Emergency: I think my rat is having convulsions

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arthur

Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2017
Messages
14
Location
Brazil
I think my 2yo rat is having convulsions (or at least something similar). he starts spinning his whole body with approximately 5m intervals and he can't control it. he's breathing really fast and he seems to be weak. I can't find a emergency vet and I don't know what to do.
 
Please post on facebook Real Rat Lovers Want To Know and message Shelagh Hall on facebook - she lives in Ontario

I have sent messages to a couple of members that might have suggestions

Rats can be treated with meds or seizures

but if you can not get to a vet unfortunately the only thing I can suggest is cuddle him, and do your best to keep him hydrated (dehydration kills), fed if he is able to eat (soft foods, baby food, organic infant formula thickened with baby cereal, lab block mush, etc) and comfortably warm. ....

If giving fluids by syringe they must be given a drop at a time, into the side of the mouth so that the fluid does not go down into the lungs

Jut so you know, I have seizures and they do not hurt

.... but after a seizure you can have a headache, and be very tired and confused

Is it possible that he has a respitory infection and is behaving like this because he is having problems breathing and is panicking because he can not breath .... if so he needs to be put onto antibiotics, possibly lasix as well, and be given oxygen
....... or be humanely put to sleep http://www.ratshackforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7652
..... a bronchodilator might help,
a tiny piece of dark chocolate might help to keep his airway open until you can get him to a vet - as soon as they open

I am very sorry that this is happening

{{hugs}} to you both
 
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Fortunately, we were able to find a vet and take him there. Turns out he was intoxicated by Carprofen. I started giving it to him today by a vet's recommendation (he's having a infection on his feet and Carprofen is one of the meds he would start today). The emergency vet gave him a injection to stop the intoxication and another injection with saline. He's a little better now. His heart seems to be beating normally (at least not so fast), his breathing is also almost normal and he's reacting when I grab him.
I'll spend the night watching him but I don't think I can do much for him now. If there's anything I can do I would like to know.
Thank you so much for helping me, I'll keep you guys informed if anything changes.
 
Fortunately, we were able to find a vet and take him there. Turns out he was intoxicated by Carprofen. I started giving it to him today by a vet's recommendation (he's having a infection on his feet and Carprofen is one of the meds he would start today). The emergency vet gave him a injection to stop the intoxication and another injection with saline. He's a little better now. His heart seems to be beating normally (at least not so fast), his breathing is also almost normal and he's reacting when I grab him.
I'll spend the night watching him but I don't think I can do much for him now. If there's anything I can do I would like to know.
Thank you so much for helping me, I'll keep you guys informed if anything changes.
 
Will you be stopping the Carprofen? This is for pain management? Does the vet think he has a reaction to Carprofen?

He died less than a hour ago :/ He wasn't feeling well since 6AM (it's 3PM now). I tried to give him water but he couldn't even keep it in his mouth. I left him with his cagemate while I was getting ready to go to the vet and then he died.
I wouldn't give him Carprofen anymore and I was going to check with the vet if I should give another med or stop everything for a while. Yes, it was for pain management. The vet we saw yesterday said he couldn't be sure whether he was intoxicated or having a allergic reaction.
Also, I don't know if it's better to ask about it in this post or create another one for it: What can I do for my other boy? He lost two cagemates in one week (Nick died last friday after a surgery and Toddy died today). He's 2yo, I just can't adopt more rats now for a lot of reasons and I don't know if there's any place where I could "share" a rat with someone to keep him company (I live in Brazil). I'll stay with him every time I can but I know this is not enough. He was very attached to Nick and after his death he was always with Toddy, I'm very worried about him.
 
