unexplainable?!

[Mucky]

just went to let the boys out and upon lifting Eli out the cage he seemed limp, i thought nothing of it and proceeded to take the other two out, Mason proved a pita to get out so i put the brother on the sofa, when axel went away for his usual nosey, Eli didnt, this is when it started to concern me.
Eli is my biggest greediest boy, he appears to have no interest in food, He is still extremely limp but will move, only from my chest or shoulder to the sofa to lie on his stomach though

His breathing is pretty rapid, you can see his side inhale and exhale although you can not hear it, As i type this i can feel him as he is in my bra.

This is how he is lying.

And this is his breathing.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=161828300602992
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=161840860601736

It is currently 00:45am, i will get him to the vet as soon as i can but unfortunatly that is not right now..

 

[Exodog]

Oh no! Hope he's alright! I have no idea what would cause that.
You should have this thread moved to ER so more people will be able to help!
Fingers and paws crossed for luck!

 

[rhapsody]

Definitely an ER case.

Had that happen with one of my younger boys. Normally bouncy, voracious, and active, I came home to find him limp in his cage. Had zero interest in food too. Thought it might be respiratory because of the breathing, so I gave him some Baytril. On chat though, folks suggested it could be from a bad fall, or a stroke. Kept him on a heater and tried to force-feed him liquids during the night. I lost him en-route to the vet in the morning.

Still couldn't figure out what the heck happened to my poor boy, but he had the exact same symptoms as yours. Hope you have better luck!

 

[Joanne]

I'm sorry your rattie is sick. How old is Eli? Has he been healthy?
Things that come to mind are:
-stroke
-heart failure
-pneumonia
I hope your vet can see him tomorrow. Have you offered him anything to drink like Ensure? Offered him any yummy treats? Will he take anything from you?

 

[Mucky]

I'm sorry your rattie is sick. How old is Eli? Has he been healthy?
Things that come to mind are:
-stroke
-heart failure
-pneumonia
I hope your vet can see him tomorrow. Have you offered him anything to drink like Ensure? Offered him any yummy treats? Will he take anything from you?

He's never needed the vet so yeah he's been healthy, he's only 8 months old, I offered him chicken paste which is his fave and he wouldnt take it, then he had a tiny bit but he wont have any more

 

[rhapsody]

Mine was only 9-months old, and was completely healthy beforehand too.

Try to keep him warm and hydrated until you can get to the vets. Do you happen to have any meds on hand?

 

[Mucky]

Mine was only 9-months old, and was completely healthy beforehand too.

Try to keep him warm and hydrated until you can get to the vets. Do you happen to have any meds on hand?

Just infant nurofen for pain, dont know what dose though

 

[Joanne]

Mine was only 9-months old, and was completely healthy beforehand too.

Try to keep him warm and hydrated until you can get to the vets. Do you happen to have any meds on hand?

Just infant nurofen for pain, dont know what dose though

I don't know if I would give him any meds if you don't know what the problem is...

 

[Mucky]

nurofen is just an anti inflammatory, like metacam, he looks like he's in pain

 

[Joanne]

Did you get in to see the vet? How is he doing?

 

[trihkal]

I hope he's okay. Thinking of you guys. <3

 

[jorats]

How's your little guy? In the video, the breathing is not that bad. I would think more of a tummy ache.

 

[Mucky]

Apologies for such a late response, been kind of hectic the last few days, On tuesday i had college so a friend took him for the day, she took him to the vet and he got an antibiotic shot (baytril i think), the vet said it was a URI and to keep him away from his cage mates in case they picked on him, knowing he was weak. She said he perked up and was quite happy but as soon as i got him home it all changed. He was not how she said he was, i was sat there worrying about him, i'd been up all night and couldnt do anything else so i went to bed hoping he would be okay when i got up. He was not. He was dehydrated and overall had a poor outlook, he had lost 40g from the time i first posted to about 30 hours later, I took him to the vet again when i was advised i could have him PTS or try another shot, i opted for the shot and managed to squeeze some metacam out of them, the metacam seemed to help him overall, he did look like he was in pain but he did not seem to get any better. If anything he got worse, i started force feeding him soy formula and offering him baby foods, fruits, veggies, marshmallows, nothing interested him so really the fluids he was being force fed was all he was getting, i had to go to my brothers and took him with me, he again, ate nothing, Every loved him even if he was a sick pup i didnt want to give up on him but i didnt want him suffering either, i'd pretty much made up my mind to have him pts this evening or tomorrow morning, but he woke me up at 4am drinking from his bottle, which he hadnt done in two days, i figured if he is going to make progress then theres obviously going to be something i could do for him and pretty much demanded baytril or doxy(dont think we have doxy.. and if we do i dont think my practice uses it hah), so i have now got him on baytril and metacam. he has perked up quite a bit, in the 5 days so far he's lost 80g, extremely worrying, i really hope his health continues to increase.
Thank you all for your help

 

[Joanne]

Sorry it's been so hectic. I hope it really is a URI and that the antibiotics work. If the Baytril is helping, make sure he is on it for an extended time, at least 6 weeks. If you go on a short course of two to three weeks, you just kill off the weak bacteria and leave the strong, resistant bacteria there to regrow. Some rats need to be on Baytril for a very long time if they tend to relapse after being off it. I have had rats on it for over a year, with no noted ill effects.
Good luck to your boy! Once he starts feeling better, his appetite should improve too.

 

[Mucky]

thought i'd share this picture

 

[jorats]

He's a sweetie, I hope he continues to do well.

 

[mamarat]

Glad your boy is doing better. Sending healing vibes, he's so beautiful.