Sick URI

[Rinrei]

Seems like my boys are fighting eachother on who can be sick the most...

Anyway. Dexter my 2 year old boy 800 grams is suffering from a URI.

At first I heard his nose whistle while breathing Thursday morning (less than 24hours). Pretty quite but could be heard from a foot away. No sound from lungs at all.

I called the vet and they can see him as early as Saturday morning. At that point it'll be 48 hours since his symptoms would be noticed.

As of 1am he sounds like grunting, weezing, congestion, and is very loud and can be heard anywhere in the room as he is waking me up, I'm trying to listen to his lungs but the sound from his nose is so loud it's almost hard to tell.

When he is relaxed its not as prominent but it being rat o'clock he will not stay still.

I have very little Baytril left from his brother UTI and I still have Azithromycin 200mg/5ml susp...
Can I give this to him and how much? I'm really worried that this is gonna spread to his lungs before the vet can see him.

I tried steam in my bathroom (which freaks him out), very small pieces of dark chocolate, and 2-3 echinacea drops on cheerios.

Would childeren Benadryl help at all?

I'm so stressed out and sleep deprived with these two.

 

[SQ]

If the vet will not see him today - and I would try again to get Dexter in to see the vet today -
personally I would start him on meds ….. do you know how much to give him?
What is the strength of the baytril (mg/ml)?

I would give 0.44 mls of azithromycin twice a day, based on his weight and a dose of 10mg/Ib orally, twice a day - which is what my vet prescribes my rats. (I am not a vet, not a vet tec etc and have no medical training, just a rat owner)

The steam might be "freaking him out" because he may have fluid building up in his lungs - if he does, then the steam will add more fluid - so a vet might give him Lasix to remove fluid, as a vet will be able to tell if there is fluid in his lungs

http://ratguide.com/health/lower_respiratory/pneumonia.php
http://ratguide.com/health/bacteria/mycoplasma_mycoplasmosis.php
http://ratguide.com/health/cardiovascular/congestive_heart_failure.php
http://ratguide.com/health/basics/advanced_health_check.php

 

[lilspaz68]

I'm getting a dose of 0.4 ml once a day for your big lad.

Are you able to get us a video of his noisy breathing? You'd need to iPad it to something like YouTube and copy/paste the link here.

 

[jorats]

I would definitely start him on meds too.

 

[Rinrei]

If the vet will not see him today - and I would try again to get Dexter in to see the vet today -
personally I would start him on meds ….. do you know how much to give him?
What is the strength of the baytril (mg/ml)?

I would give 0.44 mls of azithromycin twice a day, based on his weight and a dose of 10mg/Ib orally, twice a day - which is what my vet prescribes my rats. (I am not a vet, not a vet tec etc and have no medical training, just a rat owner)

The steam might be "freaking him out" because he may have fluid building up in his lungs - if he does, then the steam will add more fluid - so a vet might give him Lasix to remove fluid, as a vet will be able to tell if there is fluid in his lungs

http://ratguide.com/health/lower_respiratory/pneumonia.php
http://ratguide.com/health/bacteria/mycoplasma_mycoplasmosis.php
http://ratguide.com/health/cardiovascular/congestive_heart_failure.php
http://ratguide.com/health/basics/advanced_health_check.php

The Baytril I have is 20mg/ml
Sadly I only have maybe .5ml left of the stuff.
He hates anything to do with the bathroom since he knows it's bath and he hates bath.

I didnt wanna give him too much so I only gave him .25ml of azithromycin this morning.

My boyfriend is watching him incase his condition gets worse... Idk if they'll take me today now since its so late and they close at 4pm... We live 1hr from them.

 

[Rinrei]

I'm getting a dose of 0.4 ml once a day for your big lad.

Are you able to get us a video of his noisy breathing? You'd need to iPad it to something like YouTube and copy/paste the link here.

I'm at work and wont be home till around 7...
I'll up the dose from what I gave him this morning when I get home.
He sounds alot like my old girl when she would have bad mico flare ups and was constantly on meds. Sadly I dont have a plethra of meds on hand for the boys like I did for my girls

 

[SQ]

even if you dose baytril at the lowest end of the range (5 mg/kg), you only have 1 dose (0.4 ml would be 5 mg/kg)
you could give him the 0.5 ml of baytril tonight and get more meds from the vet in the morning

http://ratguide.com/meds/antimicrobial_agents/enrofloxacin_baytril.php

 

[Rinrei]

even if you dose baytril at the lowest end of the range (5 mg/kg), you only have 1 dose (0.4 ml would be 5 mg/kg)
you could give him the 0.5 ml of baytril tonight and get more meds from the vet in the morning

http://ratguide.com/meds/antimicrobial_agents/enrofloxacin_baytril.php

Should I give both Baytril and azithromycin ? Or would one work better than the other?

 

[Rinrei]

His current sounds...
He seems so unhappy. I just held him and pet him some to calm him down. (Bad storm here) All I can do is pet him and cry at the moment.

I gave him the .4ml of azithro. I know no antibiotics are miracle drugs but I would think after 3 doses he would show some kind of improvement but if anything he seems even weaker than yesterday.

