i dont know what to do

Question
QUESTION: Hi,
i have a male rat, his name is Nigel, his is almost 2 years old and he is suffering from mycoplasmosis. I have gone to the vet and they gave me an antibiotic, and it helped at first. Of course the disease got much worse and it doesn't seem to do much of anything. He has almost stopped eating completely, and he has lost so much weight. I don't ever hear him drinking out of his waterer. He sleeps all day long, even when i take him out he gets comfy and sleeps. He use to never stay still long enough to even cuddle him. The point i am getting at is he isn't doing well and i need to know if he is suffering and if i should put him to sleep. I keep thinking i will wake up in the morning to find him "gone", but i have been thinking that for a while and i just don't know how much longer he will last. I need to know if the disease is hurting him, and if so can you justify me for wanting to let him have his peace. Or should i see how long he will last, continuing with the antibotics. thank you for your time, someone elses opinion on this matter will really help me.
-Nicole

ANSWER: Hi Nicole

It sounds to me as if your little old man has more than myco. He also has signs of heart disease. sleeping alot, weight loss....not responding to medications, this can all indicate heart disease which is not shocking since it can come hand in hand with lung disease such as chronic mycoplasma.  
Does he breathe fast?
Does he seek the highest level in his cage and lay on top of the highest toy such as an igloo, or perhaps hang his head over a shelf or ledge? This is more typical with lung disease.

Note the color of his extremities, back feet, tail, genital area, muzzle. Are they blue or purple at all?  Is his body cold to the touch?
DOes his sides sink in when he breathes or does he just breathe really fast?

He needs to be seen by a good vet that is well versed in rat care. So many vets that are NOT up to par with rat ailments shun the idea of heart disease when it is very real and one of the top three causes of death in our rats. It can be treated with medications too and can give your rat back his quality of life. Enalpril for starters can be used to help slow his heart rate down and he will breathe easier.

Either way, we need to get him to eat and drink. Try letting him lick baby food from your fingers. Any kind of strained baby food, from sweet potatoes to peas or carrots or even banana custard! A rat that is sick would rather reserve his energy and not chew (this is actually tiresome for a rat with heart disease, which is one reason they lose weight) He will readily lick the baby food, or at least I hope he does.
Next, offer watermelon that is mashed up some. You can even use a dropper and suck up the watermelon juice and let him suck the dropper from the side of his mouth. Never the front of this mouth or he can aspirate on the juice.  Childrens pedialyte can also be used, but at this point, even koolaid will make me happy if he takes it, just to get liquids in him.

Do you have a good vet that really knows his stuff about rat care?

Anyhow please let me know about the things I asked above...hopefully we can get him on the right track.  2 years old is old-ER for a rat but still should not be the end of the road for him.  With all the knowledge out there now about rat care, the rats used to live for 18 months to 2 years, but in the last 5 years, their life span in captivity has increased to 2.5 to 3 years old which is great.  Rats have a fast metabolic rate which is one reason why they do not live as long as we want them to live. Fast metabolism of course accelerates everything in the body so even if the rat is healthy, chances it will live 5 years or more is really questionable. I have had people say their rat was over 5 but I really think they miscalculated the rats age and if they didnt, it is for sure a record breaker.

Anyhow, hang in there and write back soon as you can!

Sandra

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

QUESTION: thank you for your quick response.

He breathes faster than normal and his sides sink in. He has to open his mouth when he breathes just to get a sufficient amount of oxygen.
He also stays up on the top shelves of his cage, and he always hangs his head down. He seems to not have enough energy or strength to even lift his head.

His fur is thinning out and his tail and feet are darker than normal, but not a blue or purple colour.  

He loves corn, but the vet told me not to give it too him because it was too fatty, and when i took him in he was overweight. But since he lost so much weight and hadn't been      eating i tried some corn. He devoured it. Should i continue with the corn and other fatty foods he loves, or stay away from them?
I have only taken him to the vet once and he seemed pretty knowledgeable about rats.
Also one night i took my rat out and he had tiny black bugs all over his fur. He didn't have any signs of this the night before. I immediately gave him a bath and tried to wash them all out. most of them fell off in the water, and the rest fell off within the next day. i just wanted to know what they were and how they all appeared so suddenly. they didn't seem to  bother my rat in any way. They were all on the outer tips of his fur.

Thanks again and i will try getting some liquids in to him.

-Nicole

Answer
The bugs were mites that you saw. He may still have them. A rat that is sick often has mites from stress.


It sounds like your rat has pneumonia. He needs to be put in an oxygenated chamber at the vet and started on aggressive antibiotics such as nebulizing amakacin and baytril into his lungs. He needs steroids and also albuterol to open his airways.  At this point, if he is gasping to breathe (opening mouth to breathe) and his sides are sinking in with his respirations, he is suffering.  I would find an ER vet since it is the labor day weekend (if your in the US) because without treatment, I cant see him surviving much longer and of course if he is like this, he is uncomfortable as heck.  Do you need help finding an ER that sees rats?

Also at this point, if he wants corn, give it to him. Ice cream, pudding, who cares, as long as he eats!!

Good luck