Hue’s respiratory infection update

Posted on April 28th, 2008 in by Cassi

I’ve been meaning to post this for a couple of days. Hue’s doing so much better! He had a follow up vet visit on Friday. He was still sneezing occasionally but not nearly as much as before. And now, a few days later, I don’t hear any more sneezes. In the week between vet visits, both of the new boys almost doubled in size. The vet had to almost double Hue’s medicine dosage to keep up with their rapid growth. He has another follow up this Friday, and I think he should be 100% by then. But he’ll probably stay on the Baytril all next week too just to be on the safe side. Since Hue was in the last pic I posted, I have a couple new pics of the other 3 boys.

Here’s Hex, he’s getting bigger!

Hex is getting bigger

And here’s Pixel winking at the camera and Pica trying to groom my hand.

Pixel winking

Vet check up for the new rat babies

Posted on April 17th, 2008 in by Cassi

The new boys had their first vet check up today. Hex is doing just fine, but Hue has the start of a respiratory issue. He’s on Baytril now for 2 weeks. Poor little guy just keeps sneezing! I tried to give him his first dose of the meds tonight, but I’m having a hard time with it. So I’m leaving him in his carrier by himself for a little while with the baytril mixed into a dab of baby food to see if he’ll take it.

Everyone at the vets office was “ooh-ing” and “aaah-ing” over them too. They said he’d come down with “too-cute-itis” and would need to stay at the office longer. :D

I just hope Hue will go along with the meds and get better quickly!

Pixel’s Head Tilt Update 2

Posted on December 19th, 2007 in by Cassi

Pixel’s doing a lot better so far. He’s still a little tilty and off balance, but not as bad as before. He’s acting much perkier and more playful than when I first noticed the tilt. He’s basically acting like his old self again, just not as balanced. I’ve read that when rats get a head tilt it may never go away. So far it’s still hanging with him, so that may be the case. I’m glad I bought the flatter instead of taller cage for them, so I don’t have to worry about long falls. The time I notice the balance issue the most is when I pick him up. He sort of rolls over in my hand onto his back, making it hard to hold him. It’s really strange. But I’ll keep everyone updated if he gets better or worse.

Pixel’s Head Tilt Update

Posted on December 13th, 2007 in by Cassi

I managed to get Pixel into the vet a day early today. They prescribed Baytril as an antibiotic and Meloxicam as an anti-inflammatory. Luckily he only has to take them both once a day. I had no problems with the Meloxicam; it’s flavored with something sweet. But he just wasn’t interested in the Baytril, so I mixed it with a little bit of baby food. He ate it right up after that! The vet also wanted me to feed him soft foods to be sure he’s staying hydrated. Hopefully the Baytril will do its job. If he isn’t doing better by Monday, I’ll have to take him back for some tests and x-rays. I really don’t want to have to do that, so keep your fingers crossed for him.

So after he finished the medicine he got to dig into a nice dish of Peach-Banana-Oatmeal flavored baby food. :D Of course Pica had to have some too. Here they are as the dish is getting empty. It also shows more of Pixel trying to walk with his head tilted.

My poor rat baby has a head tilt…

Posted on December 10th, 2007 in by Cassi

I went to take the boys out to play tonight and Pixel wasn’t acting normal. Pica ran right up to my hand, but Pixel stayed in his bed. He just sat there grooming himself for a while until I finally just picked him up and took him out. He seems to be healthy besides the tilt and acting a little disoriented. He’s still eating, playing, and grooming. Here’s a short video of him wobbling around. Sorry for the poor quality.

I’ll keep everyone updated as I find out more about his condition. A lot of sources online say it’s most likely an inner ear infection. Hopefully it’s not something more serious like a tumor or stroke. I’ve also heard that a head tilt can become a permanent condition. :( I’m going to try to get him into the vet as soon as possible.

Oh no, Mites!

Posted on October 25th, 2007 in by Cassi

About 2 weeks ago I noticed a few tiny scabs on Pica’s neck, and both little guys were itching a lot. I looked them over but didn’t see any bugs , and no scabs on Pixel. I figured it was either mites (you can’t actually see mites, only lice) or Pica grooming himself too hard, so I decided to give it a week to see if the scabs would go away. Unfortunately, Pica started getting more scabs, and they both seemed even itchier. So I got on petshed.com and ordered some kitten strength Revolution. I read that this is the best way to get rid of mites. It finally came in the mail today, so I scrubbed down their cage and put a drop of Revolution on each of them. The stuff smells pretty gross, but as long as it works I won’t complain. I also had to freeze their bedding (Aspen) for 2 days, which Kevin wasn’t so happy about. He didn’t like the idea of rat bedding sitting in our freezer. Hey, it’s fresh bedding! Oh well. Hopefully their itchies go away, and I won’t have to worry about this anymore.