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Vince's breathing

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Vince's breathing Empty Vince's breathing

Post by Rizzo Sun Mar 24, 2013 7:43 am

Brought Vince to the vet about 4 weeks ago with his breathing. He was put on Baytril and it still isn't gone, though he has good days and bad, some days he's fine the next he's making gurgling noises. The vet said she'd put him on steroids and vitamins. I need to know is this the best route to take? Bandit is fine. It's just Vince and i'm convinced steroids are only a short term solution as is Baytrill. She said it may be a viral thing that just needs to be watched carefully. It doesn't seem to bother him and he's still quite spritely and just as playful as Bandit but it just sounds horrible. He is getting all the healthy foods like fruit, veg, Chicken, fish etc..... I'm just concerned because the only time I had breathing issues with any other rats was when they were quite old but Vince is only 5 months old so still quite young. Am I over-reacting to this or is this something to be concerned with at this age?
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Post by Zoundz Sun Mar 24, 2013 7:51 am

Hmm - I wouldn't give vitamins, he's getting what he needs from his food I'd say.

I think something may be going around, I know Grace has just had two come down with noisy breathing, but seem fine in themselves too. It sounds like it's upper respiratory. I would just give baytril (not steroids) and at a decent dose - should be able to find doses here, but if you get stuck, give me a shout and I'll help out.

xx
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Post by Rizzo Sun Mar 24, 2013 8:07 am

Thanks. I was giving him .4ml. This didn't work as well as I expected. what dose would u recommend?
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Post by Zoundz Sun Mar 24, 2013 8:35 am

What weight is he? What percentage is the baytril too?

xx
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Post by Rizzo Fri Jul 26, 2013 8:52 am

Hi all. Dislike posting in this section with bad news but This morning at 4.30am Vince had a close call :(His breathing was seriously noisy and severe. he seemed to struggle a lot to take a breath opening his mouth. It was horrendous. I called the emergency vet and she advised me to use a tiny bit of vicks or olbas oil in hot water and let him inhale the steam. He eventually came good but it was a horriffic experience for the three of us. Today he was put on Baytril so hopefully it should help but it seems he has a very weak immune system. he was in in February with this problem but not as severe and last week I treated him for mites and now this, he's only 8 months old so this is most unusual and stressful. I couldnt believe he was the same rat that at 11 I had made himself, bandit and Dougal scrambled egg, ham and tomatoe and Vince scoffed it down and was as happy and content as always. It is frightening that this just came on all of a sudden and just to be safe I have changed his bedding to aspen snake bedding, Gave him plenty of chicken and veg and have made them as comfortable as I can putting extra fleece in their hammocks. Hopefully he should have an easier night tonight Wink
Oh In relation to his health otherwise he weighs 630g. His dose of Baytril is 0.4ml a day Smile
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Post by Zoundz Fri Jul 26, 2013 10:40 am

OK, his weight is a bit low for our lines, not terrible, and not a serious worry, but he could do with a bit of extra food perhaps as well. This sort of thing is always a worry Sad he's the only one in the litter so far to have these problems, but that doesn't mean anything, other than bad luck. You can try a ventolin inhaler, for when he has bad moments like that, they can make the world of difference - if you can get one from your vet - then you need to fashion a way of getting it into him. I use cardboard tubes taped together.

Baytril is what I'd use, perhaps with ronxan (Doxycycline) as well, baytril in the morning, doxy in the evening (not with dairy, it stops it working). what's the % of baytril? Whats his breathing like now? Is it possible he was choking? This does happen (uncommon), but if he's OK now, it sounds likely.

xx
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Post by katherine Sat Jul 27, 2013 2:54 am

Aw bless him, sounds horrible Sad like Laura says ventolin inhalers are really helpful, the vet told me to put them in their carrier with a bin bag taped round it woth 2 holes in it - 1 for the inhaler and one for ventilation. Other than that, we used to give Algy calpol and that always helped his breathing for a few hours.
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Post by Rizzo Tue Jul 30, 2013 5:05 am

Thanks. Will try to get a ventolin inhaler from my vet. Anything to ease his breathing though in the last 5 days he's been taking Baytrill he's been fine. The Baytril is 2.5% Laura. IT is possible he was choking, I had this problem with one of the roans I had. She choked one night but luckily I was able to spot she was choking on a seed and was able to dislodge it with gentle pressure on her upper abdomen. I think Vince might of had some mucus in his throat and was choking. He is a lot smaller than Bandit but he's always been. I feed them both very well but Vince is just a bit smaller. Is there any foods that you could recommend for building him up?
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Post by Zoundz Tue Jul 30, 2013 9:58 pm

I don't know that he'll need bulding up as such - he may just be a smaller lad - I know most of that litter were smaller than the other litter we had at the time, probably just a line thing as they are from two different lines on one side. I know the two lads I have here from the litter are quite wee as well Smile

Can you get pics of him? There's a difference between being small and well built and filled out, and being underweight etc Smile

xx
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