3-yr. old Rat Sick

Question
QUESTION:  My rat, Granite is currently sick and doing poorly for about a week now. He is scheduled for a vet check-up again, but they did not find anything before. He did have mites, but was treated and also had an immune booster. no change. He is breathing heavily, gaping at the mouth (like he is throwing up even though rats can't), has green feces, losing a lot of weight, has abscesses on his feet, and is experiencing weakness in his hind legs. What could be wrong? I know he has bumblesfoot and am currently cleaning the wounds and keeping him off wires. I just want him to be able to walk and be healthy.   

         Thanks,
         Maria

ANSWER: Sounds like Granite has several things going on with him at once. His breathing with his mouth open is a definite gasping motion and this is indicative of one or two things: lung or heart disease. Something is causing him to not get enough oxygen which is why he has labored breathing.The Green feces is probably from the medication he was given.
Weight loss can mean many ailments, again, from heart and lung disease to kidney and liver dysfunction as well. The bumblefoot is an infection, often caused by staph, and along with cleaning the wounds you can use antibiotic ointment too, such as neosporin. Keep the cage padded with soft fleece etc..and isolate his bedding to a small area such as a shoe box which will also help litter train him on top of it all, but its best he doesnt walk in soiled litter alot...less is better. He will not want to go to the bathroom on blankets and should use the litter box instead.

As for the weakness in his hind legs, this can be attributed to degenerative changes in his spine. Often an elderly buck will experience hind leg weakness that eventually can cause hind leg paralysis from compression on the nerves (nerve root compression)

He needs lab work done, possibly some x-rays of his chest if he hasnt had them yet and lungs need check for fluid build up which can be taken care of with a diuretic.

Do you have a vet that is an exotic vet?  Some regular vets are ok with rats but they did not take the specialty courses needed to pass the boards to become an exotic vet. The exotic vet is more equipped to care for small animals and carry proper implements sized just for the rat and other small animals.  If you need me to help you find a vet for him, all I need is your zip code and tell me what larger cities surround your area.
He needs a good check up. If he indeed has heart or lung problems, he can be kept on the meds and although he wont recover totally, the symptoms can be controlled.

Is he eating and drinking?
Does he have energy?
Has he been treated for a respiratory infection before and if so, when was the last time he was sick?


Please let me know those few things above....and hopefully we can figure it out, but it does seem it is more than one ailment that has inflicted him. Poor little old guy :(



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

QUESTION: He is eating/drinking sparely. I am giving him some electrolyte drinks to keep his fluids up, and feeding him his favorite foods to keep him eating. My vet is an exotic vet and has already treated my other rats, and I trust him. I believe he has a heart problem, and he is scheduled for later this week. The last time he was sick was when he had mites. I have other rats, and none of them are sick. His lungs do not have fluid in them and do not make crackling/wheezing-like sounds when listened to. He still wants to explore but not as much as he used to because it taxes his strength. I hope that helps.

Answer
Yes that helps alot and I am glad you have a good vet (exotic vet) that you trust. That is the most important thing and sadly, there are few exotic vets for our rats to go around :(  I always ask everyone about their vet situation and many people see general vets that treat the rat with whatever they have on hand and are not properly equipped to care for the rat.  Recently a writer wrote in about her baby rats ear that was just rotting off and the vet did not even ask to see her, he just said (over the phone mind you) to put neosporin on it and hope for the best.  That was horrifying to me and I believe the rat has a nasty case of sarcopic mange that is eating the pinna (outer layer of her ear away)
and needs serious medication so I am going to try hard to find her a vet that wont just let her "hope for the best"


As I said in my earlier post, she probably does have heart disease but as long as you have a good vet, you will know this is not a death sentence. Starting with enalapril (always a great diagnostic medication) to get the heart to pump right and this way tests can be done to determine which type of problem she may have.
The problem with his hind legs could again be due to degenrative changes but I also cannot ignore the fact if he indeed has heart disease  he also could very well have hind limb paresis due to thromboemboli which is when there is passing of small blood clots. This indeed causes the rat to not use his back legs. They may even swell and cyanosis is noted.
Are his little funky feet nice and pink?  I would check daily his extremeties and make sure they stay pink and not blue or purple tinged.

When is he going back to the vets?  Please let me know how it goes...hang in there because I have faith that he can be treated with proper meds and life a nice life.  I would keep him in a single story cage with food and water near him and a warm cozy place to sleep and keep him kind of calm for a few days even though he may still want to explore.  However if this change stresses him terribly, go back to what he was used to.
Also, do you notice he is seeking higher ground to sleep on, such as going to the top of the cage and perhaps getting on the top igloo? Or, perhaps he is laying with his head hanging over the balcony etc?  This is the rats way to try to get more oxygen when they are having respiratory distress.

You can reach me any time on here, I check, back every few hours and I must say, there are tons of people looking for help this holiday weekend. Hopefully I can help the best that I can!

hang in there

Sandra