Reasons for rapid breathing (other than URI)?

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mouse-crazy

Active Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2014
Messages
37
Location
Pittsford, NY
Hi. My poor Cloud has been breathing strangely for a few weeks (rapidly/quickly), and sometimes has a squeaky sound while breathing.

The vet gave me Baytril and Doxy in case it was an upper respiratory infection, although she said that she didn't hear any of the telltale crackling that is normal in those cases. She couldn't find anything wrong with him during the examination. I'm taking him back tomorrow for a re-check since the medication (given for 2 weeks) had no effect.

Anyway, my question is whether some other issue could cause breathing problems. I thought maybe it could be heart trouble (he breathes better when he's calm) but the doctor couldn't hear anything wrong there as well. We didn't want to give him an xray because breathing problems and anesthesia don't mix well.

Any suggestions? I'd like to have something else to try if she still can't find anything wrong.

Thank you!

Edited to add: he's almost 2 years old and is a chubster - but that's nothing new in his life. His only other symptom is some discharge/porphyrin from the eye and nose.
 
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I was thinking heart disease could be possible. I had a rat a few months ago who had laboured breathing - he had had a chronic URI for a while but it was under control, as he was on antibiotics. His only symptom was the laboured breathing, as he was eating and acting OK otherwise. The vet diagnosed him with heart disease.

I did notice that the tip of his tail felt cold. Maybe you could check whether that is the case with your rat, as it can be a sign of a circulatory problem. Also, my boy did put on weight fairly quickly, which turned out to be fluid retention from the heart disease - he put on about 50-60g in the space of a couple of weeks. It did take me a few vet visits to get the right diagnosis, as I do have real issues with finding a good rat vet where I am.

Good luck with your boy and I hope that you can find out what is wrong.
 
I am sorry that Cloud is not feeling well. He may have a resp. infection. http://ratguide.com/health/bacteria/mycoplasma_mycoplasmosis.php
http://ratguide.com/health/lower_respiratory/pneumonia.php

What is he taking and what is the strength (mg/ml)? How much does he weigh? What is the dose he is being given?

If you give antibiotics and do not see an improvement within 2 or 3 days, than you need to try a different combo of antibiotics. Baytril + azithromycin (10 mg/Ib) orally, twice a day is a good combo.
When antibiotics are helping, the rattie needs to stay on them for 6 weeks (or sometimes longer)
Azithromycin is often purchased by vet prescription from a human pharmacy - it is good for 10 days once mixed so I divide it in half before mixing it.

If you suspect heart disease, test dose with benazepril or enalapril.
If it helps then atenolol is added and the rat is given an xray to see if the heart is enlarged
(my vet does not use anesthesia - but make sure whomever holds the rat during xray knows what they are doing and pays attention - a vet assistant suffocated my rat and killed her while she was being x-rayed)
If the heart is enlarged, then digoxin is added.

He may also need antibiotics for a resp infection and Lasix if fluid is building up in his lungs

My vet will consult with other vets and has many years of experience in recognizing enlarged hearts on an xray, if your vet wants a second opinion

http://ratguide.com/health/cardiovascular/congestive_heart_failure.php

I hope this info helps and I hope he is soon feeling better
 
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Thank you SQ and Miss Rattie for your help and encouragement!

So, at the the appointment today, the vet still couldn't hear anything wrong with Cloud. We had x-rays done, but something was wrong with the machine/computer system, so results won't be in until Monday. She said (and the assistant agreed) that heart problems are very rare in rats, and that they've never seen one before with that problem. Strange. But this is a vet's office that treats exotics, and did a very good job with a previous rat of mine.

In any case, she did let me have a two-day supply of lasix to see if that helps, but didn't want to try either of the medications that SQ suggested. I have to wait until Monday anyway to see what the x-ray results are, and adjust meds from there.

They were able to do the x-ray without anesthesia, but told me that he was so stressed out afterwards that they had to give him oxygen because his breathing got so bad.

I will update this on Monday. Thanks again, guys!
 
Make sure that you keep him well hydrated and watch for dehydration, dehydration kills. If you are not aware of how to give sub-Q fluids, get your vet to show you on Monday, and buy the equipment from the vet ... see posts in the reference section of this forum

Heart disease is very common in rats in this part of the country .... but most people just think their rats had a resp. infection or vets do not recognize it so the rats die undiagnosed and untreated. .......... I have had well over a hundred rats and heart disease has been one of the most common health issues, and one of the most common causes of death - and in the past the pet stores here (where all rats in the Maritimes originated from) got their rats from mills in Ontario or Quebec

Many heart issues will not show up on an xray - it will show if the heart is enlarged but many heart issues do not cause that ...... but meds will help those types of heart disease
That is one reason why you test dose ..... if the meds help then you know there is a heart issue and can add atenolol. The meds use to test dose are safe to use for this purpose, I hope that you vet will consult with vets who have more experience with treating heart problems in pet rats in order to discover that it is ok to do this.

If trying other antibiotics, such as baytril + azithromycin (10 mg/Ib) or baytril + azithromycin (10 mg/Ib) + doxy do not help, then I hope your vet will test dose for a heart issue.

I hope that the xray will show what is wrong and that he can be effectively treated
 
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I would definitely keep him on baytril for a very long time. Sometimes it can take up to 3 months on abs to make a difference. Being old and his weight is harder on his lungs so a small infection can be affect him hard.
My vet also agrees that heart disease in rats is rare but that could be the genetics in our neck of the woods. We've had over 300 rats in our care and only 1 had heart issues.
 
I have had success in older rats with clavamox for URIs, which could be worth a try.

In one case baytril/doxy didn't seem to be having an effect at all. I switched to clavamox/doxy and had a really good response in my boy who was almost three at the time.

I agree completely about treating for longer also, I have sometimes needed to give antibiotics for 3-4 weeks to get a proper response. My boy who had the doxy/clavamox ended up being on antibiotics for the rest of his life, as his symptoms came back within a couple of days of stopping treatment.
 
Thanks again for your support, guys!

Cloud's x-ray came back as normal, with no tumors or obvious heart problems. So he's now on Clavamox for a month, and Metacam for anti-inflammatory purposes. If this is the answer, I'm supposed to see results within a week. I'm hopeful...
 
Hope it helps and he is soon feeling better.
If not try the antibiotic combo I suggested
if that doesn't help then please try benazepril to see if there is a heart issue.
Min time for antibiotics that help is 4 weeks ..... but most need 6 weeks

good luck
 
One more thing - could you please let me know if this seems to be the right dose of Metacam?
for a 650 gm rat: 0.4cc twice daily of 1.5mg/mL liquid

I think she wants him to be on this for a while, but I only have a 10mL bottle (for $40!) and that will be gone pretty quickly on that dose. I just want to double-check. Thanks.
 
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