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BoBa

New Member
Joined
Oct 20, 2018
Messages
2
Location
UK
My rat Yoda is extremely lethargic and after Baytril failing to make him better,I went to the vets today-she gave me Meloxicam, Baytril, Ronaxan and Bisolvon sach. It's a lot and cost £90!

I felt slightly more relaxed though with hope that this would work, but I gave Yoda his doses for today and I'm gutted. As advised, I administered the liquid meds in directly from the side of his mouth but he was very resistant and I could see a lot of it ended up under his chin and drooling out of his mouth. I'm giving him a break before trying the powdered med with babyfood but I don't know if that's going to work.

I'm going to buy different flavoured babyfood tomorrow and see if he is interested in food at all and we're going back to the vets in a few days. I just really hope he's going to get better because he's only a year old. Does anyone know any tricks to make rats take their medication?
 
They're all different in their likes.. and you have to make sure the ingredients aren't contraindicated for the meds. Some will take it in yogurt which is great. I've had good success with mixing peanut butter into liquid meds (can take a lot of mixing but has worked). Easier is chocolate, strawberry or caramel syrup (I have all 3 cause like I said, different kids, different likes). Peanut butter & chocolate syrup together usually work.
If you're testing stuff to find out what works, best to try just a bit of meds with it first til you find what works so you don't waste them.
 
Thank you so much-I'll definitely try those even to just trying to get him to eat because he's lacking interest in food more and more:(
 
If you're having a really hard time getting food into him try Ensure or Boost (again hard to know what flavor he'd like best, if you know anyone who uses it get a can from them), they usually love it and it will help tide him over til he gets his appetite back. It only keeps for 3 days in the fridge once you've opened the container, so pour it into an ice-cube tray and freeze it, then just thaw a cube as you need it.
I sure hope he perks up for you!
 
How long was Yoda on the baytril for before you switched to a combo? How much does your lad weigh, and what concentration and dose were you told to give and for how long (weeks?)

what symptoms is Yoda exhibiting? Is he older?
 
Most of mine take it with baby food mixed in but one rattie refused despite all the attempts.. She was on deaths door and I finally did the last thing I could think of.. I put it on her back.. Because rats hate being dirty I knew she would clean it off. Every day I tried to give it to her willingly but she wasn't having it.. I put the meds on a spoon and mushed it into her fur so it didn't slide off and she cleaned it all up.! Now she's a happy health little lady who escapes as much as she can. (high energy and curiosity)
 
Wow thank you everyone. He's been taking a mix of softened rat blocks, wheetabix, cereal and cheese bit by bit, but he doesn't have an appetite in general-we put him on all those meds and observed for three days but there wasn't a drastic difference. The vet gave me diuretic to add to the medication today and hopefully this helps clear things up a bit. In 6 days we're going back to the vets and decide whether to put him to sleep or not. His quality of life isn't too great and if it doesn't improve, unfortunately he'll have to be euthanised. Does anyone have experience euthanising an animal at a fairly young age (he's a year old)?
 
I used to have a lot of trouble administering medications consistently. No matter what I mixed them with they always went off them after a couple of days and would refuse to take them. Finally I figured out that ice-cream works. Especially with doxycycline and Baytril, two of the most commonly prescribed medications. I get doxycycline as powder in 100mg gel capsules which I pour out into 100ml molten ice-cream. It dissolves perfectly. I store it in the fridge. I also dissolve Baytril in ice-cream until the bitter flavour is weak enough for the rats to tolerate it. They love ice-cream so much I've never had a problem administering it again. Some people disapprove because it's fattening, but frankly I'd rather have a chubby healthy rat than an emaciated one with full-blown URI. If all else fails I'll put the the meds on their fur. They can't stand being dirty and will lick the stuff off bitter or not.

PS Some people say dairy and doxy can't be mixed but recent studies have shown that dairy products do not interfere with the absorption of doxycycline to a clinically significant extent.
 
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Thank you I've got some whipped cream and almond butter which I've been trying and he's taking them-although it takes about an hour to give him all the medication. It's just that he doesn't seem to be improving and I don't know what to do..
 
You can also try Harrison's Recovery Formula. That stuff is a life saver and has helped with masking most of the meds I've had to give to my boys. Biscoff's biscotti Butter (made from biscotti cookies) is also a winner for masking really nasty meds.

Here is Harrison's Recovery:
https://store.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/mobile/RECOVERY-FORMULA-350g/productinfo/RECOVERY/

And here is the biscotti butter (I use the creamy version):
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0073FSY76/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_43CUDbXWW05HE

You can find them both on Amazon and veterinarian offices should carry the Harrison's if you need it quicker.

Lots of scritches and healing vibes for your little guy!
 
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I am genuinely so grateful for all your advice however I've tried almost every food in the house and Yoda would occasionally nibble then refuse to eat anything. Forcing the medicine in is also extremely difficult and stressful on his behalf. His condition hasn't improved much after over a week of his medication. I'm questioning his quality of life and am considering putting him to sleep soon. Do you think this is justifiable or should I continue to give him medication?
 
