Losing all my rats.

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Moggy

Member
Joined
Jun 14, 2020
Messages
13
Location
Den Helder, Holland.
Hello everyone, my name is Maikel and I have been a rat owner for the past few years.
I am not sure if this is the right spot for this thread, and neither would I write anything like this normally but right now I just need to vent a little..

A few years ago I went through some bad places and needed something to help me cope. A friend advised me to get rats, because he used to have them in the past. And according to him they were the greatest.
Not being sure of that I still went and got myself two crazy little balls of fluffiness. I named them Buddy and Stimpy. And truth be told I was convinced; never thought I could get so much joy and attachment from two little ratties.

At some point Stimpy got a bad case of respiratory issues and I had to separate them, because Buddy was continuously bothering her during recovery. At this point I felt sorry for Buddy being alone because she needed the most attention out of the two. And since they lived in the double Critter Nation I figured I could help her by adding two more crazy balls of fur; Speedy and Hoppy.

Unfortunately both Buddy and Stimpy developed tumors last year. After both having undergone successful surgical procedures, the tumors came back nevertheless. Buddy was euthanized a few months ago and I was really devastated in a way I would not initially expect. Stimpy is currently still alive, but will be euthanized tomorow, because it starts to hinder her really hard.

Hoppy recently developed respiratory issues right when measures against the Corona virus were initiated, making it hard for me to see a vet right away.
It was probably advanced to far already, but she still received meds(Synulox) in April. And although initially it looked like she would recover she took a nosedive soon after. She was given Doxycycline, which also seemed to help initially; last week it got even worse.

At the same time Speedy had a small tumor that was growing rapidly. It grew next to her anus and I was advised to either operate asap because in a week it would have been to hard to remove properly, and she would probably not last the month with the speed it was growing anyway. During this visit Hoppy was given an injection of Prednison as a last gamble. This only seemed to help for a day.

Speedy was operated last Thursday but did not wake up anymore in the hours after and died. And now, tomorow, I will have to put down my remaining two rats.....
Basically I lose/lost my remaining three rats in nearly the same amount of days, and saying I feel sad is an understatement right now.
I am in my thirties, been with the Marines and stuff but still can't stop the tears from flowing. Did not expect to lose all of them so suddenly..

Sorry if this was to hard to read/understand. Just needed to vent a little and figured other rat owners have more understanding than my surroundings.
Thank you if you did manage to read all of it.
 

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So sorry to hear this. Have you tried a combo of doxy, and baytril? Those usually help really well for respiratory issues. They will probably need to be taken for at least 4-6 weeks as well. Rats need longer on antibiotics to actually take care of the issue properly. You can also try to give a dose of Lasix to get the fluid off the lungs, or reduce it so the meds can work. Message Lilspaz, and she can advise you on dosages. Also, for anything with surgery, gas is the only thing to be used until after, when they give a shot of metacam. Most vets not really familiar with rats will use an injected anesthetic. That's why they sometimes don't wake up and recover. Also, before you have them put to sleep, make sure they gas them, so they don't feel the horrible pain of them injecting into their heart. Again, I'm so sorry.....
 
So sorry to hear this. Have you tried a combo of doxy, and baytril? Those usually help really well for respiratory issues. They will probably need to be taken for at least 4-6 weeks as well. Rats need longer on antibiotics to actually take care of the issue properly. You can also try to give a dose of Lasix to get the fluid off the lungs, or reduce it so the meds can work. Message Lilspaz, and she can advise you on dosages. Also, for anything with surgery, gas is the only thing to be used until after, when they give a shot of metacam. Most vets not really familiar with rats will use an injected anesthetic. That's why they sometimes don't wake up and recover. Also, before you have them put to sleep, make sure they gas them, so they don't feel the horrible pain of them injecting into their heart. Again, I'm so sorry.....

Hello Dena, thank you for the reply. I suggested this exact combination to my vet before the weekend and according to him doxy and baytril are pretty much the same with the only difference being the doxy was in tablet form. Other than that they said they can't just give Baytril because of EU regulations and fines, and it would need to be specially prepared or something....

I try see if I can get another vets opinion on this ( the third now). But I really don't want to let her suffer to long, she has been fighting for 2 months now, and last month I could only to get her eat liquid out of my hand (with Oxbow critical care). But she is refusing that last days, and her weight has dropped to ~190 grams, coming from 240 originally.

This is how she is right now;

 
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Awwwww! That poor baby! I hope she can get some relief soon! Message Lilspaz on here, and see if she can watch the video. She may have some better advice or ideas for you.
 
