Lilspaz Rescue and Hospice - CLOSED and under QT 03/12

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Rats getting sick at Shelagh's is like having a heart attack in an emergency room. Still serious and potentially fatal, but you are surrounded by people with the knowledge and tools needed.

These guys had the absolute best chance of recovery possible. Early detection and recognition of a virus no one in Ontario has ever seen, followed by immediate emergency treatment, and someone who had the contacts to go to for more info.
 
StaceyM said:
Rats getting sick at Shelagh's is like having a heart attack in an emergency room. Still serious and potentially fatal, but you are surrounded by people with the knowledge and tools needed.

These guys had the absolute best chance of recovery possible. Early detection and recognition of a virus no one in Ontario has ever seen, followed by immediate emergency treatment, and someone who had the contacts to go to for more info.
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That is one of the funniest things I have heard in a long time... "Rats getting sick at Shelagh's is like having a heart attack in an emergency room.." :laugh4:
 
Avatar said:
Rachael said:
I've seen quite a few cases of Sendai and even the most experienced rat owners with all the meds can't do anything. As you know you can't treat the actual virus, but even with meds, it's not going to stop it killing them.
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The Virologist I spoke to said that depending on the initial health of the rats, and the rapid treatment of the secondary infections (sendai does not cause a URI directly, the URI occurs due to cell death in the lungs and UR tract) can result in a lot of saved rats.

However, due to how mild this seems to be overall, I wonder if it is sendai, or just another virus that does the same general thing (though in my mind it's still a virus, as it has an incubation period and a reproductive phase). I'm awaiting an e-mail from the Virologist as she said she would speak to the head of mammalian diagnostics at the UoG for us.
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Discussions about the virus should be made in the link provided. This thread is now about the updates on Shelagh's crew.
Thank you
viewtopic.php?f=21&t=17796
 
lilspaz68 said:
Rachael said:
I love Talty :)
How many did you lose to the virus? With sendai I think you'd have lost more :(
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Not necessarily. I saw the trend very quickly with my rats, already was aware of the rat viruses and put everyone on meds ASAP. the sickest ones who were practically dying got rescue injections which saved most of them...didn't save Dudley and Theo though :( Most pet owners wouldn't have access to these meds, or have them on hand...I was lucky.

I lost 3 but if I had been a regular rat owner, I might have lost 20 or more.
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I wanted to ask what did you mean regular rat owner? As compared to you? :?
 
A regular owner may have just a few rats...may not notice a trend until its too late. Isn't able to start her rats on abs as soon as the symptoms begin, but have to call the next day to get an appointment with their vet. The vets in Ontario wouldn't have a CLUE about viruses (their symptoms and treatments) and probably wouldn't believe any pattern the ratowner might see and would likely send the sick rat home with just baytril or something else, with a "lets try this..if it doesn't work in 5 days, come back"...these rats can worsen in hours and die.
 
Rachael said:
lilspaz68 said:
Rachael said:
I love Talty :)
How many did you lose to the virus? With sendai I think you'd have lost more :(
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. I saw the trend very quickly with my rats, already was aware of the rat viruses and put everyone on meds ASAP. the sickest ones who were practically dying got rescue injections which saved most of them...didn't save Dudley and Theo though :( Most pet owners wouldn't have access to these meds, or have them on hand...I was lucky.

I lost 3 but if I had been a regular rat owner, I might have lost 20 or more.
Click to expand...

I wanted to ask what did you mean regular rat owner? As compared to you? :?
Click to expand...
I consider myself to be a regular rat owner. Thank you
 
I think she meant it in the sense that the "average rat owner" does not/cannot give injections, but she was able to give some injecions, usually in the middle of the night, that prevented them from dying. The "average" owner does not have needles/injectable meds on hand. And especially with her vet being out of town, that was not an option.

Hope this clarifies what she meant, I don't think it was meant to come across as her being a better owner than others or anything.
 
My small chubby Sugahbabies are the easiest rats to medicate...never turn their nose up at anything, and are hilarious to watch. I open the top of the FN and they rush the door waiting for their "treat". :giggle:

When they latch on to the syringe those little legs splay out and I can almost lift them up and often do lift them off the ground a little. Those wide set front legs (they are stocky) wave and are sooo adorable I finally tried to get pics of my twice daily giggle.

Aero is one of my leaner Sugah's

Sugahmedicating3mar14.jpg


Surprising, since she will steal meds from anyone else.
Sugahmedicating5mar14.jpg


Sugahmedicating2mar14.jpg


I think this is Mallo...
Sugahmedicating1mar14.jpg


and chubby Pez kicks up the fleece and those little feet are everywhere. :heart:

"Give me MORE!!"
Sugahmedicating4mar14.jpg
 
Hi Shelagh,

Every time I think about your little one's being sick, I want to cry. There is no describing the pain involved with trying to deal with this. I went back and read my thread from my 2006 ordeal and the pain came back full force. Maybe if I knew how to give injections...
 

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