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I would get your girl on steroids asap. With my most recent PT rat, within one day of prednesilone treatment she started to improve drastically and could hold food again within about four days. At the end, when she started to get worse, I did manage to stave off the symptoms for an extra ten...

I'm really glad that she seems to be feeling better :-) In my experience it can take a few days for antibiotics to start to show a positive effect - if there is no effect after about five days then the best option would be to try something else. I would keep an eye on the unsteadiness, as it...

Sorry dawnmb57 for not replying sooner - I only just saw the updates. I always diluted half a cabergoline tablet in 0.5 ml water, to minimise the volume, and then gave by syringe. I have lost two rats to PTs in the last few months and, as a consequence, I do have seven cabergoline tablets and...

One more thing that I have thought of, if your rat is having problems to breathe is steam treatment - this has really helped my rats previously. You can put your rat in the bathroom in a carrier, with the shower running, for 10-15 minutes. I have usually done this 3-4 times a day for a few...

Rats do grind their teeth when in pain and also if they can't breathe properly. Because she is breathing heavily I wonder if it could be a respiratory infection - the lethargy/stumbling and lack of energy is something I have seen with my rats when they have had a respiratory infection that has...

I have never had success with finding anything to mix with cabergoline to disguise the taste enough. I have usually just dissolved it in a tiny volume of water and quickly syringed it into their mouths, as they all hated it. I never had any problems with any side effects and maybe you could ask...

I have always used newspapers to line the base of the cage and also for bedding. Here in the UK the ink is safe and my rats have always loved to shred up the paper to make their beds. I do agree that it isn't great to give padding for comfort, so I use fleeces as well and have lots of hammocks...

Thanks for your comments - much appreciated! I am wondering whether what I am seeing is possibly infection-related rather than the PT? I have been giving my girl baytril and doxy since she started on the cabergoline and prednisolone. The steroid dose of 0.25 mg twice a day worked fine for weeks...

I have spoken to my vet and she is happy for me to give 1.5 mg per day (split into 2-3 doses), but she doesn't have any experience of giving anything higher. She has given me a huge supply of tablets and so I would try a higher dose, if needed, as I don't think I have anything to loose as my...

Hi All, I have a rattie who was diagnosed with a PT about six weeks ago. She was initially on 0.25 mg per day pred and also cabergoline. Her symptoms disappeared within a few days and she was completely back to normal. About two weeks ago her symptoms started to return and so, with vet...

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...

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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...

I have never had much luck with Baytril on it's own, and have always used it with doxy for success. I would normally give approx 5 mg/kg doxy, although I think that the range of doses is quite broad with most antibiotics due to a rats fast metabolism. I have an elderly girl with a chronic URI...

Thanks for your reply - she is on antibiotics anyway, as she has had a chronic URI for a while and so has baytril/doxy twice a day. She will be going to the vet on Monday, but I think that the steroid may have helped as she doesn't seem as clumsy getting around the cage and I haven't seen her...

I had a girl who passed away in July with a PT, having been on prednesilone and cabergoline for a week. The meds hadn't made much different and she passed away very suddenly at home, possibly from a hemorrhage. I now am unlucky enough to have one of my two remaining girls showing signs of a...

I would say that she is otherwise healthy, but her mobility is already effected as well by her hind leg weakness. She has been on antibiotics for the last six months or so as she does have a chronic URI (completely under control with the antibiotics, so no problems). She is perfectly happy at...

I have a rat who is two years and two months and she had one mammary tumour removal about eight months ago. She has lately developed another mammary tumour which has got quite large and is over to one side of her body, so not effecting her movement too much. She has had a chronic URI for a...

It's filled with fluid again! The vet said that it might do. So I guess that I will leave it this time, unless it looks like it is causing problems.

Hi and thanks for your message. I took her to the vet today to have it drained as it got quite a bit bigger overnight. The vet did drain it and took about 15ml of fluid, which is quite a lot! He did check that there was no infection and did say that it was OK to allow it to drain naturally and...