Suddenly my rat seems to have a URI, no vet in or around my town is open until Monday. Im scared she wont make it. she's eating still. I have human amoxicillin, is it safe to administor this to her and if so, how do i do it? ive covered the cage in a sheet with a steaming pot. I'm trying to keep the house warm. I dont know what else to do. Please help!
URI and can't see vet until Monday
- Thread starter Fuzzy91
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mamarat
Well-Known Member
I wouldn't give her the human stuff but maybe try infant Benedryl until you see the vet. This is just my opinion though. Also make sure she's hydrated and kept warm.
lilspaz68
Well-Known Member
What are her exact symptoms?
For eg. Congestion, but still bright, eating and moving around, or dry crackles, lethargy, puffed up fur, eating little, etc
For eg. Congestion, but still bright, eating and moving around, or dry crackles, lethargy, puffed up fur, eating little, etc
Shes still active and eating and drinking, when I go to the cage, she comes to the door. Doesnt seem panicky at all and yet I can hear that her chest is congested and she sometimes makes a weird repetitive congested noise. i cant explain it. I think if she was having difficulty breathing she wouldnt be active would she? i cant tell if she is just congested or struggling for breath. it doesnt seem like she is struggling too hard to breath thank god. im so scared she might take a turn for the worst before monday comes. i wish there was something i could do in the mean time.
RattusNorvegicus
Well-Known Member
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If you get Benadryl, yes you want Children's Benadryl that is just Diphenhydramine. You don't want Benadryl-D or any that contain Phenylphrine.
Take her in the bathroom and turn the shower on hot. Try to stand up holding her, or put a carrier on the counter since steam rises. That should help her breathe. I try to do this twice a day when my girls get sick until meds start helping.
If she starts gasping (open mouth breathing) if you have an inhaler you could give her some. Mine has a chamber so I don't need to, but just get a toilet paper roll and put it around her nose and around the mouth piece so she can actually breathe some in.
Dark chocolate can also help her breathe.
Metacam can help clear up inflammation and I believe Ibuprofen would do the same thing so if you have either of those you could give her an appropriate dose. (We can help you here. We'd need her weight and the concentration of the Ibu/Metacam)
Was there supposed to be a video? I don't see one. I hope your girl will be okay until she can get to the vet. :heart:
And also when any of my girls have trouble breathing (usually really congested) they are still very active. Never to the point of lethargic. Owl gets really bad and she still hops around the cage jumping on everyone's backs trying to play.
Take her in the bathroom and turn the shower on hot. Try to stand up holding her, or put a carrier on the counter since steam rises. That should help her breathe. I try to do this twice a day when my girls get sick until meds start helping.
If she starts gasping (open mouth breathing) if you have an inhaler you could give her some. Mine has a chamber so I don't need to, but just get a toilet paper roll and put it around her nose and around the mouth piece so she can actually breathe some in.
Dark chocolate can also help her breathe.
Metacam can help clear up inflammation and I believe Ibuprofen would do the same thing so if you have either of those you could give her an appropriate dose. (We can help you here. We'd need her weight and the concentration of the Ibu/Metacam)
Was there supposed to be a video? I don't see one. I hope your girl will be okay until she can get to the vet. :heart:
And also when any of my girls have trouble breathing (usually really congested) they are still very active. Never to the point of lethargic. Owl gets really bad and she still hops around the cage jumping on everyone's backs trying to play.
My first boy I lost was from the exact same description I think you describe, but it's not gone critical yet unlike his, but you have a small window to treat it so ya I would get to your vet asap when you can. This video I have is the sounds my boy made when he was critical and lathergic:
[Plz note, this might be stressful to watch for some viewers, this is just to help those who fear their pet rats may have Phenomina or advanced URI as my previous boy did. If you listen closely he makes loud clicking heavy breathing sounds, his fur isn't groomed, he's very dehydrated because he's completely given up on drinking and eating despite me syringe feeding, and his male parts issue was due to complete dehydration...was a very sad time for all of us to see him deteriorate like that, for me and everyone here at Rat Shack. I hope this vid can be used to help point out these illnesses for other rat owners so they may avoid the same out come]
[BBvideo 425,350:2z8r062k]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzD6EOMKkGQ[/BBvideo:2z8r062k]
That was sadly the night I had to put him down, because after everything I tried to do, including giving him Nebulization Therapy plus doxy, and syringe feeding him to keep him hydrated, he was just too far gone. The faster you treat this the likely they can recover, and would highly recommend baytril, doxy, and Nebulization therapy to aggressively treat it as well if you can afford it or if your vet suggests it as well.
[Plz note, this might be stressful to watch for some viewers, this is just to help those who fear their pet rats may have Phenomina or advanced URI as my previous boy did. If you listen closely he makes loud clicking heavy breathing sounds, his fur isn't groomed, he's very dehydrated because he's completely given up on drinking and eating despite me syringe feeding, and his male parts issue was due to complete dehydration...was a very sad time for all of us to see him deteriorate like that, for me and everyone here at Rat Shack. I hope this vid can be used to help point out these illnesses for other rat owners so they may avoid the same out come]
[BBvideo 425,350:2z8r062k]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzD6EOMKkGQ[/BBvideo:2z8r062k]
That was sadly the night I had to put him down, because after everything I tried to do, including giving him Nebulization Therapy plus doxy, and syringe feeding him to keep him hydrated, he was just too far gone. The faster you treat this the likely they can recover, and would highly recommend baytril, doxy, and Nebulization therapy to aggressively treat it as well if you can afford it or if your vet suggests it as well.
