Sick Rat Advice

[Negoonus]

Hey guys my rat brownie just got back from the vet for a possible pituitary tumor. She has been prescribed metacam and an antibiotic as well as been given critical care food. I wanted to give her a more rat suitable diet for her recovery so I was thinking ensure, eggs, meat and veg baby food, and mushy oxbow. Any other suggestions?

She won't take water in on its own but she did get a fluid shot over 12 hours ago and we're watching her hydration levels. I made an electrolyte mix that I'm going to add to her Ensure to help entice her to drink which I'm thinking shouldn't cause a problem?

And lastly, can she be given children's liquid advil as well as the metacam or would that be too much on her little system? Thank you.

 

[sineb2]

Carbergoline or Bromocriptine can improve symptoms from a pituritary tumor.

 

[SQ]

Until you hear back for lilspaz68, just the metacam

Please post a video
Is she able to hold a small piece of food in both hands and eat normally?
What are her symptoms?

The treatment for a possible brain tumour and for a stroke are a steroid (dex injections, or prednisone) plus an antibiotic such as baytril
For pt people also try cabergoline as it will help with the most common type of pt - it is expensive but only given every 3 days and is more effective and easier for rats to tolerate then bromocriptine. I get it from the pharmacy using a prescription from my vet
Your vet should be able to teach you how to give sub-Q fluids and sell you the necessary equipment
Here is information on pt http://ratguide.com/health/neoplasia/pituitary_tumor.php

Your thoughts re food seem good …. is she able to use her water dish (that can not be upset)?
Blocks soaked in cool water to make mush, and organic soy infant formula thickened with baby cereal …. I have heard good things about using critical care as well
Supplement with cooked vegs, watermelon, a piece of ripe banana, berries, mixed greens, baby kale, broccoli, cooked grains etc
These foods contain water and will help to keep her hydrated
You can also syringe the thickened infant formula into the side of her mouth (so it does not go into her lungs) if needed

Hopefully she is in with her friends and you have modified her cage so that it is safe and she is in no danger of falling - hammocks can be hung low so that she can walk into them

 

[lilspaz68]

Unfortunately Metacam just doesn't work for PT, and you definitely don't want to stack NSAID's like Ibu and Metacam. What exact symptoms are you seeing?

 

[Negoonus]

She's doing much better this morning. She can eat on her own and shes using her hands to eat. She was very lethargic and her hands and feet were not very responsive. She had knuckling going on and couldn't right herself if she was on her side or back. So she was having a lot of trouble walking. We would have to put food directly to her mouth and she would eat it on her own, but she wouldnt get up and walk to her food. She wasnt walking to get any water either, so we have been mixing water with all the food we've been giving her. There were times she was eating her head would kind of bob around the dish and she would stop eating and just stare at the food. We would have to touch her to snap her out of it and she would continue to eat. There were a lot of times she was just lying down staring off into space, we would have to check to make sure she was still breathing.

Right now she's up and about and more like her old self. Shes grabbing food with her hands, shes moving around the cage and walking almost like normal. She still seems kind of weak but shes not lethargic.

It was a pain finding a rat vet on short notice as our usual vet doesn't work thursday and another vet was recommended. The vet spent half an hour talking about himself how he's dealt with exotics like crocs and tigers and how he doesnt charge alot (which he charged double of our usual vet). He prescribed metacam and enrofloxacin.

The vet we saw yesterday did also suggest it might not be pt, that it could be meningitis.

 

[Negoonus]

I didn't want to make another thread. Brownie's is doing well and more like her old self thankfully.

I just wanted to know the dosage timing window for metacam besides every 24 hours. Brownie gets her meds everyday at 7pm so does the dose always have to be at 7 or can she get her meds earlier or later depending on timing (5-9pm for example)? And if she's late taking her meds does that now carry over to her next dosage as well meaning it would have to be later in the day from now on (ex. 7pm dosage taken at 8pm so now all preceding dosages should be at 8pm).

Thanks