Help, is my boy dying or can i help him more?

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LucyKathryn7

New Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2020
Messages
1
Location
Worcestershire
Hello everyone, I'm hoping I can gain some advice as I'm at the end of ideas now and struggling!
My boy Scabbers is roughly 1 and half years old. 6 days ago, we noticed he wasnt coming out of his cage at his usual nightly routine, the next day, he wasnt eating or drinking, some went to the vets and they stated he was severely dehydrated, we dont know how or why as he had everything accessible. They prescribed metacam and baytril. We have been giving these now for 5 days, shouldn't we notice a change? 2 days ago we took him again as his right back leg was dragging, the vet gave him a ton of saline for hydrating and upped his metacam slightly. However today hes not moving at all, not eating or drinking when we placed food in front. For the last 2 days we have been syringe feeding him, for the last 7 days syringe water feeding him.
It's like he wants to eat, drink and move but has no energy.

Guys what do I do?
How can I help?
 
As far as his meds, do you know the dosages, and his weight? As for the food thing, try giving him baby food veggies, or soy infant formula mixed with infant rice cereal. Or ensure meal replacement for humans. For some reason, strawberry anything seems to be a winner with mine. You can also try giving him cooked sweet potatoes, cubes of watermelon (no seeds), plain yogurt.....just to name a few things. This will help with hydration as well. I was in the same boat with my nearly 2 year old boy, skittle. He's really weak on his right side....
Your guy may have hind end degeneration. Maybe he's in pain. Lilspaz can help with meds and dosages.
 
Can you flip him on his back and give him soft foods in a dropper? You can try ensure or some protein powder mixed with soy milk... but it sounds like you're trying some different things. Bone broth is also worth a try. There's also critical care formula stuff you can get from your vet or online. I didn't have a ton of luck with it but maybe you will. You can buy this stuff from Amazon

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000RI3ZG6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
but I see you're in the UK so maybe it's not an option. Good luck, it sounds as if you're giving him a lot of love, so don't be too hard on yourself as it's often hard (even for vets) to tell what's going on with out beloved rats.
 
Can you get a video of him? If he's dull,seems confused and lethargic, has clubbed paws, is limp when dangled, pushes his front legs stiffly out in front of himself, etc,he might have PT or pituitary tumour. I've seen it sooooo many times with my rescues that if you can get a video I'll probably recognize it.
The first thing you need to do would be to get him on steroids, and if he responds, see if it's possible to get him on bromocriptine or galastop (cabergoline in UK).
 
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