Help about rat who either has tumor or ear infection.

[Faylea]

Hello Rat Shack!
I'm new here so I'm sorry if I make any mistakes.
My little rattie Mushu has, since two days ago, stopped being able to walk normally and seems to be in pain. She stumbles around whenever she walks and seems to be confused and dizzy, and has on multiple occasions done a rolypoly in the hopes (I think?) to either find a more comfortable position or to alleviate the pain in her head. She also shows a complete lack of energy and is sneezing constantly.
I brought her to an exotic vet yesterday morning and he told me she either had a tumor next to her brain or she's suffering from an ear infection, but because she is only about 7 months old the tumor seems very unlikely.
He also told me there was no way for him to be sure about this and which one she had and has given me Adjusol tmp Sulfa, dexadresson (which I think is for her sneezing) and carsickness pills that I have to dilute in water.
I'm sorry if any of these names don't ring a bell, I live in France and I think the name is different from in America!
She seems to be able to eat and does grab things with her little hands all by herself, but I have to prompt her because otherwise she just lies down and makes no attempt to really feed herself..
I'm also having to forcefeed her the tmp Sulfa because she absolutely hates the taste, even when I hide it in Nutella, peanut butter or syrup
As I'm writing this she's slumped on her side next to me on a warmed up cushion and is breathing heavily and grinding her teeth.
Her nose is also very wet and she seems to make wet noises every time she uses it.
My main reason for making this thread is just to see if anyone has any tips to help her through this and to make her as comfortable as possible.
Is there anything that could alleviate the pain? Some things I shouldn't do?
I'm trying to keep my hopes up but she honestly looks so weak at this point that I'm just trying to keep her warm and snuggled during this tough time..
Thank-you for any help, it's greatly appreciated.

 

[Miss_Rattie]

Rats do grind their teeth when in pain and also if they can't breathe properly. Because she is breathing heavily I wonder if it could be a respiratory infection - the lethargy/stumbling and lack of energy is something I have seen with my rats when they have had a respiratory infection that has progressed into a secondary infection. If is an ear infection, then I wouldn't have thought that her breathing would be effected as you describe and there wouldn't be the sneezing.

The sulfa should help with this, but I have had more success with sulfa when given in combination with either doxy or baytril. I used it with doxy long term in a rat with a chronic URI and it worked fine. I did also have real problems getting my rat to take the sulfa, due to the taste. In the end I switched to amoxicillin/clavamox instead of sulfa, as I had too many problems with my rat not having his dose, and I don't like to forcefeed as it is too stressful for the rats. I did also find out from another vet recently that there is a children's version of sulfa, which is called Septrin and is a banana-tasting syrup. Maybe this is something you could try, or try and get old of amoxicillin/clavamox as an alternative. Some vets are reluctant to give amoxicillin/clavamox as it can cause stomach upsets, but I never had any problems in any of my rats and you can lower the dose if it does cause problems.

I am in the UK and has used this store a lot to buy antibiotics, in case you have problems with getting what you need from your vet either now or in the future: http://www.mercasystems.com/ They are very good and do offer express delivery.

I would be tempted to get a second opinion from another vet - I have had lots of issues finding a good rat vet and have visited several practices before I found a reliable vet. I would also get hold of baby food to feed her, as it will be easy to eat if she is having breathing problems. Scrambled egg is also excellent and my rats have all loved this and it is easy to get them to eat it even when they are poorly. Also, warming their food a little is also a good way to get them to eat when they aren't well. Also, keep her warm and on the bottom level of the cage, so she can't fall if she is a bit wobbly on her feet.

Best of luck with your girl and I hope she feels better soon.

 

[Miss_Rattie]

One more thing that I have thought of, if your rat is having problems to breathe is steam treatment - this has really helped my rats previously.

You can put your rat in the bathroom in a carrier, with the shower running, for 10-15 minutes. I have usually done this 3-4 times a day for a few days. Or, if you have a small pet carrier to safely contain your rat, then you can fill a bowl with boiling water. Place it next to the carrier and then put a towel over the top and expose your rat to the steam. You need to leave a bit of a gap between the carrier and the water, so that your rat doesn't get too hot.

The steam treatment should loosen any mucus in the lungs. If you can get your rat to move around a little, after the steam treatment, then this can help to then eliminate the mucus from the lungs.

