Very discouraging vet visit, need advice!

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Some rats find Carefresh really dusty and sneeze inducing so that could totally be it. He may still be having new home sneezes combined with some stress and possibly a sensitivity to something.

Or he might be a sneezer. If there's no lung sounds, we eliminate all possible irritants and the zithro still doesn't help after a couple of weeks, then you might very well just have a sneezy boy
 
Thanks everyone! The vet said that his lungs sound ok, and that it seemed to only be in his nasal cavity :thumbup:

Would you recommend switching to yesterdays news or fleece? I don't use any strong fragrant cleaners, mostly just diluted vinegar. But I will have to get rid of my glade plug ins.
 
It's probably worth a shot, just in case. I like the newspaper pellets myself, but if you have a CN or FN it would probably be easier to use fleece, unless you have one of those pans.

So glad his lungs sound OK! Yay!
 
Tomorrow Logan will be on Zithromycin for a week. He was on Baytril for the week before with no change. Still no noticeable change after a week of Zithro. Logan still has little sneezing fits, and I have noticed that when he first gets taken out he has a slight whistling noise, when he sniffs hard. But he can go for 30min-1hr without sneezing at all. Still no other symptoms. I cleaned his cage really good tonight and used yesterdays news instead of the care fresh, so we will see if that helps the little guy. I still have another weeks worth of the Zithro. I am wondereing if I should get more, or if I should give up on it if their is no change after being on it for 14 days? I am also wondering if after I have tried the antibiotics, and there is no change, then maybe I should try childrens benedryl for allergies?

Good news is two weeks ago he was 275g, then a week ago he was 300g, and this morning I weighed him and he was 320g! So he is still eating and drinking lots. Which is a good sign, and Fiona & Norman aren't showing any signs of catching whatever it is Logan has. :joy:

I just hope that if the sneezing doesn't go away, that the vets will still neuter him. Because he won't be able to go in with Fiona until he is neutered... unless I get Fiona spayed???
 
That is so true, I didn't even think of that :emb: The zithromycin is 20mg/mL and right now he is getting 0.5mL (or 10mg) 2x day. What is the dose suppose to be for a 320g rat?

Is their a specific type of benedryl I should buy? I seen that someone else was using the children's stuff, not adult or infant for their rat?

Thanks
 
I would just like to say thanks to everyone for helping pixie out!
i'm affraid i'm sounding like a broken record these days, but my rats, Coley, and work has me going hard these days!

Pixie who did you see at Cavan? It's crazy that they would say that!
((hugs))
i'm sorry i'm not around more hun...
I'm glad those kids are with you!
 
henry's_mum said:
I would just like to say thanks to everyone for helping pixie out!
i'm affraid i'm sounding like a broken record these days, but my rats, Coley, and work has me going hard these days!

Pixie who did you see at Cavan? It's crazy that they would say that!
((hugs))
i'm sorry i'm not around more hun...
I'm glad those kids are with you!

No worries Lyndsy, you have enough on your plate with work, Cole and all your lovely critters. I don't know how you find even 5 minutes to come on here.

The first vet we saw was a lady vet, who gave us the Baytril. The second time we saw the owner Dr. Richard Maser. He is the one who said he should NEVER go near other rats. He didn't seem to think keeping Logan alone for the rest of his life was an issue, even though Logan is only 4-5 months old. And they don't do spays on rats, only neuters.

So tomorrow I have an appointment for all three rats after work, at a different exotic vet in Port Hope. She said they do neuters and spays on rats. So both Logan and Fiona are going in to get assessed to see if they are a healthy candidate for a neuter & spay. Plus she will also check Logan over for his sneezing issues. Norman is going in so I can get another opinion on his lump, which is very slowly growing. :sad3: But doesn't seem to be bothering him or causing him any pain. He is back up to 732 grams which at one point he was 711g so thats good. Plus twice now, I have caught him hiccupping. The first time he was making a chirping noise with the hiccup and it lasted for maybe 30secs, and the second time was silent and only lasted for a few seconds. Hopefully it isn't the start of a URI. No sneezes or discharge on him or Fiona :joy:

The receptionist allotted us an hour. So I am really hoping this vet is more optimistic about Logan and is friendly and experienced in rats. Tonight I will be searching the posts to look for questions I should be asking about spay and neuters, and any medication suggestions for stubborn URI. Although the benadryl does seem to be helping Logan's sneezing so maybe he suffers from allergies.
 
