Old boy sick again

[arthur]

My 26 months old boy is sick for 4 days now and I don't know what's happening to him. He's not eating or drinking any liquids and he's very weak. He was okay on saturday night, and suddenly, on sunday he was already like this. On sunday night he had drink more liquids than normal (he doesn't drink water, so that day he was drinking a fruit vitamin) and he haven't eat his food or any fruit, only baby food. He could barely walk, and when eating or drinking he kinda threw his head on the plates.
He stopped eating the baby food and drinking vitamin on monday and since then he only eats about one or two small pieces of watermelon and drinks less than 1ml of water that I give him with a syringe. When I tried giving him water today he just kept it in his mouth.
I also noticed that he has blood above his eyes, it looks like he had scratched it, but I didn't see him scratching.
Since the day it started I thought he was about to die - it happened so suddenly and so intensely -, so I tried to make him as comfortable as possible, but now, even if he's about to pass away, he's suffering and nothing seems to work.

I think it's worth mentioning that he had some weird issues last month. He spent about two or three weeks without moving his feet properly, like he was too weak. We took him to the vet, but by that time he was already getting better, and when she made a few exams there was nothing wrong with him. Not even the vets could tell what happened and we didn't worry about it cause it stopped and he seemed okay.
We're on a trip now and this city doesn't have any vets that understand about rats.
PS: he began to feel bad one day before the trip, I don't know how much this is affecting him, but I know traveling didn't started it.

 

[arthur]

Oh, one more thing: he's also sneezing .It started about one hour ago, I don't know if this is relevant, but I think it's better to add here in case it's something important

 

[SQ]

Is he weaker on one side then the other? http://ratguide.com/health/neurological/stroke.php
Is he dehydrated? (Gently pull the skin up on the back of his neck and release it. Does the skin snap back into place?)
What is his color like? When you hold him up and listen to both sides of his chest what does it sound like?
Does he use more effort to breath? Cab you post a video of him - I messaged lilspaz68 about this post so hopefully she will see it once she wakes up

Wondering if he is dehydrated (dehydration kills), if he had a stroke, if he has a resp. issue, if it is heat stroke - are you keeping him at a comfortable temperature? http://ratguide.com/reference/ratbehave.pdf#search=heat stroke
.... sneezing could be smells bothering him or the start of resp. infection ....

If you can get it, you might want to feed him organic soy infant formula thickened with baby cereal (kind that says add milk) as this will help keep him hydrated and provide nutrition ... he might lick it off your finger or take it a drop at a time placed into the side of his mouth by syringe (so does not go into his lungs) Good that he is taking watermelon

 

[arthur]

Is he weaker on one side then the other? http://ratguide.com/health/neurological/stroke.php
Is he dehydrated? (Gently pull the skin up on the back of his neck and release it. Does the skin snap back into place?)
What is his color like? When you hold him up and listen to both sides of his chest what does it sound like?
Does he use more effort to breath? Cab you post a video of him - I messaged lilspaz68 about this post so hopefully she will see it once she wakes up

Wondering if he is dehydrated (dehydration kills), if he had a stroke, if he has a resp. issue, if it is heat stroke - are you keeping him at a comfortable temperature? http://ratguide.com/reference/ratbehave.pdf#search=heat stroke
.... sneezing could be smells bothering him or the start of resp. infection ....

If you can get it, you might want to feed him organic soy infant formula thickened with baby cereal (kind that says add milk) as this will help keep him hydrated and provide nutrition ... he might lick it off your finger or take it a drop at a time placed into the side of his mouth by syringe (so does not go into his lungs) Good that he is taking watermelon

The first time he had this weakness (about one month ago), it was only on the right foot (he was also limping his right hand). Now it's happening on both sides.
When I pulled his skin it came back fast, but it didn't seem to snap back. I think there's a big change he's dehydrated when I think about how little liquid he had drink.
His hands and ears seen darker, like a dark pink/red.
I didn't know how to properly listen to his lungs, but he's making a noise when breathing. He makes this noise sometimes (since december/january) but we never found out what it was. The vets examined him and there was nothing in his lungs. It came back worse these days
Yes, sometimes he seems to put a bigger effort to breath.
It's really hot in here as it is in the city we live. The day it started the temperature was about 82° (maybe 78° in the room he was). I would definitely consider a heat stroke. Where we are now it seems close to it too, but it has some wind and at night the temperatures doesn't drop as much as where we live.
I'll try to buy the organic soy infant formula, don't know if I'll find it, though.

