Basil

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jennifervb

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Joined
Jul 25, 2007
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Location
California, U.S.A
Basil is behaving strangely. It seems as if he has some food caught in his throat that he is trying to get out.

He has no respiratory distress, is not gasping and has no blue extremities. Debbie D's advice is to leave him alone and do nothing. This is, of course, very hard!

He is interested and comes to the cage door when I show up so he does not appear to be lethargic or suffering. He just looks like something is bugging the crap out of him. :(

Would something like yogurt or kefir help or do I need to bite the bullet, follow Debbie's advice, and leave my little man in peace???

I am noticing that he is not interested in the water bottle so I am not sure if any kind of yummy liquid would be a good thing.

Can anyone help me through this? I HATE it when my boys are not feeling themselves and I can't help!!! :gaah:
 
Are his ears going back and he kind of flattens his head?
If he's choking and still interested in seeing you, then it's not that big a deal. (although a big deal to us)
Don't give anything to eat. What he needs to do right now is build up a lot of saliva to "melt" the food stuck in his throat. Once he's done that, all will be fine. But if you give him water and food, he won't have the saliva ready for the stuck food.
I know it's hard... but you have to just let the little guy be. Also, don't pick him up, don't call him either. He needs to stay quiet and work on the food. :thumbup:
 
thanks Jo!

I have put all the boys back in the cage and shut the lights off. I have not given him anything... no soft food or liquid.

His ears did go back and his head flattened. He also flattened himself on the floor and pushed himself forward. I have a feeling that he has a small piece of teklad in there. Albert was trying to pilfer it and Basil shoved the whole block into his mouth and took off. I saw him eating his block again a few minutes later so he cannot have the entire thing stuck in there. :shock:
 
Thanks Godmother! :hugs:

It is not a fun situation! :(

I have just checked on him and he is with the others.

While he was struggling with his discomfort, I noticed that the other rats went away and left him alone. Now they are back with him and all four noses are poking out of the cage.

I still want to keep him quiet so they will have to make do inside the cage. I do not see any mucous buildup around his mouth so I can only assume that his food piece was small.
 
You just experienced your first mild choke. Hard to watch but after its over those greedy rats will grab more of what choked them.

You have to be very careful with bread, and peanut butter...as these are common things they choke on, anything sticky really.
 
lilspaz68 said:
You just experienced your first mild choke. Hard to watch but after its over those greedy rats will grab more of what choked them.

You have to be very careful with bread, and peanut butter...as these are common things they choke on, anything sticky really.
Click to expand...



Thanks Shelagh!

He stuffed a teklad block into his mouth to keep Albert from pilfering it... the little glutton (I mean, of course, BOTH boys!) :laugh4:

I am very careful with peanut butter and bread. They usually get soaked in low fat soy milk with a little jam, before they are given to the boys, to prevent choking! I have heard too many horror stories of peanut butter and bread induced choking to want to risk it!

I know how to do the "fling" but that doesn't mean I want to try it out! :shock:
 
mamarat said:
How is Basil today?
Click to expand...

He tried pilfering Albert's blueberry from him so it appears as if he is back to normal! :)

One thing I did notice last night was that Ben had the same problem with choking on his teklad. He was fine in about 15 minutes but I wonder if harlan teklad is beginning to be a problem for my older boys.

Has anyone else experienced something similar with the 2014 lab blocks?
 
Sounds like he's doing ok. lol

I do find the Harlan is almost like sawdust when they chew on it. Although I haven't noticed any of mine choking on it.
 
Only one choke on lab blocks, my greedy thing Frigg...5 hours of hell for me and her, she was fine the next day, I crawled to work :roll:

Is HT new to them? Its much loved and once they settle down and realize its around ALL the time then they shouldn't snatch and scarf as much.
 
The boys only get 2 blocks a day because Basil cannot stop when they are available 24/7.

They have their Oxbow in the food dishes and get one HT Block in the mornings and evenings.

Yes mamarat,

I have also noticed the "sawdust". :)

Nevertheless.... the sawdust must taste great!!! :laugh4:
 
That must be it then, they see it as a treat and eat it too fast perhaps.
Mine too in the beginning thought their HT was a treat but after a few months, they stop eating it super fast and realized it's normal food. lol
 
In the meantime, I separate the fuzzforms while they eat. Roquefort gets to go to the kitchen counter, Albert goes to the play area right outside the cage door, and Ben and Basil stay in the cage. My resident boys do not pilfer from each other... they only pilfer from others... including me! :laugh4:
 

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