Rat Having Trouble Breathing

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rattietatties

rattietatties

Member
Joined
Jul 26, 2019
Messages
23
Location
Schaumburg, Illinois
So one of my rats who's about 1 year 10 months was diagnosed with chronic respiratory issues a couple of weeks ago. He's been up and down with getting better and getting worse and today when I opened the cage he ran over and wanted to be picked up so I've been letting him sit on me for a while. While he was in my lap I knocked over a thing of cheerios and when I went to put him back his feet looked blue and seemed to be a bit bloated. He's been a bit lethargic due to the breathing issues and is on albuterol and dulera to help with his breathing (some days he's up and walking other days he's not) I'm unsure if he's been like this before because with school and everything I'm not always able to watch him. He's definitely been about this level of lethargy but I'm not sure about the feet.
 
I have a nebulizer that I might try to use with him if he ever gets that bad again. His breathing was really bad one other time since going to the vet but he was curled up on my lap the whole time so i didn’t think to check his feet then
 
Ok there's the problem., albuterol is a bronchodilator, and dulera is a another medication with steroids BUT neither are antibiotics which he will need to cure any active infection.
 
The vet said it’s not an infection as he got a x ray and there was no fluid in his lungs. She said it’s mostly likely something like copd in humans which we don’t know how he got as the other two are fine. The vet said that since it’s not an infection the most they could do is prescribe the albuterol to help ease up his lungs for whatever time he has left.
 
hmm. has he ever been on antibiotics? With steroid use you have to give antibiotics at the same time, as steroids suppress the immune system and allow opportunistic infections in.
 
Since its not an infection and just him having chronic breathing problems through his lungs how long would he have to be on these? I just asked my mom about it and she seems a bit iffy on giving him antibiotics as he doesn't have an infection and the vet mentioned nothing about it. The vet was mostly prescribing the albuterol but since we mentioned we already had dulera at home she said that we could try that as well but she didn't go into depth with it.
 
he'd be on them for at least 3 weeks for an infection, and on one of them for as long as he's on a steroid.

Do me a favour. Hold his sides to your ear and tell me what you hear? Clear breathing is silent or just a gentle whoosh of air. Any roughness, crackling, wheezing, or even a whine/clunk (constricted lungs). Has he lost weight? If so does he have a nipped in waist? When you gently squeeze his chest does it seem harder than a normal rats?
 
He just got given the inhaler 40 minutes ago so his breathing is pretty clear right now but later in the evening before he gets it for the second time or when he's having a really hard time it's more crackling I guess. He has lost a bit of weight but he's been doing better with eating recently. You can definitely see his sides going in when he breathes and it gets especially bad when he's stressed and starts to breathe a bit harder.
 
rattietatties said:
So one of my rats who's about 1 year 10 months was diagnosed with chronic respiratory issues a couple of weeks ago. He's been up and down with getting better and getting worse and today when I opened the cage he ran over and wanted to be picked up so I've been letting him sit on me for a while. While he was in my lap I knocked over a thing of cheerios and when I went to put him back his feet looked blue and seemed to be a bit bloated. He's been a bit lethargic due to the breathing issues and is on albuterol and dulera to help with his breathing (some days he's up and walking other days he's not) I'm unsure if he's been like this before because with school and everything I'm not always able to watch him. He's definitely been about this level of lethargy but I'm not sure about the feet.
Click to expand...
Bluish feet is due to lack of oxygenated blood supply, or... plainly put....bad circulation. It can be cause by several problems, or combinations of, such as URI, ambient temperature, and, as is often the case, CHF. Treatments can vary and are best when devised between you and your vet, and are most successful when they're long term treatment plans that focus on the various issues. But if he has serious, chronic, infection that's caused permanent lung damage, then you'll likely be in for a sad, downward trend that you might be best to let him be relieved from his pain and suffering, especially as he is nearly 2 years old. But you should discuss it with your vet. Please be wary, chronic breathing problems nearly always end badly, and should always be monitored carefully for signs of distress, so that he can be peacefully allowed to cross his bridge before he can not breathe and starts to become frantic with a panicking attempt to get oxygen. Please, if you have no experience with EOL situations resulting from URI issues, it's, in my opinion, definitely best to not let his condition deteriorate until it's too late and you can't get him to the vet in time and he has to suffer a very frightening and horrific demise. I have been through it and it's a terrible thing. Thank you for understanding and helping your pet.
lilspaz68 said:
hmm. has he ever been on antibiotics? With steroid use you have to give antibiotics at the same time, as steroids suppress the immune system and allow opportunistic infections in.
Click to expand...
 
lilspaz68 said:
he'd be on them for at least 3 weeks for an infection, and on one of them for as long as he's on a steroid.

Do me a favour. Hold his sides to your ear and tell me what you hear? Clear breathing is silent or just a gentle whoosh of air. Any roughness, crackling, wheezing, or even a whine/clunk (constricted lungs). Has he lost weight? If so does he have a nipped in waist? When you gently squeeze his chest does it seem harder than a normal rats?
Click to expand...
What would the hardness indicate?
 

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