Little update: he just ate a small piece of watermelon, a small piece of melon and gave a few licks on a baby food.
Here's the videos:

 

[lilspaz68]

If it was a stroke then it explains the recovery but lets look at the respiratory infection. Can you hold his side's to your ear (like a phone) and tell us what you hear when he breathes. Check both lungs

 

[SQ]

If you can not get the organic soy formula, then get something like ensure (child or adult liquid meal replacement)
Please check his breathing like lilspaz68 suggested

 

[arthur]

If it was a stroke then it explains the recovery but lets look at the respiratory infection. Can you hold his side's to your ear (like a phone) and tell us what you hear when he breathes. Check both lungs

I couldn't hear it properly cause the noise he makes when breathing is too loud. I heard a wheezing (don't know if that's the right word) but I can't tell if it comes from his lungs or if it's part of this noise he does when breathing. Do you think a dog's vet could confirm a infection?

 

[SQ]

My vet is not an exotic vet, but he likes rats and has always been interested in learning more so I would say that it depends on the vet. It sounds like he may need antibiotics like baytril + clavamox

 

[lilspaz68]

Rats breathing should be silent or possibly only a gentle woosh of air in and out of the lungs, so this sounds pretty severe and definitely needs antibiotics.

 

[arthur]

So... I took him to a vet, she said he has a a respiratory infection and prescribed an antibiotic. I just gave him his second dose of it, but he's really bad, I honestly don't know if he'll make it. I don't know if I should wait for him to get better or if I should think about putting him to sleep. He's suffering so much and for so long. In a entire week he wasn't able to eat/drink what he used to in one day, he doesn't get out of his bed and he can barely move. I don't know if it's worth it to wait for a small possibility of him getting better or if I should stop his suffering.

 

[SQ]

What is he on, the strength (mg/ml), the dose?
He should likely be on at least 2 antibiotics .... baytril + another (such as doxy, or clavamox, or azithromycin - 10 mg/Ib) orally, twice a day

Only you can make that decision, you are there and know what is happening
I am very sorry that he is going through this .. {{hugs}} to you both

Are you aware of how to humanely put rats to sleep ? - most vets do not know how so rat owners must make sure it is done properly and be there with their rat if at all possible to comfort their rat and to make sure they die peacefully, unafraid and painlessly (gas + oxygen mix used for surgery, when unconscious to at least a surgical level - vet will test reflexes, then needle is given, rat stays unconscious from the gas/oxygen mix until dead)

 

[lilspaz68]

Antibiotics take 4-5 days to show improvements so I would wait it out. I'll wait to hear what type you are given, the concentration of it (mg/ml on bottle or invoice), how much your boy weighs and what dose they are telling you to give btw a pic of the med bottle would give me most info except his weight.

 

[arthur]

She prescribed Sulfadiazine, 2 "drops" of it (I can try to put it in a syringe to see how much ml it has). I can't find the concentration, but it has some sort of chart showing what I think is the concentration. The names are in portuguese but I hope it helps.

He's getting better today. He still spends most of the day in his bed, but he got out to "use the bathroom" and walked a bit to explore the floor when I cleaned it. He's slowly starting to eat again. He ate two small pieces of melon and I think he also drank a bit of his fruit vitamin (I didn't see him drink, but it seems that the bowl has less vitamin than before, but I can't be sure). I wasn't able to buy the organic soy formula, but I'm giving him coconut water with a syringe. I'm really glad to see how he's getting better.
Is there anything else I should be doing?

 

[arthur]

Oh, I've forgot to say: He has to take the antibiotic twice a day for one week.

 

[SQ]

That is wonderful that he is doing better and eating.
Rats need to be on antibiotics for at least 4 to 6 weeks, so you will need to get more from the vet.
Sometimes vets only give meds for a week until they see if the med is helping or not.

So glad that he is doing better!

 

[jorats]

That's good news!