{EMERGENCY} Swollen Eye and Seizures in Elderly Rat

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flowerboy

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My rats eye is badly swollen. He’s approaching 3 years old and his right eye is very swollen and the pink part is puffy and very prominent. This happened suddenly today; I didn’t see it this morning but did see it this afternoon when giving him a treat. He has had 1 seizure since discovery, his breathing is labored, and he's squinting. He is active physically still and is not refusing food or water.

I had to dip into my pet emergency funds to pay for my needed to live medication that is very expensive and i can not afford to take him to a vet due to the pandemic. What can I do for him? Is this him preparing to pass away?
 
Neither. His eye is bulging and the pink inner corner is very red and puffy. He is having issues with his breathing still as well. I think, after doing research, he had a severe stroke.
 
Ok the reason I asked is he may have SDA, a very contagious rat virus. One of the symptoms is the face swelling, the eye(s) bulging and the connective tissue in the front of the eye being exposed. They sometimes will have a swelling in the middle of their throat and respiratory issues. You need to treat the resp issues with antibiotics, and give NSAID's (like infant ibuprofen or Metacam) for the eye with lubricating eye drops to keep the eye moist.

Stroke is more likely to cause a one sided weakness and lethargy than a bulging eye.
 
His respiratory issues are due to, according to the vet, hayfever. He's had a pollen allergy since he was a baby. Where I live, pollen is starting to get really bad, so his sniffle is probably due to that. He doesn't sound wheezy or 'clicky' like a URI does.
 
He sounds fine today, but I'm too worried to dose him with anything honestly. I picked him up and he squeaked, normal for him (he protests until he's out of the cage no matter how much hand work I do), but continued to squeak and whine at me. I set him on my lap and he calmed down, but when I pet his side, squeaked at me again. On top of that, he's been sleeping far more than usual, even at night. He and I are snuggling atm.
I think he's just preparing to cross the rainbow bridge. :( He is quite old, so it's not a surprise, just very sad.
 
I'm sorry, I don't know what to offer but hugs. I think when they're that old nature has to be creative to take the strong ones..
And when a being is very old you fix one leak it pops up in another place. You might buy weeks or months, but I always wonder what they're feeling from the next issue that just hasn't become obvious to me yet, and they can't tell me what hurts..
I think you know your baby better than anyone at this point, and I think you're both ready as you can be.
Kisses to him (name?), and hugs to you.
 
Last edited:
His name was Cream.
As of about an hour ago, he's passed away while snuggled up with me. :( It was just his time.
 
It was. I'm so very sorry for you, some rough times ahead 😢 But not for Cream, if we could all be loved that way and go in the arms of our loved ones...
 
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