Roys PITA Inner Ear Infection... [Doing better!]

[mamarat]

Sending healing vibes, hope the meds work for your sweetie.

 

[handmeafish]

Try feeding him something first... those meds can cause stomach upset in humans, which I'm sure is true for rats too, and having food in your stomach helps. I've been on both metro and steroids and they make me pukey if I don't eat...
And they both taste REALLY BAD so I'm not at all surprised he's refusing them

 

[Scythe]

So, let me tell you the difficult procedure to get eds into this brat...

I have to put them in with nesquick, mix it. THEN mix it with a little bit of ensure. Offer it to him. THEN, he never takes it. So I have to fill a syringe with ensure, let him have some from that, then lure him to the spoon of his meds, and drip it overtop the concoction. He's such a pain in the butt!

He's starting to perk up, though. :cheeky: I catch him running around jumping about in the cage now and then. Today, my cousins were over and they got to play with them all... Emma, my 6 year old cousin, is in looove with Roy...

You can't tell me he doesnt look like he feels better. :cheeky:

 

[mamarat]

What a sweetheart. :heart:

 

[Scythe]

What a sweetheart. :heart:

He has his moments... :cheeky:

Also, can anyone think of anything that would help put weight on Roy? I've been trying baby food, ensure, etc, but there's only so much of the babyfood that he'll eat... He eats it so delicately and then wanders away leaving more then half the plate left.

Also, unrelated, but I'm glad those kids were around, today. They noticed (before I did, but they were the ones playing with the rats, I was just making sure no one got sat on) him making a funny sound and were full of giggles going "Ashley, He purrs!" Hello, URI. :emb: I explained that the purr meant he was sick, and Ed got himself a lot of cuddles, after that.

 

[xxchelle]

I've heard avocado is great for putting weight on rats.

 

[lilspaz68]

Oh he does look bright

 

[Scythe]

I've heard avocado is great for putting weight on rats.

Are avocados okay to give them? Ive heard mixed things about that. :emb:

 

[Moon]

Avocado is a great low-protein way to add healthy fats to lean rats. Just use the flesh of the fruit that doesn't immediately touch the pit or the skin.

 

[Scythe]

Aaaand we're back to not eating meds, or anything at all.

I hope he likes avacado! :gaah:

 

[Scythe]

Guess who doesn't like Avocado... :gaah:

Anyone have any other ideas? He's still losing weight, and I offer him baby food multiple times a day... He's gone from 400g to 362g then to 340g at the last vet visit and now hes at 337g weighed on my scale.. : (

 

[xxchelle]

What about avocado mixed with something like honey or whipped cream?

 

[lilspaz68]

avocado and mayo is another high fat one

 

[Joanne]

Try anything that's healthy and high fat. Nuts are pretty high calorie. Peanut butter. Nutella is a big hit at my house. I just dip my finger and it's a rattie free-for-all trying to lick my finger clean again. A dab or two of sour cream...
My girl Taffy lost literally 30% of her body weight when she became sick. Part (but not all) of her problem was that her other issues caused a malocculsion (poor bite) and her teeth started wearing asymmetrically. One incisor was horribly overgrown by the time I discovered it. So CHECK HIS TEETH!
I am also feeding her food she can lick up several times a day to increase her weight. He may have a physical problem preventing him from eating normally. Good luck!!!

 

[Scythe]

Try anything that's healthy and high fat. Nuts are pretty high calorie. Peanut butter. Nutella is a big hit at my house. I just dip my finger and it's a rattie free-for-all trying to lick my finger clean again. A dab or two of sour cream...
My girl Taffy lost literally 30% of her body weight when she became sick. Part (but not all) of her problem was that her other issues caused a malocculsion (poor bite) and her teeth started wearing asymmetrically. One incisor was horribly overgrown by the time I discovered it. So CHECK HIS TEETH!
I am also feeding her food she can lick up several times a day to increase her weight. He may have a physical problem preventing him from eating normally. Good luck!!!

I see his teeth everytime I force meds into him, and so far they seem okay. I wonder what it is. Even soft foods like babyfood, though... Not much of an interest.

 

[Scythe]

And now Roy's at a point where he's terrified of being picked up, because forcing medicine into him is so stressful and if I don't hold onto him incredibly tight, he squirms away. He's developed a horrible flare up from the stress of it, and now he's learned how to take the meds(if he has to) and then spit them out and rub it all off on my bed or me.

Still no interest in food, at all. Not baby food, ensure, cheerios, yogurt drops, nothing. He looks at it and walks away.

 

[jorats]

That's so sad for him. If he were mine, I'd probably stop all meds at this point. I'd make him comfortable, I'd offer him all kinds of foods but I would no longer force him. Then I'd wait for him to show me that it's time. But that's just me.

 

[mamarat]

I agree with Jo, stop the meds and see how he is. Let him eat good stuff and maybe you can start meds again later. It has worked for some of my rats.

 

[Maple]

I agree with Jo & Mama, sometimes you just have to sit back and see what happens.

 

[Scythe]

Vet called today, and they want Roy in again tomorrow for a third go of Dexamethasone since the second go did so well.

Ed's going, too, so I really hope this vet visit doesn't end miserably with the stress of ttc on Ed. anic: Poor Al, gonna be on his own for a few hours...