Boys' RI-update 06/05

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thank you for your condolances and kind words. my son had a good cry and seems fine now. he wants to know when we're getting another rat (his father has "replaced" his hamster a few times so his ideas of what happens afterwards is a it cock-eyed in my opinion) and i had to keep reminding him that we don't replace our loved ones. we remember them fondly and share stories of them but we do not replace them because they have died. other times he forgets that she has died and i have to remind him. the hardest is when he wants to tell everyone over and over that babydoll has died, and that means mostly me. i don't want to be reminded, but he's young and doesn't understand the etiquette of other people grieving. its been a long day..

but it does help to know that magic is fine now. hopefully we'll have him home soon after his neuter. i really hope everything goes well with the operation. after what happened to babydoll i'm a little nervous. well more nervous then i usually am. i know all surgeries have risks and a serious risk is death, but until i had to experience it i was never too concerned about it. i trusted my vets judgement. i still trust it but i can't help the nagging feeling that something was missed or something will go wrong anyway. but in order for magic to come home he needs the neuter and i want to trust the vets again. i've had other surgeries done on rats older and younger then babydoll and they all came through fine. i can only hope that magic will as well and trust in the vet.

today, the cage has been quiet. they know that babydoll is gone. everyone is slower, twix isn't bullying the younger ones and even bouncy ink has lost some bounce today. poor rosie has lost another rat she had bonded with. babydoll, if he wasn't causing havoc with ink and smeag would be found resting with rosie or grooming rosie a bald spot on her shoulders. since rosie came here he has lost 3 rats she has become close to. everyone's appetite is down a bit but i hope it picks up soon for rosie's sake. i don't think her little body will be able to stand another weight loss.

when i gave bribery his meds this morning he was once a again a big wimp, that was not surprising. it was when i tried to give stewart his meds. i could have sworn he was channeling bribery and then maximizing it. he whined as soon as he saw the syringe. he struggled and squirmed as if i was about to poison him and then afterwards he sooked like a big baby. this rat NEVER sooks. he'll cuddle, he'll beg but NEVER sook. i don't blame him though. he may not have been the closet to babydoll of the rats but everyone is feeling her gap today it seems.
 
I'm so sorry about your darling... That is heartbreaking. *hugs* I know what you're going through with your son, my boy is almost five and it's very hard explaining death/loss to them at this age. :(
 
things in the cage is starting to shape up though its still not perfect for everyone, the cage is at least more active on a whole.

ink will wander every now and then as if looking for babydoll and is even more desperate to get out of the cage then before (i think she thinks that maybe babydoll got out while no one was looking or something...) but beyond that she is normal. i saw her and smeag tearing it up just a little while ago bouncing on everyones heads trying to get someone to chase them.

rosie's appetite has returned and i'm happy to say she didn't lose anything. she still has to watch someone eat it first though, the big baby. :roll: :lol:

violet is back to being her piggy self and tongue bather. during out time she finally goes back to the cage on her own. since she got into a nice big cage she's been reluctant to leave it for long. i think she remembers the hamster she used to live in and is worried that the nice big cage may not always be there. she hates going to the vet not because of the (whom she licks and loves on) but because of the small carrier. she tries very hard to get out. anyway, for the last little bit during ou time all she wanted as to hide in blankets or sit on my lap for scritches. as nice as the cuddles were it is nice to see her get off the couch and trump over to the cage.

i didn't think i would be so happy to see twix staring bribery down to make him squeak! so she seems back to normal as well.

tasche is actually coming around a bit more now too. she used to be quite shy but today she's been seeking me out. i'm not sure this is because she' grieving or because she feels more confident with babydoll gone. doll wasn't that much of a bully though... in either case it good to see her out of her shell some finally.

bribery is back to his regular sookiness and stewart is back to his stoic self when it comes to med time. it is getting easier to med both of them now too. which is VERY nice. the meds seem to be working too. its harder to hear stew's breathing now and both have more energy. in fact, i'm finding it hard to type this as bribery is trying to get me started into a game of hand wrestle right now... which is a wonderful improvement, he hasn't wanted to play for the last few days (even before babydoll). their breathing is still noticably fast but there are signs that it is improving and its only day 4 of 28 days of medicating.

smeag was a little less rumbunctious but like i said, she's running rampant in th cage bouncy on all her older buddies and chasing ink around today. so i think she's feeling better some now too.

sweetipie and eyes didn't seem that affected by babydoll's death and have pretty much stayed true to themselves the entire time. both are fairly quiet to begin with though so its hard for them to get much quieter. i suppose eyes still hasn't tried to swim in her food like usual though so maybe she's still a bit down. sweetipie though, there really is no difference. she tends to hang out most with the boys and violet though so i'm guessing she just wasn't as close to babydoll as some of the others.

i haven't gotten anything new on magic. he is still scheduled for the 28th for his neuter. there is a picture of him on he rat train adoptables-males thread though! right now the picture isn't working but it was yesterday :s well its not working for me at least... it could just be the computer though. in anycase we've got a welcome home party in making for the guy. i need to find out from my uncle what time he will be bringing him home so i can set a time. but it looks like there will be a nice gathering of human friends and family here to welcome home. there's going to be cake too! hopefully it will be nice out and we can have a barbeque as well!



we have also gotten lydia's and tween's urns back. my parents have them at their house right now. dad dropped off babydoll when he picked them up and cherished pets will be picking her up on monday (i'm going up for dad food tomorrow night and will be bringing them home with me). the woman that runs that place is so wonderful. she hasn't charged me for her services for the last 7 times i've had to use them. and she remembers all their names STILL. she only meets them after they are gone and only has their name written on what i have sent them in but she still remembers their names. i have family members that can't even tell me the names of the rats THEY NAMED...
 
i just shared my ice cream with the rats. my white rat eyes, is now my brown spoltched rat and rosie is busy helping her get white again. it would seem that eyes is back to normal now too!
 
I'm so glad that they are all coming around fairly fast. In my colony of 11, only one was really affected by the loss of a cagemate.
You've got great observation skills. I find it's the best way to learn rat behaviour.

That's too cute, Rosie cleaning the ice cream off of Eyes. (you'll have to tell us the story behind that name)
 
this has been the largest mass mourn my cage has had since spider died. nearly every time that someone died at least one rat would mourn but normally the day after any death the cage seems a bit more reserved as a whole. but that makes sense too. even if not all the rats were missing the one lost they are going to feel the sorrow felt by the buddy left behind which will normally dampen the spirits of the others as well i find.

to explain the name though (nearly all my rats have a story for their name), eyes is a very lightly pointed smeeze. when i saw her i couldn't get over how beautiful and stunning her eyes were. they were so bright! like two perfect little gems. there was nothing else i could have called her from that point on. and she is still our beauty queen too! she acts so prim and is so dainty in almost everything she does. she is always grooming grooming grooming, her fur is always pristine. EXCEPT when it comes to messy food time. she just roots in it. i once had this spinich pasta dish that i shared with them, she actually ROLLED in the plate before settling down to eat. its something when you see a happy green rat! :lol: after she's done eating she goes off and grooms herself white again. then acts as if i was completely making all that up and it was really her doppleganger that went for the swim in the food. i call her our rat of many colors because for a short time after dinner she is whatever color the food was she was eating. the best was when she had cotton candy ice cream! she was pink, blue and white! hahaha! rosie just LOVES on eyes after dinner, and i don't think eyes minds either. rosie helps get those hard to reach spots after all... :wink:
 
they sure are. i can't imagine my life without them in it anymore. apparently neither can my boyfriend. someone asked him the other day about the rats and what he would do if we didn't have them. he said he'd have to go out looking for where i disappeared to. :lol:
 
so i just went to give the boys there last dose for the day and i think rosie is teaching bribery bad habits. as you can wel imagine i've been babying rosie a bit. there are times when i will take food from the dish and give it to her where ever she is laying down. well bribery didn't want to come out of the hamster ball... i saw others giving medicines in the cage and figured what the heck. normally i have to struggle with bribes to get him to take the medicine all the while he's crying about it too. not this time though. apparently cherry flavored medicine actually tastes good in bed... i did have to fend off the others that didn't need the meds though....they already love the stuff cleaning it off of bribery and stewart!

anyway, getting the meds in bribery was redicuously easy this way so went to try it with stewart. he was having NONE of it. sweetipie on the other hand INSISTED she have a share! she's quiet but she's a sneaky little devil; a chubby nakie ninja rat she be! and freaking strong too! she tried to pull the syringe right out of my hand!! almost succeeded too cause my other hand was busy trying to get the other rats not to join in too. anyway, i got it back, took stew out and got him dosed. he then gave me the butt for all my efforts and scrambled back to the cage. i should have known better then to have pulled him out of the hammock to do all this. he was looking rather comfy under violet and twix... in fact that's back where he is now too... :roll: :lol:

i do have a sad update though about rosie. for the first time in all the time i've had her and her breathing has been bad i just heard her breathe and saw her draped out of the hamster ball like a resp. rat. we know its not a URI or a heart condition as neither medication worked. we suspected lung scaring or internal tumors. whichever it is its starting to progress or her body is starting to weaken. watching her now she's still getting around fine. she's managing her favorite hanging pot with no problems but those breathing sounds can't be a good sign.
 
Aww.. Rosie most likely has pulmonary abscesses which is extremely common in chronic myco. Sometimes they don't progress and then just when you think all is fine it grows to the point of not allowing air intake.
Have you tried pred for her?
 
we have but there was no improvement. that was before the breathing sounds though. do you think it would help now that there is breathing sounds?
 
Does it sound like it's nasal or from the chest?
I suppose it's always worth a try again. Too bad it didn't do anything the first time. :(
 
it seems to be from the chest. i will ask my vet for some to see if it helps any, but i'm not holding out hope where it had no effect the first time.

the breathing sounds are worse today. last night i didn't hear them until i was in the cage. i can hear them from the couch now. i suppose thats not that far away but its still worse then last night.
 
My sister girl Noelle is going downhill fast with most likely pulmonary abscesses, if not then severe pneumonia. As a last ditch effort, she's been put on Zithro, doxy, Baytril and Prednisolone. After only 3 days, she's got more energy and will actually eat on her own. (she had completely stopped eating)
Small hope but at least something.
 
:wallbang: i just got a message from theratlady. she is taking care of magic for me while he waits to get his surgery. last night when they were playing he started making "grunting gronnking noises". the vet will be calling on monday. she says he doesn't seem compromised in anyway, but from her own personal experience recommends i don't get him neutered.

i don't know what to do. i can't afford a more expensive neuter right now and i'm not sure when i can. i don't even want to consider giving him back. we promised him a home and dangit we're giving it! but i have 8 intact females and i myself am allergic to intact males. its not so bad when its only one but i am still not able to interact and handle them as much as i would like without getting sick. he needs the neuter in order to come home. but i don't want him dieing on the table either, that kinda defeats the whole purpose. :wallbang: :gaah: :wallbang: :gaah: :wallbang: :gaah: :wallbang:
 
Oh this is just so frustrating!
If it's just nasal sounds, that's not so bad, especially if it was during play time, they can get quite excited. I'd see what the vet recommends.
 
i'm not sure if the vet recommendation is going to be worth anything... i haven't ever dealt with the vet before. SQ has has abcess problems from him though and theratlady has had a bad experience in his judgement when he claimed that home tail amputation was not inhumane. but SQ has said that other people have had success with him before and some people's opinion on tail amputation on young animals differs. there are many vets that dock puppy tails all the time. doing it home... well i'm not sure the whole story so i don't know if he was commenting on the docking practice or if was commenting on doing it at home...

but here are the factors against him as it stands now for neuter. he is overweight. he is 1.5 yrs old (i have had a rat done at about that age before though and he was fine. he's never been overweight though). these breathing issues. he has to travel 4 days later from dartmouth to saint john.
 
I had rats neutered at that age and older...they were just fine :)

Bear has nasal congestion and makes some wicked noises but my vet listened to his lungs (before his recent surgery) and said he was fine.
I think the hardest part is determining how he really is when you cannot even see/hear him yourself.
 

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