MinisterPumpkin
Member
This is all likely to sound a little silly and melodramatic because everything’s still fresh in my head and I won’t lie, I’m upset. It's nearly 3 AM and I'm too worried to fall asleep.
A few months ago, I moved to pursue an opportunity in another part of the country. My rats were over a year and a half old at that time and I really didn’t like the idea of rehoming them when moving with them seemed just as feasible. So, we all packed up and moved. Prior to this, I had called a veterinarian in the area to ensure we would have one, etc. Anyway, a few weeks after the move, one of my boys sounded like he might have been developing a respiratory infection. So, I went into the clinic’s emergency walk-in hours and after a brief examination, the vet suggests that it’s common in older rats and gives us some baytril.
It doesn’t help. So, I come back. Because the walk-in times are very, very expensive, I tried to schedule something but I don’t think I was able to. So, we end up seeing another vet who gives us vibramycin. For a short while, my rat seemed fine but come this last week and suddenly, he’s not really eating. He’s lost some weight. He’s not nearly as playful as he always has been and he isn’t walking straight. It just looks like he’s having a hard time moving around overall. He’ll waver when he’s standing and he walks close to the ground. To top it all off, his breathing is still raspy.
This next time, I was able to schedule an appointment. The previous two had been very quick and I didn’t think twice on it because they were walk-ins and I get that those are busy hours (it took nearly two hours to see anyone at all both times). This time, I was really hoping to actually get to talk with someone – especially considering how severe (in my eyes) his state seemed.
I’m again put with a different vet and although there aren’t too many others in the waiting area, it’s again a quick visit. He didn’t ask what was wrong and when I was explaining my concerns, really didn’t seem to be listening. This rat is turning two in two days and everything was brushed off as “he’s old.” I was given more baytril and sent on my way with very little explained to me. It was all so cold compared to our previous clinic and I didn’t know what to do. I felt so helpless right then. I didn’t know what was wrong with my rat or how to help him and no one was willing to talk to me or explain what’s happening. I feel like because I brought in a small animal – an older one at that – everyone has been taking on this attitude like he’s somehow less important and that I should care less about him than someone coming in with a cat or dog.
I just want to know what’s happening. My rat was walking around just fine one day and the next, he’s struggling to stand and deteriorating so quickly. I’m so scared and I don’t know what I can do or who I can turn to for answers. I’m looking into other vets in the area. But, in the meantime, I was hoping to ask if anyone here might have any idea what might be going on.
Things I’ve noticed include:
- Thinning fur (this has been happening for awhile but every time I brought it up during a visit, I never really got an answer/explanation so, I – perhaps naively – assumed “they’re professionals, no need to question”)
- Porphyrin around the eyes
- Difficulty standing/getting up
- Unsteady when walking
- Generally less playful though he will still chew on toys when they’re placed near him
- Loss of appetite – he’ll eat foods he particularly likes
- General sensitivity – he’ll do a sort of distressed squeal when his brothers lay on him
- Weight loss
- Loud breathing
- Dry poops? I only noticed one so maybe it was just that one.
I don’t know. Can all of this be chalked up to mycoplasmosis and age? When I was describing the strange movement – the vet did see it because my little guy tried to scamper across the table back into the travel bag – he brushed it off as “he’s old, he won’t be able to move like he used to.” But this all started very recently (the difficulty moving) and I feel like when I tried to explain that, it fell on deaf ears. Literally a week ago, my rat was chasing down my hand and showing me the difference between clockwise and counter-clockwise and now he can barely stand straight.
Should I just follow the instructions on the bottle of baytril for a while and see what happens? I really don’t know what my options are. Would changing clinics be too rash? I’m a little afraid because this one generally had the best reviews in the area.
I’m probably a little too emotional – and I definitely was during the visit. Just before the move, I lost one of my boys to an inoperable tumor. Our vet then was the sweetest person. She walked me through everything so I always understood what was happening to my boy and even though I knew there wasn’t anything that could be done about the tumor, I could find peace knowing what was happening and I felt better equipped to make him comfortable in his last months. But I think just having that all in my mind and still fresh probably does have me thinking a little irrationally.
And I really don’t want to put down the three vets I’ve seen at this clinic. They’re all obviously very well-educated, knowledgeable, and good at what they do! The last guy even seemed to pick up on me generally being sad (and maybe my state made it a little harder to take my concerns seriously) and tried to cheer me up toward the end of the visit. Would it be a bit much to call and ask if someone could walk me through what happened during said visit? I know at our previous clinic, I was encouraged to do so after finding out about that tumor but I don’t know if that’s okay in other places – particularly when this place seems perpetually busy. My rats are my first pets so this is only the second vet clinic I've been to. I really don't know how they work so maybe I'm just going about this all in the wrong way.
I apologize for the length/general unloading/me acting like a crazy person. Thanks for taking the time to look through this! Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
Right now, he's cuddled up in an igloo, fast asleep on top of a toy he tore up sometime last night. His breathing seems steady and quiet, and he overall looks really very peaceful so that's helping me calm down quite a lot. He ate some fruit earlier and at least one piece of the Oxbow food. And he's been drinking regularly.
This is completely off-topic but he's been really sweet through this whole thing. A while back, he learned "kiss" as a trick -- where he boops my lips with his little nose so I can kiss his nose. During the vet visit, he just kept doing his "kiss" trick unprompted -- presumably because he's aware that it's my favorite thing. I don't know what I did to deserve this little guy.
