TheHermit
Senior Member
I know generally we make the call when the rat has lost its appetite, but I am on the fence with Alduin right now and not sure how to proceed at the vet tomorrow.
He has a thread called "Alduin & Klaus" which is mostly for him, but here I'd like to discuss the possibility of letting him go. It's really hard but even with an appetite, Al's QOL is very low.
He eats small amounts at a time and his appetite fluctuates by day. One day I will have to sit and keep offering him a food before he'll take it and eat it, the next day he'll take whatever I give him until it seems like he's had a full meal.
His energy levels are very, very low. He has no interest in coming out of the cage. He won't hang out with Klaus, who tries but Al turns away from him or pushes him away with his hand. He won't groom properly - I've never had to trim his nails for him before, but I do now.
Last night he choked after finishing a cashew. At least it looked like retching, it was awful. I couldn't get a video because by the time I ran to get my phone it was over. Today I got home and he was fine, even nibbling a lab block, and I gently picked him up and weighed him quickly (he's a pitiful 435g right now). By the time I got him back in the cage he was open mouth breathing, not quite gasping.
He spends all his time hanging his head over the edge of the shelf or in the cube. He seems so down... like he's only fighting because I'm making him fight.
He's on a doxy/baytril combo that doesn't seem to be doing much help, and is on infant ibu. I believe without the infant ibu he would be much worse.
The only time he seems happy is if I offer avocado. He's all about avocado. Other than that it's like he's just hanging on.
His weight is steadily declining despite me trying to feed him as many healthy and even unhealthy fats as possible. Cottage cheese, unsalted nuts, avocado, boiled or scrambled eggs and bits of my human food (toast, a bit of salmon sometimes, etc) are what I've been offering morning and night - PLUS the usual veggies. He gets loads of extras twice a day and in between, but I can't slow down his weight loss!
On January 21st he was 465g - he's lost 30 grams in a week despite my efforts.
There is a possibility he has PT as well, he shows some symptoms. Hopefully the vet will be able to tell, so he's seeing the vet at 5pm tomorrow and depending on what she says, he might not be coming home with me. I have no idea how tomorrow will go but based on all this...
I just wanted to know what you guys think...
EDIT: My instinct tells me he is unhappy but "OK" but as his weight declines, even though he eats, his QOL declines because he has no energy to do much more than focus on breathing and eating...
He has a thread called "Alduin & Klaus" which is mostly for him, but here I'd like to discuss the possibility of letting him go. It's really hard but even with an appetite, Al's QOL is very low.
He eats small amounts at a time and his appetite fluctuates by day. One day I will have to sit and keep offering him a food before he'll take it and eat it, the next day he'll take whatever I give him until it seems like he's had a full meal.
His energy levels are very, very low. He has no interest in coming out of the cage. He won't hang out with Klaus, who tries but Al turns away from him or pushes him away with his hand. He won't groom properly - I've never had to trim his nails for him before, but I do now.
Last night he choked after finishing a cashew. At least it looked like retching, it was awful. I couldn't get a video because by the time I ran to get my phone it was over. Today I got home and he was fine, even nibbling a lab block, and I gently picked him up and weighed him quickly (he's a pitiful 435g right now). By the time I got him back in the cage he was open mouth breathing, not quite gasping.
He spends all his time hanging his head over the edge of the shelf or in the cube. He seems so down... like he's only fighting because I'm making him fight.
He's on a doxy/baytril combo that doesn't seem to be doing much help, and is on infant ibu. I believe without the infant ibu he would be much worse.
The only time he seems happy is if I offer avocado. He's all about avocado. Other than that it's like he's just hanging on.
His weight is steadily declining despite me trying to feed him as many healthy and even unhealthy fats as possible. Cottage cheese, unsalted nuts, avocado, boiled or scrambled eggs and bits of my human food (toast, a bit of salmon sometimes, etc) are what I've been offering morning and night - PLUS the usual veggies. He gets loads of extras twice a day and in between, but I can't slow down his weight loss!
On January 21st he was 465g - he's lost 30 grams in a week despite my efforts.
There is a possibility he has PT as well, he shows some symptoms. Hopefully the vet will be able to tell, so he's seeing the vet at 5pm tomorrow and depending on what she says, he might not be coming home with me. I have no idea how tomorrow will go but based on all this...
I just wanted to know what you guys think...
EDIT: My instinct tells me he is unhappy but "OK" but as his weight declines, even though he eats, his QOL declines because he has no energy to do much more than focus on breathing and eating...
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