rat sick

Question
QUESTION: I have 2 x 18 month old rats,a few days ago i noticed one rat looked thinner and has acted slightly lethargic showing not a lot of interest in anything,I tempted him to eat soft food from a spoon and yogurt but after a few nibbles he pushes it away, i took him to the vets last night and she clipped his teeth and prescribed baytril 2ml daily after starting him on a shot, today there appears not a great change in him though i know the baytril will take a few days to be effective. She told me to feed him whatever i can get him to take but at least he is still eating small amounts and is cleaning and walking about.hes very alert when awake but sits hunched up breathing quite strongly but not to the point of heavy breathing.
Now I have noticed since returning from the vets my other rat is avoiding him, normally they cuddle up all the time. He is now not eating too, just stays on a different floor to the other rat making his normal  noises.
the vet has told me there should appear some change within  5 days in the sick rat hopefully. now i am worrying that whatever he has the other rat might have though he looks healthy enough and his eyes are bright and hes alert.
hes  distancing himself from him which is my main concern as well as the food bowl being untouched . thanks


ANSWER: Hi there, Mel!

Chances are the other rat may have picked up the respiratory infection the other rat is now being treated for. It depends on what organism it is that is causing the illness and also how strong the other rats immune system is, too.  I would keep a very close eye on him and perhaps suggest to the vet he should be on baytril for at least 14 days


Also, check the injection site where the vet gave him the baytril shot. Its not a good idea to inject baytril in rats because it is so caustic and when it coagulates under the skin it causes a burn type lesion that is very painful. You can see a photo of it on my site. Scroll down about half way to read about baytril burn.

http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/rathealthinformation.htm

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

QUESTION: Hi Sandra
thanks for your quick reply, today there appears to be a slight change, reggie the sicker rat has been more alert and has eaten baby food,yogurt, brocolli and biscuit. ronnie the healthier of the two has been eating the same food, the rat dry food bowl is still untouched but food that i have put closer to them appears to of been eaten slightly.Maybe my mistake is feeding them too much 'human' food and they arent interested in their food? (I feed them on reggies dry food)
health wise reggie is more alert and has had his daily 2ml of baytril , plus i have washed him down with damp cotton wool,his skin looks more hydrated today.
(hes a hairless rat) he doesnt seem to have had a skin reaction from his shot.he is climbing mainly to the upper hammock but is also sleeping in other beds and i found ronnie in with him this afternoon.prehaps it was the smell of the vets on reggie that put ronnie off? I know my dogs are terrified of that smell !
back to his illness..he is still hunching up, isnt too lively but does appear to of picked up a bit since hes started treatment.instead of his chinese eye look he developed hes actually had his eyes wide open!
here in the UK vets dont seem to have much idea regarding treating rats, i know this from previous rats I have owned , i will suggest he has baytril for longer as you have pointed out-thank you.
by the way last night the vet said she wasnt sure what he had wrong with him !
her main concern was to get some body weight on him as he has really lost a lot of weight, i could actually see his ribs last night, hence me feeding him today whatever he will eat.thats the problem with one bowl and two rats, who knows who eats what when the bowl empties you assume they are both eating.
for now i will monitor them both closely, im not too alarmed about ronnie now as i was earlier on today but reggie i hope picks up a lot more - thanks melx

Answer
Have you checked this link to see about vets in the UK? There are several.
http://www.aemv.org/vetlist.cfm

ALso, I would keep food available at all times for them so you dont have to worry who gets enough food.  Rats that get pleasingly plump are not over eaters because they dont tend to over eat. They get fat due to lack of energy, little exercise and from eating the wrong foods, such as those high in fats like peanuts etc...

Anyhow, I would look into that link above for the heck of it just to see if you find any exotic vets near you.