Questions about PT

Shop with us on Ebay
Advertise with us
Fins us on Amazon
The Rat Shack Forum

Help Support The Rat Shack Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Ugh, oh boy. It sounds like Zephye is having a myco flare up as well :c he just started making sounds again and sneezing more. Can you treat PT and a myco flare up at the same time? I guess I'll know before anyone answers when I ask my vet but any input would be good too.

Another note, should I ever separate Zephye from his cage mate? I watched Nemo try to box with him earlier like the used to but I worry since Zephye isn't exactly like himself that he might get hurt.
 
Last edited:
Yes, you can treat for a uri and for pt. Also, keep in mind that a pt can make it look like the rat is having a uri. I once had a rat with pt but didn't show much of the symptoms. I rushed to have him put to sleep because he had a uri and finally started gasping. A necropsy showed very healthy lungs but a massive pt.
 
Oh my, I was thinking maybe the PT had something to do with it as he was fine yesterday with no monkey sounds or extreme sneezing. But he does have pretty bad myco so maybe it's a combination of things. I'll treat for the myco as well just in case though, thank you for answering!
 
My first PT rat was treated for a URI since the incompetent vet kept insisting it was a URI and refused to learn to anything else....
 
Got back from the vets this morning (I fell asleep after not really sleeping all night). He definitely thinks it PT and has started Zephye on cabergoline, no Dex though. I asked about it and he said that Dex can have a side effect where it makes them more susceptible to infections and since we suspect a mild URI it was best to hold off unless he doesn't improve at all this week then we're going back for Dex. He also has some enro just to get rid of the cold he has, his lungs are clear so it's mostly in his nose.
 
Good - keep us updated! Dex suppresses the immune system. If the Cabergoline doesn't seem to be helping, he may need the Dex anyway for a boost. Just keep him on the Baytril along with the Dex if it is needed.
 
We usually ask for a single injection of the dex to kickstart the treatment. I would worry more about long-term use of dex with an infection. The dex brings down the inflammation on the brain, and the symptoms subside, giving the bromocriptine or cabergoline time to build up in the body and start working. With bromo it takes 4-5 days before you see a result and if the PT is severe (they can regress so fast in 24 hours) you could almost lose them in that time.

Good luck with your baby, fingers and paws crossed that its a prolactinoma (most common PT type) and responds to the caber.
 
Zephye is doing okay, I would guess. He doesn't really eat his mushed up oxbow (even mixed with almond milk and baby cereal) but he will eat veggies and spaghetti. I'm worried because I haven't seen him drink from his water bottle (I put one on the bottom level for him). I don't know if maybe he's getting enough fluids from the mushed up oxbow and veggies to not drink much water S: or something else.
 
Zephye said:
Zephye is doing okay, I would guess. He doesn't really eat his mushed up oxbow (even mixed with almond milk and baby cereal) but he will eat veggies and spaghetti. I'm worried because I haven't seen him drink from his water bottle (I put one on the bottom level for him). I don't know if maybe he's getting enough fluids from the mushed up oxbow and veggies to not drink much water S: or something else.
Click to expand...

My PT girl never drank from a water bottle again. I really don't know why sometimes that happens....but she received enough fluids from the baby food preparations I gave her. I also would give her some pedialite via syringe & sometimes mixing w/ her many mushie meals.
 
Oh, okay. I was worried that he wasn't drinking but it's good to hear that it seems pretty normal. He was out and about a little today so he has enough energy to walk around and explore.

On a good note I just weighed him and since his vet visit on Monday where he weighed 507G he's now around 600g!
 
We had to add water dishes too, but small ones since our boys would fall into them or just lay in the dishes. You can try the skin test - if you pull the skin up and it stays, he needs fluid. We did SQ and syringed fluids - we were told he had to take in 30mls so we did 10mls at a time over the course of the day. You also may have to lower the water bottles almost to the ground.
 
Can you give any pain killers while a rat is on Cabergoline? Just Zephye has perked up a bit since taking the medication, but he's still somewhat puffy from time to time, squinty eyed and grinds his teeth. :worry: I worry he's in pain.
 
Many PT rats display that puffiness, squinty eyes and REALLY loud bruxing. I too have wondered if it was pain or just one of the many signs of PT. I just checked the drug monograph and there are no drug interactions with pain killers. It should be given with food and used with caution in someone with a history of peptic ulcers, so it sounds like it may be hard on the stomach. Perhaps avoid NSAIDs and use Tylenol instead if you are going to use something.
 
I had the same concern when I touched Kona's head he seemed in pain, but I also think he had an UTI which was causing him pain. I do believe we gave him tramadol.
 
Well, on a good note. Today Zephye wasn't puffy or squinty eyed c: he looks better but his balance is pretty awful now. He can barely groom himself without falling over and definitely can't stand on a platform without tumbling. Sigh, if Nemo wasn't in the same cage I would remove all the ramps just so Zephye didn't have any chance of falling around. He's well enough to squirm a bit when I'm checking him for penis plugs so at least there's still some energy left in that boy. I would write today as a good day. His appetite is also really good, he's been eating lots of his mushed oxbow with baby cereal.
 
He's been doing owie stretches now :c sigh, my fiance and I have talked about it. Although the cabergoline has helped with the slowing down process of PT it's become apparent that Zephye is still declining. (and it won't get better from here) In light of this we think that the best course of action is to help him across the bridge now. He can't groom himself, walk, drink, stand, and seems to be in pain now. Worse yet is that we have to fight with him to get his medication in. It just doesn't seem like a good quality of life and we don't want him to continue to suffer like this any more. He spends his time lying on his side about 22 hours of the day, sometimes he's asleep other times he's just lying awake. He doesn't react to anything around him any more and shows little to no spark of life. :cries: We haven't called the vets yet but we have to call around a bit before deciding when it'll be time.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top