Lump under throat

So this time one of my boys has suddenly developed a lump under his throat (like in the past 12 hrs while I was at school). He isn't showing any signs of pain or discomfort aside from the lump. These are the best pictures I could get of it.

I'd take him to the vet if you haven't already - it may be an abscess but anything on or near the face can interfere with eating and other vital things so def get it checked out

Petunia said:

I'd take him to the vet if you haven't already - it may be an abscess but anything on or near the face can interfere with eating and other vital things so def get it checked out

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Thanks for the reply. All 11 of my rats went to the vet today to be checked out. This morning the other 2 boys that live with him showed signs of a URI that was pretty bad (so it escalated quickly). The bump is suspected enlarged lymph nodes kinda confirming my original thought that I might be dealing with an SDA outbreak. All the 6 rats showing respiratory signs are on antibiotics and the 3 boys are also on metacam. The rest of the group are going to be monitored closely to see if they begin to develop anything.

First thing I was going to suggest is SDA

Now you have to figure out how you got it or patient zero...it gives you an idea of how long you are going to have to endure this. I actually did up a post with pics of my bout with SDA on the forum. Has anyone's eyes been affected? I found ointment and metacam along with all the antibiotics helped those resolve.

Here's the thread

http://www.ratshackforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26844

lilspaz68 said:

First thing I was going to suggest is SDA

Now you have to figure out how you got it or patient zero...it gives you an idea of how long you are going to have to endure this. I actually did up a post with pics of my bout with SDA on the forum. Has anyone's eyes been affected? I found ointment and metacam along with all the antibiotics helped those resolve.

Here's the thread

http://www.ratshackforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26844

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No ones eyes have been affected yet thankfully. I think it was the new girl I got last weekend so it's probably been around 10 days of exposure, and she only has some sneezing that I started treating last Wednesday when they began. No one else had problems until Sunday when another girl started sneezing and lost weight. No one has gone through any intros yet. Unfortunately it's hard to quarantine as I'm at school renting one room so they can only be in the same spot. I just have to be super careful now as I work with rats at school on Fridays so I'm going to bring different clothes and change there, then shower and change when I get home. At this point is more monitoring and treating what happens now.

Also any suggestions on what I can give to my worst boy? He is refusing to eat/drink much if at all so I want to keep him hydrated. I'm grabbing a hot pack or two tomorrow as his temp is low.

You may have to do some subcutaneous fluids to help him stay hydrated. It would probably be less distressing than trying to force feed him. Warm the fluid before injection.
It is very difficult dealing with that disease. Hang in there, I hope they all make out OK.

Joanne said:

You may have to do some subcutaneous fluids to help him stay hydrated. It would probably be less distressing than trying to force feed him. Warm the fluid before injection.
It is very difficult dealing with that disease. Hang in there, I hope they all make out OK.

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Yeah that what I was thinking, I was going to ask the vet if they could give me some. Jeremy is the sickest and the only one who I'm worried about. All the others are eating and drinking, even Stig who had the swollen throat.

What antibiotics and medications were you given?

lilspaz68 said:

What antibiotics and medications were you given?

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I was given baytril and doxy for the ones showing signs and metacam for the three boys who are the worst. They started their meds yesterday morning when I got back from the vet. I don't have the exact doses at the moment but I can post them later.

hooliganism said:

I was given baytril and doxy for the ones showing signs and metacam for the three boys who are the worst. They started their meds yesterday morning when I got back from the vet. I don't have the exact doses at the moment but I can post them later.

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OK that's good

How is everyone now?

Do you mind if I ask generally where you are located? Its good to know that the virus is in the area.

lilspaz68 said:

OK that's good

How is everyone now?

Do you mind if I ask generally where you are located? Its good to know that the virus is in the area.

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I'm currently in Kingston ON for school but I got my new girl from North York. Everyone is doing better, Stig's throat is not very swollen anymore and Jeremy has drank some water on his own today after I gave him fluids yesterday. Those effected are still a bit sneezy and congested but everyone is now drinking at least. Jeremy still isn't eating as much as he normally does but he is trying to eat now which is good.

Great update!

Today's update: Jeremy is pretty much back to his old pudgy self eating and stealing food from the other boys. Stig's throat is back to normal. Diesel is still sounding like a guinea pig but eating and drinking like a champ. The girls who are currently at my friends house for thanksgiving weekend are all doing awesome and taking their meds easily with baby food. Seems like we are almost out of the woods from this outbreak!

Miss Thrift decided she wanted to give my friend and I a heart attack this evening by going into a fit of open mouth breathing. Although I suspect she has a heart issue or lung damage from previous URIs, I think this bout is making it difficult for her. Aside from keeping her calm (as she likes to have panicky moments and is mildly terrified of everything due to early life experiences including being dropped on the floor by an incompetent petstore worker) is there anything else we can do to help her breathing? The only emergency vet is clueless with rats and its a holiday weekend so I would like to hold off on that route unless absolutely necessary. After about 20 minutes she calmed down and was just congested like she has been for a while, still eating and drinking normally and snuggling with her buddy Sparrow.

Oxygen is the quickest way to help her breathing, but most people don't have access to any.
If she has a build up of mucus, then steaming will help her, but if she has a build up of fluid, then it will make things worse. So you could try steaming her, and watch her very closely - if she shows any sign of distress then remove her immediately.

Thought I would post a quick update to this thread to conclude this saga. I lost my cotton ball Thrift on Thursday evening. I think the SDA combined with suspected CHF was too much. She had more gasping by attacks and when I got home from school Thursday evening she was in a bad way. She was subsequently pts to stop her suffering. Everybody else is all better, although Rin is depressed at loosing her first buddy. She has taken to snuggling with the new girl Midna when they are together. I hope no one else has to experience SDA anytime soon.

I'm sorry you lost your sweet lady Thrift. SDA is a horrible disease. I'm glad everyone else is recovering.

So very very sorry for your loss. I am hearing of more and more incidences of SDA in the US and in Canada.