I can understand the frustration and stress... I've been there w/ my little guy Beans at one point and I would literally spent two hours trying to find a mix to hide his medicine in. I had to accept that some days he would gobble it up and that there would be days when he was not in the mood to take his meds. On those days I would have to step away and take a break for an hour then try again (usually a success) and if he was still being a butt, I would just hold off until the next day. No one wants to stress out their little babies doing what is considered best for them.

Does Yoda take his medicine every other time or is he refusing every time you try? I know you mentioned that you tried a lot of different foods, but did you try the biscoff's biscotti butter (sorry, I think I mentioned this brand 20 times since I joined)? If the dosage is over .1ml you could ask your vet to call it in to a compounding Pharmacy (I'm in the US and use Wedgewood Pet Pharmacy. They ship in about 3 days after they receive the prescription) in a higher concentration so that it is a smaller amount like 0.05ml or 0.03ml which is much easier to hide in food or a quick squirt in the mouth.

I can't tell you if you should consider euthanasia or not, that is something that you will need to decide and take into account his quality of life like you mentioned. Is medicine time the only stressful time for him and 95% of the remaining time is he enjoying life? I believe that Lilspaz posted back in 2009 on goosemoose to write down five things that your rat really enjoys in life and mark off the things from the list that he can't do or enjoy anymore...3 or more things crossed off, then it's a good indication that his quality of life is poor.

Sending positive vibes and thoughts for you and your little Yoda. Hang in there. ❤️
 
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Yoda passed away today at 11.15 AM just as I walked into my room to cuddle with him. He was going to be put to sleep today at 4.45 but it was too late. I wish I had booked the appointment earlier. It's freaking me out a bit because this is the same situation I had with Bodger. He also died midday on the day he was going to be put down which was also a Saturday when I was alone in the house. I've now made the same mistake twice and witnessed two of my rats' last breaths just in time without any of my family with me. It pains me that I didn't have them in my arms at the end and that they had to suffer. Thank you so much to everyone who replied and I hope you don't make the same mistake as me.
 
I'm so, so sorry BoBa...:( You really did everything you could for Yoda. I l understand how difficult it can be to medicate these guys, especially when they're really ill... it's heartbreaking when they refuse their medicine because you only want them to pull through. I've also experienced waiting too long with three of my ratties who passed away. The guilt weighed on me and I kept wondering if I should have made the decision sooner. Euthanasia is not an easy decision to make as you know because you've gone through it.

I don't want you to hold that feeling of guilt in your heart-- it is never easy to make that determination when you think that they will pull through and you just need to keep trying. No one has that intuition and please remember that these little guys tend to crash really quickly...a couple hours earlier they might seem like they're stable and sometimes it seems so sudden when they crash. You did everything for Yoda that any one here would have done for their ratties and from what I've read from your posts you have such a strong and incredible bond with Yoda and there is no question that you loved him very much and would have done anything to help him.

I'm so very sorry that Yoda passed away before the euthanasia, but he didn't have to go through a frightening car ride to the vet and he didn't pass away at a place that was likely very scary for him in a cold and sterlie veterinary office-- instead he
passed away in a place where he felt safe and a place that is full of love for him and most importantly, you were there to comfort him, even if it was only for a few moments as he passed. Please take some comfort in that. I really do believe that passing away at home is a much better option than a veterinary office.

If you live in the US there is a service called Lap of Love that I've used for three of my boys' euthanasia. Lap of Love has offices in several states and if you're not located in the US I'm sure that there are similar services available. I've used Lap of Love because of the option to be at home during the process and they can arrive within 2 hours for same day/emergency appointments or they have the option to schedule an appointment. Lap of Love has exotics veterinarians on their staff and it's comforting to be able to do this sort of thing where their last moments don't involve all the frightening experience with going to the vet.

The website is: https://www.lapoflove.com/homepage-mobile.aspx

I would highly recommend this option to anyone with access to Lap of Love. If and when you find yourself having to make this decision again, you may want to look into either Lap of Love or another at-home veterinary service that is available in your area. If you're interested in the process they use please let me know and I can send you a message with details.

Again, my heart goes out to you and I'm so very sorry for your loss. Please try to hang in there and remember that your baby is in a beautiful place and is free of pain. You'll see him again one day at the Bridge but until then remember the moments with him that made you and him the happiest. ❤️❤️
 
I'm so sorry. But please rest assured you made no mistake.
PiddlePod said it well... 1) You can't always know ahead of time when the time has come, I've had many old or sick kids that are resting comfortably then suddenly go into death spasms and it's over pretty quickly. 2) If they're able to pass away at home without suffering before then, that's where they'd most want to be. 3) When we have them put to sleep our grief is often compounded wondering if they could have had a little more good time if we'd waited. There's a comfort for us in them going naturally.
I think his passing was just as he'd have chosen it. You only need contend with your grief, there is no reason for any guilt.
 
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