(update AGAIN)HELP - going to vet tonite want your advice

[missnikki]

So I managed to get some meds into her with force feeding using the syringe (not the needle one) - I know how to feed with that syringe but I'm talking about if I get an actual syringe with a needle to inject it directly. Will still check out the vid.

She is same as yesterday pretty much and it was upsetting to force feed her the meds.. she was very mad at me I think .. even tried to bite my boyfriend who she usually even prefers over me. Poor girl.

 

[missnikki]

Watched lilspz's GREAT video as well by the way and had a little more success with getting the meds down her lil mouth. A few spills but she definitley got more meds in her today than yesterday. She also had a great cuddle with my boyfriend (which I think was her way of saying sorry for trying to bite, hehe). Here's to hoping she bounces back ...

 

[mamarat]

Sending healing vibes to your sweetie.

 

[missnikki]

So this morn she drank some water on her own and I gave her the meds by mouth with a little struggle. Hope this works.

 

[lilspaz68]

Wonderful. Cuddles and a treat after medicating her should make it less of an ordeal for both of you

 

[missnikki]

On the 29th it will be two weeks ob the meds. Had to go get new antibiotic (doxy) cuz she is not improving...dont know what else to do..

 

[lilspaz68]

When did you add the doxy in?

 

[victoria]

Did you ever treat for parasites?

 

[lilspaz68]

Did you ever treat for parasites?

The vet treated her with Revo.

 

[victoria]

Did you ever treat for parasites?

The vet treated her with Revo.

Oops, missed that.

 

[missnikki]

She passed away early this morn. I had juat added the doxy two days prior. She was only 3 months old. I dont know what I did wrong.

 

[mamarat]

Oh no, so young. I'm so sorry.

 

[lilspaz68]

Oh sweetie I am so sorry!!

We'll go over her symptoms later on when you feel better and try to figure out what happened and give you some closure. ((hugs))

 

[missnikki]

Thanks ...

I keep looking over at the cage expecting to see them there...

I have no more rats. It feels so.. wrong.

Anyway, she seemed fine until Ruby died then she exhibited almost IDENTICAL symptoms ... laboured breathing, clicking in lungs while breathing, being sleepy and lethargic, not wanting to eat or drink ... the doc said Ruby had pneumonia and that probably Lady had the same thing but I don't understand why the meds didn't help Lady - she was so young I thot she would bounce back ...

 

[Joanne]

I'm so sorry you lost both your girls so soon and so young. You might want to consider that you may have had another disease other than just pnuemonia. Some people here are more familiar with viruses, etc that can be transmitted. This is also important if you are considering getting more ratties after you mourn your babies. It's so tough on your heart - hang in there. :hugs:

 

[leescait]

You did nothing wrong.

Pneumonia is a really hard disease. Many, many people die in hospital as a result of pneumonia. It can be really serious and progress fast.

The problem with using antibiotics is that for things like pneumonia, there is no way for us to really confirm what bacteria is in there without a lung biopsy (something you'd rather not do!). So when you go to your doc for pneumonia or a UTI or whatever, he knows what bacterial infections are most common in your community, and makes an educated guess of what antibiotic he'll start you on.

Antibiotics kill bacteria in different ways, and there are loads of bacteria with different susceptibilities - so doxycycline won't kill what ciprofloxacin might.

If the vet doesn't guess the right antibiotic fast enough, you can get an infection that can kill a rat. Even if you DO get the right antibiotic, some bacteria are resistant - and even if they are just normal bacteria, antibiotics still need a well-working immune system to ultimately kill off the bacteria. These things happen to people all the time in hospitals.

In short, antibiotics and illness can be a bit of a crap shoot. It's NOT your fault your rats died . . . it was just unlucky. I hope maybe that clarifies what might have gone wrong even though you did what you were supposed to.