A few months ago, I moved to pursue an opportunity in another part of the country. My rats were over a year and a half old at that time and I really didn’t like the idea of rehoming them when moving with them seemed just as feasible. So, we all packed up and moved. Prior to this, I had called a veterinarian in the area to ensure we would have one, etc. Anyway, a few weeks after the move, one of my boys sounded like he might have been developing a respiratory infection. So, I went into the clinic’s emergency walk-in hours and after a brief examination, the vet suggests that it’s common in older rats and gives us some baytril.
It doesn’t help. So, I come back. Because the walk-in times are very, very expensive, I tried to schedule something but I don’t think I was able to. So, we end up seeing another vet who gives us vibramycin. For a short while, my rat seemed fine but come this last week and suddenly, he’s not really eating. He’s lost some weight. He’s not nearly as playful as he always has been and he isn’t walking straight. It just looks like he’s having a hard time moving around overall. He’ll waver when he’s standing and he walks close to the ground. To top it all off, his breathing is still raspy.
This next time, I was able to schedule an appointment. The previous two had been very quick and I didn’t think twice on it because they were walk-ins and I get that those are busy hours (it took nearly two hours to see anyone at all both times). This time, I was really hoping to actually get to talk with someone – especially considering how severe (in my eyes) his state seemed.
I’m again put with a different vet and although there aren’t too many others in the waiting area, it’s again a quick visit. He didn’t ask what was wrong and when I was explaining my concerns, really didn’t seem to be listening. This rat is turning two in two days and everything was brushed off as “he’s old.” I was given more baytril and sent on my way with very little explained to me. It was all so cold compared to our previous clinic and I didn’t know what to do. I felt so helpless right then. I didn’t know what was wrong with my rat or how to help him and no one was willing to talk to me or explain what’s happening. I feel like because I brought in a small animal – an older one at that – everyone has been taking on this attitude like he’s somehow less important and that I should care less about him than someone coming in with a cat or dog.
I just want to know what’s happening. My rat was walking around just fine one day and the next, he’s struggling to stand and deteriorating so quickly. I’m so scared and I don’t know what I can do or who I can turn to for answers. I’m looking into other vets in the area. But, in the meantime, I was hoping to ask if anyone here might have any idea what might be going on.
Things I’ve noticed include:
- Thinning fur (this has been happening for awhile but every time I brought it up during a visit, I never really got an answer/explanation so, I – perhaps naively – assumed “they’re professionals, no need to question”)
- Porphyrin around the eyes
- Difficulty standing/getting up
- Unsteady when walking
- Generally less playful though he will still chew on toys when they’re placed near him
- Loss of appetite – he’ll eat foods he particularly likes
- General sensitivity – he’ll do a sort of distressed squeal when his brothers lay on him
- Weight loss
- Loud breathing
- Dry poops? I only noticed one so maybe it was just that one.
I don’t know. Can all of this be chalked up to mycoplasmosis and age? When I was describing the strange movement – the vet did see it because my little guy tried to scamper across the table back into the travel bag – he brushed it off as “he’s old, he won’t be able to move like he used to.” But this all started very recently (the difficulty moving) and I feel like when I tried to explain that, it fell on deaf ears. Literally a week ago, my rat was chasing down my hand and showing me the difference between clockwise and counter-clockwise and now he can barely stand straight.
Should I just follow the instructions on the bottle of baytril for a while and see what happens? I really don’t know what my options are. Would changing clinics be too rash? I’m a little afraid because this one generally had the best reviews in the area.
I’m probably a little too emotional – and I definitely was during the visit. Just before the move, I lost one of my boys to an inoperable tumor. Our vet then was the sweetest person. She walked me through everything so I always understood what was happening to my boy and even though I knew there wasn’t anything that could be done about the tumor, I could find peace knowing what was happening and I felt better equipped to make him comfortable in his last months. But I think just having that all in my mind and still fresh probably does have me thinking a little irrationally.
And I really don’t want to put down the three vets I’ve seen at this clinic. They’re all obviously very well-educated, knowledgeable, and good at what they do! The last guy even seemed to pick up on me generally being sad (and maybe my state made it a little harder to take my concerns seriously) and tried to cheer me up toward the end of the visit. Would it be a bit much to call and ask if someone could walk me through what happened during said visit? I know at our previous clinic, I was encouraged to do so after finding out about that tumor but I don’t know if that’s okay in other places – particularly when this place seems perpetually busy. My rats are my first pets so this is only the second vet clinic I've been to. I really don't know how they work so maybe I'm just going about this all in the wrong way.
I apologize for the length/general unloading/me acting like a crazy person. Thanks for taking the time to look through this! Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
Right now, he's cuddled up in an igloo, fast asleep on top of a toy he tore up sometime last night. His breathing seems steady and quiet, and he overall looks really very peaceful so that's helping me calm down quite a lot. He ate some fruit earlier and at least one piece of the Oxbow food. And he's been drinking regularly.
This is completely off-topic but he's been really sweet through this whole thing. A while back, he learned "kiss" as a trick -- where he boops my lips with his little nose so I can kiss his nose. During the vet visit, he just kept doing his "kiss" trick unprompted -- presumably because he's aware that it's my favorite thing. I don't know what I did to deserve this little guy.