URGENT: pet rat Ziva behaving oddly: a repiratory infection or ...??

Question
QUESTION: Thank you so much for your sweet words regarding Hermione's passing earlier this week. Every day it's getting a little easier. But now I need urgent help with Ziva.

When we took Hermione in we had taken Ziva as well because we were noticing dark urine spots on her blankets and when she was marking. (The vet wanted a urine analysis but we have yet been able to get one. The spotting has seemed to stop though.) Ziva began the chirping noise that day after Hermione passed but I didn't notice it that much the day after. Two days after Hermione passed, Ziva was wheezing as I was feeding her breakfast. I made an appointment for her the next day (or yesterday to be exact.) The vet said her lungs were clear but advised that if she shows any signs of worsening, to give her a call and she would give us some antibiotics for a respiratory infection. Well, this afternoon, Ziva had (I think) a panic attack. She frantically ran down to a different level of her cage and flattened herself against it. She would do this several times. Actually she crawled really fast rather than ran. I took her out of the cage and she seemed really weak and lethargic; she was breathing rapidly but there were no audible sounds. We took her to the vet yet again and she seemed to perk up a bit. She didn't run around as much as she usually does at the vet but the panic attack seemed to stop. The vet still didn't hear anything in her lungs but said the running around and flattening against the floor of the cage could be the infection; she's trying to get air into her lungs. We were given antibiotics (Doxycyclin and Enroflaxin twice a day for two weeks.) Now she's back in her cage and resting in her tissue box. She still seems a bit lethargic though. When I open the cage, she doesn't run out to greet me like she usually does. Also, I noticed her head bops up and down when she's breathing.

My question is: can a respiratory infection get this bad this quick? (Hermione never behaved like this when she got infections.) Could it just be the stress of losing Hermione? Is there something else we should be asking the vet to test for?

Thank you for all your help. I really appreciate it!

ANSWER: When it is pneumonia it can accelerate fast.  Myco related illnesses are slow moving, starting as sneezing but turning into full blown congestion etc...over time.  This is why lung scarring occurs, the infection is allowed to linger.

Also, with pneumonia, it is not always audible. I was holding my breath  reading that....hoping you were not going to say the vet still denied medication.  I am so glad she  is on these meds but would have felt better that she was given a gentocin injection and kept overnight on oxygen and nebulized the baytril.  

I guess all vets cant be like I want them to be, but they SHOULD be. This is what every  vet should do with these rats.  She was probably hypoxic during her panic attack.  I want you to  check her paws, both front and back paws, tail and muzzle for blue or purple color. This is called cyanosis and is a bad sign the rat is not getting oxygen.  Also, cold to the touch, puffed fur and of course laying on the edge of a  shelf or ledge hanging her head over the side is a way to help them breathe when there is trouble, as is laying flat like she did.

its pneumonia, I am sure of it.  I  think possible Hermione had it as well which may account for his panic attacks before his passing.  This can be contagious if he was around her during the time of active infection. If I recall, at the time of your writing to me, she was already making sounds and I said that it could be a respiratory infection.
Being stressed by  her beloved friends death doesnt help a bit with her immune system.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much for your rapid response.

I don't see any blue or purple tinges on her extremities but I will keep an eye on her. She's still lethargic and barely comes out of her igloo but she's eating and drinking. I also hear a little bit of wheezing every now and then but I'm hoping the meds will soon kick in.

I've been to your site and it has been very helpful. Thank you so much.

I have one more question. She seems to have lost some weight fairly quickly. She's not emaciated but she does seem a little thinner. Is that a symptom of pneumonia?

Thank you, thank you, thank you again for all your help and quick responses.

Answer
Any illness can cause the rat to have weight loss, from infection to heart disease....rats just dont like to eat when they are unwell.  Its even more difficult for them to chew and exert excess energy when they have heart disease or lung disease and they tend to tire easily so chewing is harder for them.  They will lick readily though, so offer baby foods to lick from a plate. This will also give added liquid to prevent dehydration which can occur fast in a sick rat.