Oskar?

 

[TorachiKatashi]

Good luck at the vet's this afternoon. I hope he can help Oskar to recover. How old is Oskar?

Oskar and Vin will be eight months old in about a week.

 

[rattytat]

I think Vin can tell that he's not feeling good, too. He's been cuddled in a big ball with Oskar in their dome all morning, and when he does leave, it's to drag their loose blankies up there to use to stuff into the entrance of the dome. It's a guess, but all I can figure is that he's trying to keep Oskar safe. <3[/quote]


They really do show love for one another, don't they. It can really melt your heart sometimes. I notice the same thing with Smudge when Mike isn`t feeling great :heart: :heart:

 

[TorachiKatashi]

I think Vin can tell that he's not feeling good, too. He's been cuddled in a big ball with Oskar in their dome all morning, and when he does leave, it's to drag their loose blankies up there to use to stuff into the entrance of the dome. It's a guess, but all I can figure is that he's trying to keep Oskar safe. <3

They really do show love for one another, don't they. It can really melt your heart sometimes. I notice the same thing with Smudge when Mike isn`t feeling great :heart: :heart:[/quote]

Do you know what it is that Mike has? I know he has a chronic issue of some kind that he's on medication for.

 

[rattytat]

Mike, according to Dr. D., has a chronic lung condition - probably myco. It amazes me that we saw Dr. Toor twice in March, and he gave Mike a really thorough examination and said his lungs were perfectly clear and he seemed in great health. it's always been about breathing and the terrible breathing sounds he makes. Dr. Toor, as well as a female vet who saw Mike earlier than that, both said they thought it was allergies. Well, I spent months trying everything I could think of - but no longterm good results. He had been put on baytril once, maybe twice, for one week - but they didn't think he needed it.

Anyway, he's now on his 2nd dose of baytril/doxy combo (6 weeks each) as well as predisone. Dr. D. thinks he will be on the pred for the rest of his days. :sad3: Whatever it is, he has really improved. He's so much more active, curious , and now is as much of a pain in the butt as Smudge (but I'm loving it) :giggle:

My daughter, Alison (3rd yr. med student) took a look at Mike recently for me and said she didn't think his lungs were all that bad, and it seemed to her that the sounds were coming from his throat. Now, obviously Alison doesn't have any experience with animals, but I know I read somewhere about throat polyps in rats causing respiratory issues. I plan to look into this further and bring it up with Dr. D. during our next app't.

So, there you have Oskar's genetic health report, at least as much as I know. Steffi, his mother, is in fabulous health - neither she or Lucy have had need for a vet visit yet. -knock on wood!!

 

[TorachiKatashi]

So... As it turns out, my guys have lice. I feel so stupid for not picking up on it myself. All we can figure is that Whiskers must have had them when he came to live with us. Oskar is anemic - he's pale, but I never noticed it because Vin is also pale, so they look the same compared to each other. I could see the lice though when he showed it to me. So Oskar and Vin each got a drop of kitten Revolution at the office, and I'm putting a drop on Whiskers now, and we'll repeat two weeks from now, then a month from now. I also picked up some Ensure on the way home, so everyone is going to get a treat of that to help perk them up.

 

So... As it turns out, my guys have lice. I feel so stupid for not picking up on it myself. All we can figure is that Whiskers must have had them when he came to live with us. Oskar is anemic - he's pale, but I never noticed it because Vin is also pale, so they look the same compared to each other. I could see the lice though when he showed it to me. So Oskar and Vin each got a drop of kitten Revolution at the office, and I'm putting a drop on Whiskers now, and we'll repeat two weeks from now, then a month from now. I also picked up some Ensure on the way home, so everyone is going to get a treat of that to help perk them up.

Whiskers was treated for mites ad lice before he went to you. My guys never got lice.

Do you freeze your bedding you use in your litter pans? toys bought from pet stores? food?

 

[rattytat]

Ha! All mine were treated for lice about one month ago. Who knew?? But, they all seem to be doing much better. I think it may have come from the wood chew toys I had bought for them and not put in the freezer but, I suppose it could have come from Stuart. I don't know, but they're all fine now. Yay Oskar - lice is nothing, if you get it treated :dance: