CHOKING!! PLEASE HELP!!

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bruxxy

bruxxy

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 17, 2007
Messages
668
Location
Toronto
Nala has something stuck in her throat and I can feel and enlarged ball of something in there. Shes drooling everywhere and is making the choking movements with her head(her head is moving back and forth). I don't know what do to do right now. Shes walking around and she can breath but her throat is so swollen right now.

what should I do!?!??!?!
 
could it be an allergic reaction to something i fed her? I gave the ratties a mixture of nuts and cereal and other stuff today...I also gave the ratties toast with margerine and banana. This choking happened about 5-10 mins after she ate!
 
Do you know what she swallowed? The best thing is to leave her alone and see if she can work it out herself. If not you have to take her to a vet. Make sure she can breathe.
 
For an allergic reaction, keep an eye on her tongue it will swell so big, it will literally come out of the mouth.
Keep checking her breathing, if she does stop is a rush to the vet. But normally they work it out on their own.
 
I listed all the things that she ate this morning so it could have been any one of those things. To be honest, I just put a bunch of random things in their bowl...which is what I usually do, and I wasn't really watching her speciafically..I was just getting ready for work and my boyfriend noticed she looked really off (light headed and limp)...so I took her out of the cage and she was really limp in my hands and there was drool all over her mouth.

Shes walking around a bit right now and she can breath but I'm just afraid about the swelling in her throat. Could it be something is loged in there or could it swelling from an allergic reaction?
 
With an allergic reaction there is no foaming at the mouth. She may have a small piece of nut stuck there or some other food. Hopefully she'll work it out herself.
 
I checked her tounge and it looks normal. She was also squirmy too and trying to resist my hands near her face...shes not as limp anymore either so I'm just hoping that whatever the heck happened that it has passed.

wow that scared the crap out of me.

I have to go to work now...I'm already late and I hate to leave her. hopefully she will be alright.
 
They drool so much because they have to create a lot of salive to melt down the food caught in the throat. If it's something big, then it may take several hours. She'll work it out.
It really is one of the most scariest thing to watch though. You feel so helpless while they are struggling. :(
 
Are you leaving her alone now? When will you be back home? Can someone else watch her? If it lasts too long she should be taken in to a vet. Not even sure if you have vets there on a Sunday. I know we don't. Good luck.
 
ugh - hope she's better -- that is the most helpless feeling - the toast thing worries me since i do feed it on occasion. I've been wondering lately about banana too - even though they love it - when it's really ripe it gets awfully sticky. I don't feed baked potato anymore either for that reason. (Sorry to hijack, but this got me thinking...)

Is there a sticky list somewhere of foods rats often choke on when eating? I'd love to have it - I know they can really choke on anything, particularly if they're a bit, ummm... overeager, but ones that are quite common problems?

thinking healing and restful thoughts for your girl.
 
I would think that in any case you could possibly have choking. The best we can do is elimiate the stuff that would be the worst. Baked potatoes mashed or banana mash are an idea, mash as best we can.
 
What a frightening experience. It only happened once to me, with Rhonda. It took her a while, but she was OK. If it hadn't been for the advice in Debbie Ducommun's Health Care booklet, and SQ's presence, I would have panicked for sure.

I often feed banana bits and sweet potato to my gang, and they have never had trouble. Mine have hardly ever had bread (and then only in small bits), so I didn't realize it could be a problem.

Hope that your sweetie is soon OK again.
 
Glad she is doing better.
If they are choking and as long as they are breathing, you let them try to work it out.
If they have something caught in their throat and can't breathe, then you do what Debbie calls the "rat fling" as described in her health care book.
 
Just got home. Shes fine *Whew* I called my mom on my lunch break and asked her to check on her to make sure she was fine too...I was ready to leave work incase she wasn't. I ended up being 45 mins late for work today because of this entire thing...explaining this to my boss was a terrible idea...i should have made something up...I'm pretty sure she hinted that if I'm ever late again because of a rat I'll be fired.

But at least shes fine and was really happy to see me when I opened the cage...I'm sure she knew she scared me to death this morning...the look on her face when I opened the cage was like "Look Mom!! I'm OK! No Need To Worry!!" :giggle: silly girl.

Thank you soooo much mamarat and Jo for your quick response :heart: You two saved me from having a heart attack. And thank you everyone else for your concern and advice :hugs:
 
I FEEL YOUR PAIN Laura!!!!

I am, at this moment, experiencing a similar problem with my Basil!!! It is awful to have to sit back and watch them deal with it by themselves!!! :(
 

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