 

[SQ]

azithromycin works well in combination with baytril but is not very effective by itself
and it takes a few days for antibiotics to make a difference

hope he is does ok tonight and gets what he needs when he sees the vet tomorrow

 

[SQ]

if possible, you might want to post another video where we can see how he is breathing, how his mouth and sides are, etc

 

[Rinrei]

if possible, you might want to post another video where we can see how he is breathing, how his mouth and sides are, etc

I know its not the best video but he will not stay still enough to see him. He is full body breathing and not just from his lungs. I tried to listen to his lungs again and I could maybe her a small pop on the exhale but again he is too loud to tell 100%

Sadly his brother seems to be on the decline in only 24 hrs health wise. Idk if that could be stressing Dexter out as well.

The vet is 1 hr car ride away so heres hoping they both make it there in time for something to be done.

 

[SQ]

I hope your vet knows a lot about rats or you share the links I posted with him

a good combo for may resp. problems is baytril + doxy + azithromycin (10 mg/Ib), orally, twice a day, for at least 6 weeks if it is helping.

antibiotics for depend on the type of pneumonia http://ratguide.com/health/lower_respiratory/pneumonia.php

It could also be a heart issue and there are meds for that …… you can test dose with benazepril and if it helps you add atenolol ……. and then if the heart is enlarged on an xray, then you add digoxin Here is some info http://ratguide.com/health/cardiovascular/congestive_heart_failure.php

Some rats need to be maintained on baytril, or they keep getting ill

I do not know what your experience is, but if they need to be put to sleep,
the humane way to kill a rat is to give it the gas/oxygen mix used for surgery, when the rat is unconscious to at least a surgical level, the vet will test reflexes (gently pinching toes & eye to see if there is a blink reflex), then the vet will inject the rat, and the gas/oxygen mix will keep the rat unconscious until dead
Most vets do not know how to do it properly so you will need to make sure it is done right, and if possible stay with your rattie while it is happening - some vets will let you hold and cuddle your rat

I hope everything works out ok for you and your boys

 

[Rinrei]

I hope your vet knows a lot about rats or you share the links I posted with him

a good combo for may resp. problems is baytril + doxy + azithromycin (10 mg/Ib), orally, twice a day, for at least 6 weeks if it is helping.

antibiotics for depend on the type of pneumonia http://ratguide.com/health/lower_respiratory/pneumonia.php

It could also be a heart issue and there are meds for that …… you can test dose with benazepril and if it helps you add atenolol ……. and then if the heart is enlarged on an xray, then you add digoxin Here is some info http://ratguide.com/health/cardiovascular/congestive_heart_failure.php

Some rats need to be maintained on baytril, or they keep getting ill

I do not know what your experience is, but if they need to be put to sleep,
the humane way to kill a rat is to give it the gas/oxygen mix used for surgery, when the rat is unconscious to at least a surgical level, the vet will test reflexes (gently pinching toes & eye to see if there is a blink reflex), then the vet will inject the rat, and the gas/oxygen mix will keep the rat unconscious until dead
Most vets do not know how to do it properly so you will need to make sure it is done right, and if possible stay with your rattie while it is happening - some vets will let you hold and cuddle your rat

I hope everything works out ok for you and your boys

Azithromycin and prednisone? Is what he was prescribed. After a couple different test to see what was causing the sounds and breathing the doctor ruled out that there was nothing wrong with his lungs. He said everything sounded like in his throat and his nasal cavities. So he'll be on two weeks of antibiotic and one week of the anti-inflammatory.

Sadly though his brother did not come back from the vet today. His condition worsened in a matter of an hour and the vet and I agreed that after a couple different test to see if he was strong enough to fight off whatever it was... putting him to sleep was the best option. After another x-ray it seems that he had an enlarged heart with fluid starting to build up.

Now I'm just trying to keep Dexter happy with as much love and treats as I can provide.

 

[SQ]

I am very sorry for your loss.
Azithromycin is usually not very effective unless given with baytril
Prednisone is a steroid that may help http://ratguide.com/meds/endocrine_hormones/prednisone_prednisolone.php

 

[Rinrei]

New question.

He is doing random frantic running. No open mouth breathing as I witnessed with his brother. This new thing as of 4 hours ago.

Is this respritory distress? Him freaking cause he can't breath? The vet said his lungs sounded clear.

His next dose of meds is at 11pm

I dont understand how things can go so wrong with both in such a short time. If I have to run to the E-vet at midnight I will... Its just so strange.

 

[SQ]

Yes, it sounds like he is racing around because is having difficulty breathing

 

[Rinrei]

I'm wondering if I should re up his antibiotic dose.

The doctor only wanted him at .2ml twice a day. He has lost weight and is only 750grams now. I was giving him the .4 the day before we went and I saw slight improvement till now at the lower dose. Idk if there really is a difference in such a short time frame in meds. I know some could still be from stress

Of course it's now Sunday and my vet is closed so I can't ask them in the morning for their opinion

 

[SQ]

He has likely lost weight because it is difficult to eat and breath at the same time

I would give 0.41 mls of azithromycin twice a day, based on his weight and the dose my vet prescribes
but, like I said, in my experience it isn't very effective unless given with baytril

I hope the meds he is on help

 

[Rinrei]

Sadly he didnt make it to his next dose.

He started have seizures this morning. I took him the emergency vet. His lungs were filling with fluids and he didnt want to drink.

I know rats miss their cagemates but I didnt think hed want to just follow his brother like that.

I had to let him go.