I am so very sorry for your loss

I am very sorry your boy is all alone
It sounds like you are right to be worried as he will miss his friends

You could see if there are any shelters or rescues that might have 1 or two older boys that would be company for him ....... perhaps a rescue would allow you to foster
You can check animal rehoming sites like Kijiji to see if anyone is rehoming an older boy

Spend hours each day with him,
- keep his cage near you or in an area where there are people and talk to him,
- get him a small stuffed toy to cuddle with - one that does not have small part or stuffing he can swallow because he will chew it.
- keep cloths etc in his cage that smell like you and also like his missing friends for him to cuddle/sleep in
-Tempt him with his favorite foods and make sure he is eating and stays well hydrated (dehydration kills) because he may become depressed and stop eating and drinking.
In addition to his regular food, he might like soft foods such as his blocks soaked in cool water to make mush, cooked and mashed sweet potato, frozen/thawed peas, baby food, organic soy infant formula thickened with baby cereal, watermelon, a piece of ripe banana, etc If you syringe feed him make sure it is only a drop at a time into the side of his mouth so that it does not go into his lungs

Please let us know how he is doing
Hopefully others have suggestions

good luck to both of you
 
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A few doses of Carprofen should not cause this issue. I think there was something else more neurological that happened. Possibly a stroke. I'm so.sorry for your loss. :(
 
I am so very sorry for your loss

I am very sorry your boy is all alone
It sounds like you are right to be worried as he will miss his friends

You could see if there are any shelters or rescues that might have 1 or two older boys that would be company for him ....... perhaps a rescue would allow you to foster
You can check animal rehoming sites like Kijiji to see if anyone is rehoming an older boy

Spend hours each day with him,
- keep his cage near you or in an area where there are people and talk to him,
- get him a small stuffed toy to cuddle with - one that does not have small part or stuffing he can swallow because he will chew it.
- keep cloths etc in his cage that smell like you and also like his missing friends for him to cuddle/sleep in
-Tempt him with his favorite foods and make sure he is eating and stays well hydrated (dehydration kills) because he may become depressed and stop eating and drinking.
In addition to his regular food, he might like soft foods such as his blocks soaked in cool water to make mush, cooked and mashed sweet potato, frozen/thawed peas, baby food, organic soy infant formula thickened with baby cereal, watermelon, a piece of ripe banana, etc If you syringe feed him make sure it is only a drop at a time into the side of his mouth so that it does not go into his lungs

Please let us know how he is doing
Hopefully others have suggestions

good luck to both of you

- I'm spending more time next to him. He doesn't like people touching and grabbing him, so I grab him for 5 minutes a few times every day, let him and his home with me on the bed at night (I go to sleep very late so I'm spending almost the entire night with him on the bed) and I also let him walk around my bedroom at night when I'm awake. Yesterday he was only sleeping, but today he's more active.
- I'm still looking for places where I can foster an old rat to make him company.
- Besides the cage, I'm letting a corner of my bedroom for him, so he has a bigger space to stay and I'm always close to him.
- I gave him a stuffed toy that has Nick's smell and a cloth with Toddy's smell. There's also two little houses where Toddy used to sleep a lot. He's sleeping more in those places than in his favorite house.
- He wasn't eating much yesterday, but today he seems to be eating enough. Besides his regular food, I'm giving him baby food and popcorn (his favorite snack).
We're having trouble with the water. He's simply not drinking it. The only liquids he drank for approximately 24h were:
- a children's vitamin (I used to give it to the four boys everyday by their vet's recommendation. He drank 0,1ml of it yesterday and 0,1ml today)
- a natural juice (I don't know how to translate its composition to english and google isn't helping. But I told the vet about it and he said it was okay for them to drink it. He drank about 0,4ml yesterday and the same dosage today)
- He ate a few pieces of watermelon and pear but soon he lost the interest in it, which is strange, since he always liked watermelon.
- I gave him Nesquik with water and he loved it, but I imagine Nesquik is not that healthy to be drank constantly.
- I tried giving him water with a syringe, but he fought and I couldn't even put the syringe in his mouth.
Basically he's drinking different liquids I offer him but he refuses to drink water. I checked his bottle, changed the water and everything's alright, but he doesn't drink it.
What should I do? Should I take him to the vet?
 
