Indy is definately blind :(

No improvement in his eyes, still ulcerated.
He's happy, eating, drinking, grooming, playing....
Suzanne took some pics of his eyes both under regular examination and under fluoroscope, and will be asking on a specialist vets forum as well as a ophthalmologist in Limerick.
In cats and dogs, this is normally treated by corneal abridement and stitching the eyes shut for healing. But she doesn't want to do this until it is known that this is the safest and most correct path available. Problem being is there no real resource for Rat ophthalmology and any unusual causes for eye diseases
We're still debating whether a procedure would be worth the stress put on Indy (not to mention the very high costs of such specialist treatment).

He seems happy... .and we are continuing the previous treatment (metacam, antibacterial and an eye cream) to maintain comfort.
At the latest we should hear something by next Friday from Suzanne.

I dont have much experience in eye things,hope everything works out :)tbh if he was mine id probably keep doing what you're doing and just monitor him,i wouldnt put him through some big procedure when not much is known about it in rats and he sounds like hes doing well but thats just me.

I echo what Grace said. It may be worth dropping an e-mail to Ann Storey, see if she has any further ideas, there's no-one much more knowledgeable than here worldwide where rats are concerned.

Good luck.

xx

Poor guy, but if he seems happy I agree, I would be against such a big procedure. Good luck to him and you.

I'm so sorry to hear this. My rat Elsie went blind too, a couple of months ago. It isn't easy. But they can adapt. x

We saw the specialist earlier today, and it's a confirmed case of dry eye.
Still no idea what caused it, best case is an a-symptomatic virus, but Cringer is not suffering any symptoms or similar eye damage.... so.. yeah.
The ulcers on his eyes healed, so there's that. And he was apparently a very good boy, if a little squirmy   
He is fully blind on one eye, with partial (~50%) vision in the other.
We have two sets of drops to administer twice a day, one is a steroid for inflammation, the other is a tear replacer.
Typically in dogs (and possibly cats, I can't remember) a single type of eye drop is used, but it is rather immuno-suppresant, and very expensive to boot, so Suzanne did not prescribe it.
Back to the vet in two weeks to re assess, but I think at worst we will be giving him tear replacers for the remainder of his life; which is far better than a pituitary tumor or going into surgery.

All in all, nothing new really, as Suzanne's initial suspicion was dry eye, but it was very difficult to diagnose.
They seemed to enjoy their walk back from the vet, a good 30 min of a light breeze, new smells, and Indy even had the audacity to rest his head on some blankets near the carrier door and brux drowsily while I was melting in the shade   

Sounds like you've some definite answers and some progress anyway so wishing him (and you guys) all the best!

xx

Was just thinking of him the last day,he seems to be doing well

That's good news, less of a worry anyway  

Some vision seems to have returned. But not a lot.
We have a new topical ointment for his eyes, a thicker petroleum based gel to be used last thing at night and first thing in the morning. But are still using the previous one, we just have to apply it as often as possible now

Suzanne is going to see if any rat specialists on her exotics forums can shed any light on our general suspicion of a viral infection being the root cause. She will also see if they would recommens [against] using the immuno-suppressant ointment ususally used in dogs for dry eye. Issue being is that if it is a virus, bad things, also the ulcerations on his eyes will likely return. It would also make him much more succeptable to plasmosis, as being a rat it's generally likely he is a carrier anyway.

I'd love to meet other rattie people and discuss this, but we will sequester ourselves from events and such until we can confirm we aren't carrying anything that could affect your little fuzzies. Sorry Grace, I think we can't give you those dried corn cobs :/

Hey, any update on this mornings visit?

Indy went into respiratory distress around 6:30 yesterday.
Brought him to Suzanne immediately after calling several ratty people in a panic.
An hour and a half later we were home with some broncheo-inhalers, two in fact.
We were under the suspicion that he had either had an allergic reaction to the new eye gel (but it's basically sterile, thinner petroleum jelly) or that he was indeed suffering from a virus and the stress of the vet visit brought it to the surface. His lungs were inflamed, with a stippling pattern reflecting inflamed broncheoles, explaining his stressed, shallow breathing.

He was brought in at 8:30 am this morning for a follow up (vet would have recommended he be on oxygen through the night and that was not feasible, either in the practice or at home). He died 20 minutes after with his brother being very caring of him. He had been left for oxygen treatment and reassessment, a poor prognosis would have had us leaning towards him being put to sleep, due to quality of life concerns.

The staff at Abbyville were amazing and considerate, I could have been treated better, and I'm sure Indy was treated with the utmost respect and care.

Due to the suspicious nature of his illness, I'm very concerned over whether we could have additional rats here until we are sure any latent infection risks could have passed. This is a shame, as Cringer will be rather lonely.

Sorry for the late reply, but I was dealing with sudden bouts of vertigo yesterday, and went to the doctor today for treatment.

It doesn't sound like a virus to me - more like myco or similar.

Regardless - I'm so sorry you lost him :*( he was lovely.

xx

Sorry to hear he passed. It was always fun to watch cringer and himself running around the floor and trying to eat my shoes!

Sorry to hear that Tribble.

Sorry to hear that Tribble.