Vet appointment went good :thumbup: Despite Logan's persistent sneezing, his lungs still sound good :joy: The vet thinks it is worth taking him off antibiotics and continuing with benadryl to see how it affects him. Since he was sneezing before antibiotic and after taking antibiotics she thinks he may just be a rat with chronic sneezings, and he will have to be carefully watched. If he gets worse then he will probably have to always be on antibiotics. The vet said as long as his sneezing doesn't get worse then she would perform a neuter on him & she said otherwise he was in very good condition. She was quite taken with him :heart:

Fiona and Norman both have healthy sounding lungs :dance: She did think Norman's lump could be removed but it would cost around $200-300. Right now my vet funds are going into getting Fiona spayed :joy: She goes in for surgery Monday, March 21st which will cost $305. The vet was very enthusiastic about spaying rats to prevent mammary tumours. I am going to wait and see how introductions go after Fiona has healed from surgery, before I decide to get Logan neutered. I am leaning towards getting him done still, but I will make that decision after trying introduction. The vet uses isoflurane gas and a heat pad during and after surgery. I forgot to ask about pain meds and antibiotics :emb: I will phone tomorrow to ask about it. And the receptionist said to fast Fiona before surgery and I will ask about this as well.

If I don't need to get Logan neutered, then I may use that money towards Norman's bump.
 
No fasting before rat's have surgery...typical dog and cat thing, but rats cannot throw up plus they have such high metabolisms it could be dangerous to fast them. Mine get food until they are taken away to be anesthetized and prepped.
 
lilspaz68 said:
No fasting before rat's have surgery...typical dog and cat thing, but rats cannot throw up plus they have such high metabolisms it could be dangerous to fast them. Mine get food until they are taken away to be anesthetized and prepped.

I am going to phone the vet tomorrow to talk to her about this. I wasn't planning on following their instructions. No fasting for my Fiona.
 
lilspaz68 said:
No fasting before rat's have surgery...typical dog and cat thing, but rats cannot throw up plus they have such high metabolisms it could be dangerous to fast them. Mine get food until they are taken away to be anesthetized and prepped.
I concur...
 
My vets (super cautious) like to board surgery patients overnight before surgery because they don't want them to eat for 2 or 3 hours before surgery. It's not the risk of vomiting but of choking from pieces of food still in their mouth during surgery. They do allow soft foods during that period. It's possible the receptionist was referring to something like that when she told you to fast or she was just extrapolating from cats and dogs.
 
I phoned the vet and they were mistaken about the fasting, so Fiona does not have to fast before surgery. The receptionist got it wrong. The lady on the phone said they don't normally put them on antibiotics after thr surgery, but they do give 3 days worth of pain meds.

Do you think I should insist on antibiotics after the spay to prevent infection? Or should she be ok?
 
Most surgeries I have had done have not required post op abs. Sometimes with older rats or ones with a history of resp infections I have gotten them but with young, healthy rats I have not needed them. Lily was e-spayed almost full term when she was three months old and she didn't develop any issues.
 
Thats good to know! I can't wait to get Fiona spayed, she has been in constant heat since Logan has been in the house. Much more neurotic then usual, hopefully that should subside once she is spayed. He little ears don't stop vibrating.
 
Moon said:
Some rats find Carefresh really dusty and sneeze inducing so that could totally be it. He may still be having new home sneezes combined with some stress and possibly a sensitivity to something.

Or he might be a sneezer. If there's no lung sounds, we eliminate all possible irritants and the zithro still doesn't help after a couple of weeks, then you might very well just have a sneezy boy

Moon ....new home sneezes? Can you tell me a little more about that. I think my Luke is a little sneezy. I just got him yesterday.
 

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