A few doses of Carprofen should not cause this issue. I think there was something else more neurological that happened. Possibly a stroke. I'm so.sorry for your loss. :(

I agree with you. Even though the Carprofen seemed to play a part in it, I don't think this was the only problem.
Basically, he had a appointment with the vet that day and he always get stressed by it, so I didn't worry when I saw that he didn't ate or drank water while we were there and during our way back home. I don't remember how he was before the appointment, but he got more stressed when the vet grabbed him by his neck (I mentioned he used to bite sometimes, but I could hold him while she examined him. Yet, she grabbed him this way and he got very scared.) After the appointment, I had to stay with them on the car because my mom had to do some stuff. The temperature was normal, he had food and water and I even brought his cagemate with him so he could be calmer. It wasn't our first time doing this but Toddy didn't seem to be well the entire time. So I decided giving him his first dose of Carprofen. I didn't have any spoon to put the med and give it to him, so I tried putting the syringe in his mouth - while we were in the car, in the dark - I accidentally pressed the syringe and I was 90% sure the med didn't get even close to his mouth, so I gave him another dose (it also looked like half of it fell on his cage). He didn't get better when we got home and he got worse about 11PM.
Toddy lost a lot of weight (80g in 3 or 4 days), he wasn't feeling good that day and after the appointment he got even worse. I wish I could know exactly what happened. The Carprofen made the situation worse (and there's also the possibility of this double dose), but there was something wrong before that.
 
We're having trouble with the water. He's simply not drinking it. The only liquids he drank for approximately 24h were:
- a children's vitamin (I used to give it to the four boys everyday by their vet's recommendation. He drank 0,1ml of it yesterday and 0,1ml today)
- a natural juice (I don't know how to translate its composition to english and google isn't helping. But I told the vet about it and he said it was okay for them to drink it. He drank about 0,4ml yesterday and the same dosage today)
- He ate a few pieces of watermelon and pear but soon he lost the interest in it, which is strange, since he always liked watermelon.
- I gave him Nesquik with water and he loved it, but I imagine Nesquik is not that healthy to be drank constantly.
- I tried giving him water with a syringe, but he fought and I couldn't even put the syringe in his mouth.
Basically he's drinking different liquids I offer him but he refuses to drink water. I checked his bottle, changed the water and everything's alright, but he doesn't drink it.
What should I do? Should I take him to the vet?

I would suggest organic soy infant formula thickened with baby cereal as it will contain a lot of water and help keep him well hydrated. I am caring for an elderly rat who drinks little water from his water dish, but loves the organic soy baby formula .... he wasn't hydrated enough to pee when he arrived here but now is well hydrated (and pees a lot) ....... I buy the powdered formula and mix it up with water .... sometimes I mix in a little bit of his block mush.
 
A double dose would not likely cause toxicity after just one occurrence like that. Don’t beat yourself up.

As for the liquids with your other boy, I’m glad he’s staying hydrated. Water would be best, but honestly any fluid you can get into him is good.
 
I would suggest organic soy infant formula thickened with baby cereal as it will contain a lot of water and help keep him well hydrated. I am caring for an elderly rat who drinks little water from his water dish, but loves the organic soy baby formula .... he wasn't hydrated enough to pee when he arrived here but now is well hydrated (and pees a lot) ....... I buy the powdered formula and mix it up with water .... sometimes I mix in a little bit of his block mush.
I still wasn't able to buy organic soy baby formula, but I'm giving him oats mixed with soy milk and water. Is it ok to give it to him permanently? I also gave him a soup with potato, soy protein and carrots. I'm giving him watermelon and melon almost everyday.
How frequent should I give him liquids? If I give him a fruit or soup I don't worry about it. I just have to let it in one of his bowls and he eats/drink it occasionally. But if I let the porridge oats in his bowl he drinks all of it in less than 5 minutes.

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