She needs to see a good vet now and be put on different antibiotics Doxy and baytril are very different meds, doxy is not very effective and most antibiotics given to rats work much better if paired with baytril
she ma also need to be humanely put to sleep (please se our Reference Thread for info REFERENCE Thread - Read Only )
You can also try azithromycin (10 mg/Ib) + baytril orally, twice a day for at least 6 weeks if it helps. Azithromycin is not very effective unless given with baytril and can be purchased by prescription from a human pharmacy
Please see ratguide.com (a vet approved medical site for rat owners so good for vets too) for breathing issues as it will give treatment as well as symptoms etc
http://ratguide.com/meds/antimicrobial_agents/enrofloxacin_baytril.phphttp://ratguide.com/meds/antimicrobial_agents/azithromycin.phphttp://ratguide.com/meds/antimicrobial_agents/doxycycline.php
I am off to try to contact lilspaz68 ..... also post on the facebook group Real Rat Lovers Want To Know

here is some info (more on rat guide search breathing) .... but she needs a good rat vet now
* Mycoplasmosis Health Guide: Mycoplasma / Mycoplasmosis All Creatures Health Care

* Pneumonia Health Guide: Pneumonia

* Cardiomyopathy Health Guide: Cardiomyopathy

* Congestive Heart failure Health Guide: Congestive Heart Failure
 
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Just got back from the vet an hour ago and they were both put to sleep :(
I called pretty much all the local vets, I would be able to visit, and they all had pretty much the same to say;
No Baytril or Lasix whatsoever due to EU regulations. It is pretty much Synulox or Doxy and if that doesnt work; end of story.

At this point I just could not let her suffer any longer; she has been fighting for two months and with no vets willing to try anything else for whatever reason I felt pressured into making this choice. Just hope it was the right one, given the circumstances.

Still can't believe I lost three rats in the same amount of days...
 
She needs to see a vet now and be put on different antibiotics
she ma also need to be humanely put to sleep (please se our Reference Thread for info REFERENCE Thread - Read Only )
You can also try azithromycin (10 mg/Ib) + baytril orally, twice a day for at least 6 weeks if it helps.
Please see ratguide.com for breathing issues as it will give treatment as well as symptoms etc

I am off to try to contact lilspaz68 ..... also pot on the facebook group Real Rat Lovers Want To Know

Hello SQ, thank you for the reply.

Unfortunately she was just put to sleep. I have seen multiple vets over the course of her sickness(2 visits just before the weekend even) , and was only able to get Synulox and Doxy earlier.
I referred them ratguide.com before, but that is pretty much blasphemy to the vets I spoke. Unfortunately not many vets around here, and even less that seem to have experience with rats.

I would love to eventually get a few new ones, but really doubting, that with the amount of help I can get over here. Especially when it is a more serious respiratory problem.
 
You are in the UK correct? Unfortunately you are limited to what your vets knowledge is and what antibiotics they are willing to prescribe :(. Do you have any human leftover antibiotics in your own cupboard?
 
I live in The Netherlands. Unfortunately I did not have any antibiotics. Believe me I tried to get some; but no one willing to prescribe any
due to regulations that seem to have changed in the past few years. Vets here are pretty much only specialized in dogs/cats (great animals, of course).

The first time I visited a vet he needed to look up what the red fluid was around the nose and eyes.

Ohhh I'm sorry I missed where she was put to sleep. I'm sorry but it definitely was kindest for her. ((Hugs))

No worries.
Thank you very much for replying and offering a suggestion:)
 
Just want to express how sorry I am for your loss. Even one death is hard to deal with, but that's an overwhelming amount of grief for such a short period. I'm so sorry. It sounds like you did the best you could for them too. It's sad
 
You probably did the best and most kind thing for her. I just figured maybe if you could, try something else. It is super hard to see them suffer. Even with so many options here, sometimes it's best for them and us to put to sleep.... You definitely didn't want to have to hold them in your arms as they are taking their last panicked breath. That's WAY more traumatic for both of you... So sorry for your losses.
 
I'm so sorry to hear that. One if mine is ill right now and it is the absolute worst. I know it doesn't help you now, but in the future I would recommend keeping some Baytril on hand. Over the years I have always ended up needing it with every set of rats I have ever had, including the ones I have now. The vets always overcharge too. You can order it for birds without a script here in the US, and I'm pretty sure they ship international.
 
Just want to express how sorry I am for your loss. Even one death is hard to deal with, but that's an overwhelming amount of grief for such a short period. I'm so sorry. It sounds like you did the best you could for them too. It's sad

Thank you. It is pretty hard indeed, harder than I imagined. It's really strange to pass their cage and hear no ratties coming to greet me, or other signs of life.
Especially because it went so suddenly.

You probably did the best and most kind thing for her. I just figured maybe if you could, try something else. It is super hard to see them suffer. Even with so many options here, sometimes it's best for them and us to put to sleep.... You definitely didn't want to have to hold them in your arms as they are taking their last panicked breath. That's WAY more traumatic for both of you... So sorry for your losses.

Thank you, and I really appreciate the suggestions. After doing some more research into them they seem much better suggestions than what my vets came up with. Regret not registering earlier and for putting to much faith in the knowledge of my vet.

I'm so sorry to hear that. One if mine is ill right now and it is the absolute worst. I know it doesn't help you now, but in the future I would recommend keeping some Baytril on hand. Over the years I have always ended up needing it with every set of rats I have ever had, including the ones I have now. The vets always overcharge too. You can order it for birds without a script here in the US, and I'm pretty sure they ship international.

Thank you, that is a good suggestion. I feel stupid for not having checked online for getting meds overseas. I can find Baytril 10%, suppose that is fine?
Really hope your little one gets better.
 
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