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tokiandskwis

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Sorry to everyone I probably seem like I never stop posting but this forum is the best resource I have.

My little sweetheart, Toki, at 3 months of age has such bad luck :( Two weeks ago, I suspected URI after hearing some very faint clicks while he breathed and seeing some lethargy and sneezing. Took him and his brother to the vet where they did a fecal analysis and an xray of Toki. They said his heart looked slightly enlarged but not to worry about it for now.....they said they didnt find any signs of URI. They found foreign bacteria in the poop and gave both of them erythromycin which did get rid of the bacteria which is good (they did another fecal test when we went back for a check up)

THEN after being on the antibiotics a week, Toki developed a lump on his neck overnight (it was probably there earlier but not visible) He was feeling really crap, hunched over, fluffed up, didnt want to play or eat or anything much.

I took him back to the vet and told them, after examination they said they suspect abscess, and he went into surgery to get it removed. He had the surgery that same day and when I picked him up to go home he seemed SO much better, energetic, naughty, just like his usual self. He is now on doxy for post op antibiotics and he is still acting happy as ever which I am so stoked about, it seemed that the abscess was making him feel yucky and after removal he changed for the better completely. But..now, I've been noticing some sneezing (not all the time, but its hard to gauge what is "too much" but around three/four times a day and some poryphin in the mornings when hes just woken up.
I tried to rat phone him and all that but honestly hes like a wet soap (hes only 3 months old!!) Last night I came close to where he was in the cage and tried to listen...I dont know if Im going insane or Im genuinely hearing very faint clicking again...or am I just hearing his tummy making a noise? or is he bruxxing quietly? Its driving me nuts. Ive also seen his hang his head over the side of the cage shelf a couple times.. :( I just dont know what to think anymore, Ive spent $1000 on vets/treatments and I feel completely ripped off.... Am I being paranoid? Are respiratory noises usually quite obvious? Please help Im pulling my hair out! :(
 
I would definitely feel ripped off at the fact that the vet should have tried draining the abscess before jumping to surgery....Kinda sounds like he is coming full circle with what his original problem was..clicking,sneezing....and the vet said they didn't think he had URI? Was what he was on the first time doxy as well? Maybe they need to try something else but if they don't think it is his lungs then why would they not worry about his enlarged heart being maybe the cause of the symptoms? I have never dealt with a rat with heart problems but I have seen my fair share of URI's lately and pneumonia which sadly we lost are battle with that one :( Hopefully some of the more experienced people can maybe help you sort out what his symptoms might be..
 
Hi tokiandskwis,

You're definitely not being paranoid. You're being a responsible pet rat parent. :) Almost every rat has mycoplasma/respiratory already. Sneezing 3-4 times a day with some porphyrin in the mornings isn't too bad. Ideally, however, you shouldn't see any sneezing or porphyrin....but ideal is not so common. :) Does he make any sounds when he breathes? If you do hear sounds while he's breathing, that would definitely be a sign he needs medication to treat a respiratory problem. However, you mentioned he's already on doxycycline which should help with a respiratory problem.

One thing I've learned in 25 years of living with rats is to trust myself. If I'm worried something might be wrong, I take my rats to the vet. I'd much rather make a mistake and take a rat in when I didn't really have to than not take my rat in for medical care and regret it later.

Regarding him sleeping with his head over the side of the cage shelf, that's not too unusual. Rats do sometimes like to sleep with their heads down.

That's wonderful that you could tell such a difference after his abscess was removed! I'm still wondering why your vet didn't tell you to apply warm compresses first before resorting to surgery (from your post on his abscess). But, I'm SO HAPPY to hear you could see such a big improvement after his abscess was gone.

I've not heard of erythromycin being used for bacteria in a fecal sample. I wonder what they did actually find? Usually vets prescribe panacur/fenbendazole or metronidazole for fecal tests that come back positive. I had a rat who'd had diarrhea for awhile and we did a fecal. He came back with pinworms, and trichomonas trophozoites and even had one Demodex mite! (He received a course of panacur and, after treatment, his next fecal test came back negative.)

You sound like you're not entirely confident with your vet. Are there others in your area you can try so you can compare?

Above all, I have to say that rats are not the hardiest of pets. They can have so many medical problems...more than you can ever imagine. Thank goodness they're also incredibly adorable and loveable!
 
Thank you guys for the replies, my boyfriend thinks Im going mad! haha.

Ratpack- You wouldnt believe the price of vets over here! (Im in New Zealand) especially for exotics :( I am a student and work one day a week so needless to say, I am now broke because of all this. I was concerned about the "slightly enlarged heart" but they said they want to "monitor" it :/ I am definitely thinking of calling around and finding somewhere decent to get a second opinion!

Aboutpetrats- I try to listen to his breathing often (paranoid, LOL) and 9/10 times I dont hear anything, but sometimes I think I listen so hard that I "hear" things but I cant tell if its my neck creaking or a tummy noise, but I can say I dont hear anything that is obvious and easily audible.

I asked them what they found in the poop and they said it will cost me extra to be sent to the lab to find out exactly what it was..they said it was not a parasite but that is was a spirally shape. They also offered me to get the abscess sent off for analysis for $180! (after $400 surgery I think not).

I was confident that his reason for being lethargic and not eating properly was the abscess, being right near this throat/jaw, especially after the dramatic improvement, but now with these other subtle symptoms...ahhhh i just dont know! I am determined to find a vet who really knows what hes talking about and who wont rip off a poor student like myself. Thank God I had money saved up!! But all gone now :( Should I just keep an eye on him and if anything worsens take him to a different vet?
 
Give the doxy a chance to work. If he has a very mild URI, it should help. But if the sneezes becomes more and he becomes lethargic again, call the vet for a recheck, that shouldn't cost as much as a real visit. Ask them for Baytril. Anesthetic from surgery can definitely cause him to have a worse URI.
 
It sounds like a clinic that is run by people who really want your money.

a "spirally thing" is not a great diagnosis, and they would have to know what the parasite was to treat it, so would have to actually recognize it. Erythromycin is not a choice for most endoparasites.

It sounds like they wanted to charge you for the abscess removal, as its a real surgery, instead of the less expensive lancing and draining. More money in their pocket.

It sounds like we are going to have to tell you what to ask for when you go in, and what to refuse.

IF your rat has NO symptoms of a heart issue then forget the monitoring, that might mean more vet visits. It's possible its a scare tactic, which I have seen used before in other over-priced exotic clinics.
 
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Bless your heart .... I know it can be frustrating.
What everyone said above is great advise. This forum is SO helpful to me also. I always try to seek advise from the forum before I make a desicion, if I am not quite clear on things. It helps tons!
Lilspaz hit it right on the head.
Hang in there & just keep asking :toothy1:
 
Thank you so much everyone for the replies. So horriblw that vets rip us off :( Ive just seen now Toki has ripped out a couple stitches, whats the best course of action for this? :/
 
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