I always try steam treatment, if I suspect a possible breathing issue and it does really help.

 

[SQ]

Using steam with a rat that is having breathing difficulties is dangerous ...... if you do it you will need to closely watch your rat and if it does not seem to help or makes the rat worse, remove them immediately because the steam can add fluid to their lungs making it much more difficult for them to breath.
A rat that i having breathing issues needs to be put on antibiotics asap

Sorry that I am not familiar with the meds ..... but if she has an inner ear infection she needs to be on one or more antibiotics (for at least 6 weeks and possibly months it they help) and an anti-inflammatory to try to prevent permanent damage. http://ratguide.com/health/auricle_ear/otitis_media_otitis_interna_labyrinthitis.php

If it is neurological then the treatment is a steroid plus an antibiotic such as baytril. http://ratguide.com/health/basics/clinical_signs_symptoms_guide.php

It might be helpful to see another vet, knowledgeable in treating rats for a second opinion

Hope she is soon feeling better

 

[Faylea]

Thankyou so much for your answers!
I'm planning on making scrambled eggs for her today and trying to make her eat as much of that as possible.
Thankyou a lot for the website where I can buy baytril from, I'm definetly going to use that!
She's still holding on, but does seem to have less energy than yesterday and sometimes seems to tremble from the cold maybe? So I'm keeping her on a heating pad most of the time. I'll link a photo of her having a nap on her heating pad.
She still eats hard food quite well and can grab it, but seems to fall asleep half way through so I have to remind her that she's eating.
Thankyou so much for all your answers, I really appreciate the help
I'm really hoping Mumu will pull through this and keep being the sweet rattie she's always been.

 

[SQ]

Make sure that she is able to move away from the heating pad, and that she will not get harmed if she chews it.

Make sure you keep her well hydrated as dehydration kills .... your vet should be able to teach you how to give sub-Q fluids and sell you what you would need to do this.

Suggest you feed soft easy to eat foods such as her blocks soaked in cool water to make mush, organic soy infant formula thickened with baby cereal, baby food, cooked & mashed sweet potato etc - easy to eat, taste good, nutritious and will help keep her hydrated ....... a good water dish that she can not upset would also be helpful

If she does have pt cabergoline in addition to a steroid (such as prednisone) and an antibiotic such as baytril are the treatment for the most common type of pt http://ratguide.com/health/neoplasia/pituitary_tumor.php http://ratguide.com/meds/central_nervous_system_drugs/cabergoline.php

Such a sweet little girl!
I hope the meds help and she is soon feeing much better

 

[Faylea]

Hello!
Sorry for the radio silence, I was I've been hard at work keeping the Mumu up and running haha
Thank-you for all your help! I spent the weekend feeding and giving her water every half an hour because she wasn't strong enough to do it herself, and trying to keep her warn and snuggled.
It mostly involved feeding and making her drink via my finger because anything else didn't seem to work for her. Thanks for all the tips about food, I've tried some of them out and she loves them
She is, I think, now on the road to recovery! She's having bursts of energy and she's perked up enormously over the last few days
She has the same amount of energy as she used to, just not the same amount of, um, and physical prowess.
She is now actually walking around, and which she stopped doing for a few days (she would instead kind of roll around on her side?) but she is still unsteady and sometimes just kind of ends up running around in circles.
For the heating pad, it's made of fabric with wheat inside so luckily she's in no danger of chewing, but I still keep an eye on her just in case and I don't leave her on there for more than a couple minutes at a time.
She's now drinking and eating hard food all by herself using a water bottle, but I try to give her a lot of soft food.
My only worry is if I should be worried about her lack of direction and her unsteadiness, my vet told me it might just be something she keeps for the rest of her life, even after the infection is under control, so I guess that means she won't even know she's different? Because I don't even think she realizes anything is up with her, haha.
Thank-you so much for all your worry, I've sent an email to the vet asking if I need to change up the medication and if all of this is a good sign but for now I'm feeling positive!

 

[Miss_Rattie]

I'm really glad that she seems to be feeling better

In my experience it can take a few days for antibiotics to start to show a positive effect - if there is no effect after about five days then the best option would be to try something else. I would keep an eye on the unsteadiness, as it may just be the case that it will take a while to go.

I would keep up the baby food, to help her regain her strength and also I personally would get hold of some baytril and doxy, to be on the safe side as they are good to have to hand.