should I be concerned? He's sick :(

One of my new boys, Haskell, has a odd medical history. His previous people said that from time to time, he will get just ONE "porphy" nostril, on the right. They took him to a vet and the vet gave them antibiotic nose drops to use. they used it once and he was fine the next day, so they came to the conclusion that he didn't need an antibiotic, but that using saline nose drops would be sufficient any time he had a flare up.
They also said he sounds like he has nasal congestion when this happens.
I'm skeptical, but they insist that he only gets better if they use a single drop of saline to clear up this "problem"

The boys have been here now for 2 weeks and except for a tiny tiny bit of morning nose "porph", they've seemed fine to me. With one tiny exception I'll get to in a minute.

So here it is, day 15.
The boys were out playing, they had a great time, I put them back in the cage, which had been cleaned out and switched around, so they ran around quite a bit when they were put back.

I walked by the cage about oh, 10 mins later and noticed that Haskell has a porphy nose, it is more on the right side/nostril than the left but both nostrils are porphy.
I also thought I heard some odd noises coming from him when he climbed up me.
I should add, he was more active today than he usually is.

Now, to my concern- knowing that he sometimes gets a porphy nose and having had rats with heart trouble in the past, I've been watching him carefully when he is out to play. Looking specifically for any hint that he gets tired with exertion or exercise. And I think I do see a tiny tiny bit of trouble in that dept. Not really obvious, but just enough, given what I already know about him, to think maybe he could have a heart issue.

I have also thought that I saw his feet turning a dusky color, his back feet I mean, when he's been running around. They immediately go back to normal when he stops, and he tends not to run around for long periods anyway....so I'm not sure.

So, to my question- should I take him to the vet and request a xray and exam and see if there's any reason to suspect that he's got a heart issue?
and/or should I dig out the enalapril and give it a try.......
although since the symptoms, IF they are symptoms, are so mild, how would I know if there was improvement?
except perhaps to try to entice him to run around a lot and see if he gets winded...??

I adore this boys- I have loved all of my rats, but these two fall into that group of "specials".

If putting him on meds now can help him live longer, that would be awesome. He's 18 mos old (they both are, they are brothers)


These guys came with a vet fund, so cost is not a major issue when making a decision about what to do.

Do you hear anything when you ratphone him? I can usually detect the heart beat to sound a bit off w/my heart problem boys. Does he have any breathing issues? Also its winter, my boys get more porphyfin in the winter and need a humidifier set up. I would try lasix before anything IF I was going to try and determine if there was a cardiac issue. However, that being said, your probably like me and expecting the worse and possibly overseeing things. I too see blue feet on all the boys these days - even when they aren't there. Although we're doing pretty good right now only have 3 sick guys.

Yeh I do worry that I"m seeing things that aren't there!!

I tried to listen to his heart but he's a squirmy guy, loves to hang out on my shoulder or sleep on my chest but not so thrilled with being held to be "rat phoned"

we have had several sudden and dramatic changes in weather- so that's a big possibility too.

I checked him a short while ago and his nose is all cleaned off, whew!

I don't see any breathing problems, but he was making an odd noise when he was climbing on me, something I hadn't heard before.

After having a couple of boys with heart issues, you really do get nervous! the signs can be so subtle at first.

for now I'll keep a close eye on him, if I do decide to take him to the vet it wouldn't be til next week at the earliest, anyway- unless he suddenly got obviously ill, of course

these two guys are so sweet! they are active and curious like girls but snuggly like big squishes!
and they are big, but not fat looking, they are both over 700 grams.
I think they are the biggest rats I've had so far.

I don't have anything to add, but whoa! Those are 'big-boned' boys!

Joanne said:

I don't have anything to add, but whoa! Those are 'big-boned' boys!

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this is what they looked like a year ago, at 6 mos old

they seemed like average sized boys.

they are not really fat, I mean, I've seen fat rats and these boys don't give you the impression of chubby boys. I don't know how else to explain it. They are very active. It looks like they may have been overweight at some point, as they have some loose hanging skin where it looks like they may have had "man boobs" (moobs)

I should measure them, they are long!!

If the symptoms you are seeing are so light you're not even sure they are there, I wouldn't worry. He may be having an off day...wait for 2 symptoms, congestion and continuous porphy nose before any concerns.

My thoughts on the single nostril is that it could be like people - my sinuses got crazy with weather changes, and I have congestion and pain that is noticeably worse on one side causing congestion in one nostril. Some of my boys too get porphy with our crazy coastal weather.

They are lucky they have such an astute, observant and experienced mom. And a vet fund - how wonderful.

I second Spaz's thought. Would just watch closely for now.

I third. Too many times have I taken my kiddos to the vet with concerns only to be told "You are too good at reading them, if they have anything, it is too early for me to detect it." Now, I wait for symptoms to be a little more present before taking them - so if he's happy and comfy, I would wait and see. Your instincts are probably right, but it might take a month or two for his symptoms develop into a condition that can actually be diagnosed.

My boys do thank you for your concern though since it reminded their parents to put up the humidifier last night... :thanks:

we need the humidifier early this year.
the weather's been so crazy, winter weather early in Fall
are any of your sick guys "heart rats" or do they have something else?

Petunia said:

we need the humidifier early this year.
the weather's been so crazy, winter weather early in Fall
are any of your sick guys "heart rats" or do they have something else?

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Axe and Throttle are cardiac - I don't think Axe will make it to Christmas. They are Popper's brothers, he past earlier this year or cardiac issue.

oh, no, hoping Axe makes it for the holidays at least

so, for Haskell: the porphy nose is gone, that seems more like it could be related to dust, I do need to vacuum.

However, I got a good listen to his chest, he does have a faster heart beat than his brother Ernest but I don't know if it's abnormally high. if I hear him make that odd noise again, I think maybe I'll take him in to the vet...

It was kind of like a grunting noise, while he was climbing up me- almost like he was having a hard time......

I don't know. Overall they look really healthy, so I probably shouldn't be worrying at all

Haskell sounded fine Tuesday afternoon during play time

Tonight I went by the cage and heard a terrible sound- he's all congested

My poor boy!

I got him started on dox and amox, the meds that came with him and am going to get him in to the vet at the earliest opening

I compare him to how his brother is after running around, and he's been seeming to breathe heavier after exercise, too.
It's sometimes hard to tell if he's just sniffing or if he's breathing hard, but today it looked more like heavy breathing

damn.

Sounds like a vet appointment is now needed. Poor little guy. Hope its nothing serious.:cookie1:

Poor baby... I really hope this is something that will clear up with abs!!!

he's got an appt for Friday, in the meantime I've started him on meds I got from his previous owners and just got some real baytril today so he's on that and doxy

Hopefully he'll be feeling a lot better real soon.

How was the vet? Hopefully he will be feeling better soon.

he was feeling so much better after only 4 doses of meds (I got some baytril for him to add to the doxy) that I cancelled the vet appt

he sounds great and has all his energy back, good appetite, etc

I'll keep him on the meds for 3 weeks and see how he does, ANy change, of course, and he's off to the vet

Good! It's a wonder what even a couple of days meds can do. Hope he continues to improve. @Haskell the Rascal - stop worrying your mama!

Yay! Good news your little man is recovering so quickly.