My rat seems to be slowing right down.

Question
QUESTION: I have 3 male rats in 1 cage.  They get along great for the most part, but one of the smaller ones (Maynard) occasionally starts a fight with the largest and oldest (Goku).

My question is about Goku, we got him about 1 year and a few months ago from a pet store.  I'm not sure how old he was when we got him, but I'm assuming fairly young.  Lately, he has been moving very slow.  He seems uninterested in his food and he normally stays in one spot for most of the day.  Even while drinking water, his tongue moves 1/2 the speed as the other rats.  I thought he was a little to young to be experiencing "Old Man" syndrome, I thought maybe there might be something ailing him.  Most of the fights I've seen with Goku and Maynard has never involved blood or anything, so I never thought of him as injured either.

As for medication, I was recently giving them all antibiotics (Enrofloxacin) given to me from my vet, because of sneezing fits.  Goku wasn't the one sneezing, however I noticed while he was on it he was perkier.  And now that hes off, he has slowed back down.

Any help would be highly appreciated.

ANSWER: Hi Jason


How long were they on the medication?  Before I go on with my possible diagnosis, I want to rule out any possible active infection which is why I need to know the duration that he was on the baytril.

Has he ever been sick so far in his life?
You said he is just sort of listless and shows little interest in food. He is way too young to be an old man yet, thats for sure, and even if he were 2 they still usually want their food unless they are sick.

Let me know and I will get back with you right away!

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

QUESTION: We originally got the medication in December.  We had a rat die just before from what we believed was an infection.  So when Goku starting sneezing shortly after, we got him the antibiotics ASAP.  We fed it to him twice a day for about a week.

Recently, he was only on it for 3 days. I only gave it to him once a day however, since it wasn't him sneezing.  It was one of the other rats in the cage.

Those are both the only times I've given him antibiotics.  So other then right now, he was only sick once before.  And even then the vet said he sounded good, that I had caught it early.

Hope thats all the info you need.

ANSWER: You said he seems uninterested in food...does he have any favorites you can try?  Often, a sick rat will turn down even their favorite food. I would try to offer that or a treat your sure he will take...and if he doesnt, he is not feeling well.

If he has not been drinking well, he needs to be given something to hydrate him. Sometimes when they dont feel good they stop drinking and can start to dehydrate fast. You can mash up watermelon for him, melt some ice cream mixed with water, or even give him boost, ensure or childrens pedialyte to replace any lost minerals.

Since I cannot examine him in person, I am going to ask you to do a few things for me if you dont mind?

How are his respirations? Check and watch how he breathes at rest. Rats normally have fast respirations but you should not see him going a million miles a minute when he breathes, either. Check to see if his sides seem to "suck" in when he breathes.

Does he have any discharge around his eyes and nose?

Check his extremeties. They should be nice and pink and not blue or purple tinged.

Note the temp of his feet. Are they freezing cold or just cool to warm.
They should not be hot but they should not be freezing. Cool to slightly warm is normal.

Flip him over and check his belly, gently taking your fingers to feel for any lumps. He may not like this. Check his penis. There should be nothing in the opening. If he is intact, check to see the color of his testicles. They should be the same size. Note the color. They should NOT be blue or purple or even bright red.

Note the size of his abdomen. Has he gained or lost weight recently?
You should NOT be able to see his rib cage.

Note his fur. Is it puffy or laying flat?
Pinch his skin back. It should snap back fast, depending on how much chubbiness he has on him. If it slowly goes back in place, he needs fluids.

Next, the head area. He may really be sick of this by now, so if you want to give him a break, now is the time.

When you do resume providing you gave him a break, check his ears for debris and odor.

Last but not least, check his teeth. They should be in alignment and there should be no sores around his gums. Note the color. They should be yellow to yellowish orange.

Now you can even remember to do this and give your rats a daily exam. This will help aide in catching anything unusual before it gets ahead of the game.

Please let me know the outcome of his little "at home check up" and we can go from there.



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

QUESTION: Exam Results:

He did not eat the ice cream or fruit and also turned down water.

Respiration:  His breathing seems slower then it should be.  I do not notice sides sucking in.

Discharge:  He has red/brown discharge around 1 eye.  Brown colour around the nose, in fur (Grey rat). Did not notice that this morning.

Limbs:  Pink and warm

Belly, Penis, Testicles: Fine

Weight: I noticed he has lost weight and he does seem dehydrated.  Skin isnt that elastic.

Teeth/Gums:  Fine

I did not notice the discharge or dehydration this morning.  I'm assuming he clearly is sick.  I do have more of the antibiotics, should I be medicating him?  I also have a syringe, should I feed him water with it to help hydrate him?

Answer
Hi again

Thanks for being a trooper and checking him over so well.
He sounds like he is sick, probably infection but from what, I dont know. Its impossible for me to know at this point and in fact if a vet would see him and not hear anything in the lungs or with the heart, its anybodys guess without blood work and xrays. I would start the medication again as long as it has not expired. Check on that. Sometimes they are only good for 14 days. Whatever his dose was, let me know, because he needs a higher start up dose due to the condition he is in. When dealing with infection, rats should start out with a higher start up dose than the normal dose and after that, the normal dose is given.
Yes, you need to hydrate him. This may make him feel alot better if you can get fluids in him.  Gently put the syringe in the corner of his mouth, flavor it with sugar if you can or even koolaid or something sweet (non carbonated)  
If you cant get him hydrated he may need an emergency vet. Do you know of any in your area?  He could use fluids under his skin.
The porphyrin discharge from his nose and eyes indicates he is stressed out from not feeling good.
When these guys turn down food and treats, they clearly are not feeling good.
Let me know about the baytril (Enrofloxacin) and what his original dose is so we can get him started right away...if he even takes it for you:(

I will check back in a bit for your reply.