Rat at my shelter with head tilt

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Maureen Las

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Most of you (except undergunfire) probably don't know that I adopted a rat from my shelter about 2 months ago. He was in bad shape when animal control brought him in ; he had severe lice and a respiratory infection but despite all this he is extremely sweet and nice. The vet named him Merlin

it took a long time to get his skin back to normal and I think he has mycoplasma which means that he most likely will have on -going respiratory issues. he has been on doxcycline and ciprofloxiocin for weeks and most of symptoms are gone except occasional sneezing.

Ihad planned on getting him a buddy but i don't want to expose a healthy rat to his respiratory infection so decided that unless i could find a rat with the same chronic infection that he would need to live alone.

Well we just got another rat at our shelter . he looks exactly like Merlin (except younger) and has head tilt with no other symptoms except the tilt.

idid some reading today and learned that it could quickly spread to the brain (like rabbits) and that if it is a deep ear infection that he should go to the vet soon for diagnosis and treatment. Some of the caretakers said he was sneezing ( meaning he would be the right rat for me to adopt) but when i spent time with him today he didn't sneeze at all or have any evidence of a respiratory infection,

anyone here have any rats with head tilt?
this should be on a rat website but the goosemoose site that is the top rat site won't let me register and I can't get on it ( have been trying for a long time....

Maureen
 
angieluv wrote:
it took a long time to get his skin back to normal and I think he has mycoplasma which means that he most likely will have on -going respiratory issues. he has been on doxcycline and ciprofloxiocin for weeks and most of symptoms are gone except occasional sneezing.
All rats carry myco :(. Did your vet try Zithro with maybe Baytril? From what understand, you shouldn't keep a rat on meds for more than 10-14 days. If that combo of meds is not working...then you need to move onto another combo.

I would talk to your vet about nebulizing him. His lungs are going to suffer if he doesn't get better.


Ihad planned on getting him a buddy but i don't want to expose a healthy rat to his respiratory infection so decided that unless i could find a rat with the same chronic infection that he would need to live alone.
He can have a buddy, but I think it is best that he gets better first.


Well we just got another rat at our shelter . he looks exactly like Merlin (except younger) and has head tilt with no other symptoms except the tilt.

idid some reading today and learned that it could quickly spread to the brain (like rabbits) and that if it is a deep ear infection that he should go to the vet soon for diagnosis and treatment.
I would definitely have an experienced vet see him, asap. Head tilt needs to be treated right away. When I had a rat with tilt, she was put on a steriod (I think prednesone?) and baytril.

Some of the caretakers said he was sneezing ( meaning he would be the right rat for me to adopt) but when i spent time with him today he didn't sneeze at all or have any evidence of a respiratory infection,
He could be sneezing due to "the new home sneezes". A lot of rats will sneeze when brought into new places...the just need to adjust their senses. Since the rat was surrendered from who-knows-where, then I suggest starting him on Baytril for 10-14 days.


anyone here have any rats with head tilt?
this should be on a rat website but the goosemoose site that is the top rat site won't let me register and I can't get on it ( have been trying for a long time....

Goosemoose has been having some difficulties letting new members join. Apparently memebers were marking notifications as spam...which does something to the Goosemoose system??
Click to expand...
How experienced is the vet that you are seeing?? I find that there are a lot of vets who THINK they know, but they really don't know. I have yet to find a decent rat vet in my area..without having to travel 2+hours away.
 
A long time ago (back when I was in elementary school) I had a baby female rat with head tilt due to an ear infection. We did take her to the vet and got antibiotics. Sadly, I cannot seem to remember if it improved her condition or not. I have a very poor long term memory.
 
Thanks a lot Amy and Happi Bun

I don't think that this vet is experienced but she think that she is :(
I am not really worried about Merlin because he is about 90% better butI did not know that rats shouldn't be on meds that long.
Right now i am going to have to look for a more experienced vet and can think of one possibility over the border in MN.

if worse comes to worse (with Merlin) i have some zithromax tabs thatI ordred on-line for a rabbit that i didn't use and could contact youAmy for dosing.
I AM worried about the shelter bun becauseI have no control over which vet he sees other than the one Merlin sees who is about the only vet that will acknowlege a rat at all....

I can make suggestions to her ifI read up on this as she knows that I know rabbits fairly well and am learning rats. ..
she sometimes listens to me

Ciprofloxicin is in the same family as baytril so that might be OK ?

Iam so frustrated with goosemoose ;I never received a notification because I was looking so hard for it;I know i didn't erace it.

For months when i enter the password and e-mail the site states that i need admin approval but when i try to contact them i have not gotten a reply.

Amy
Do you know any way that you can get me on there????...

anyway thanks for the info guys :)
i'll keep you updated....


 
Angie...let me PM Suebee (owner) and see what is up with Goosemoose. I am not totally experienced with rat health/medicines...so I would feel more comfortable with you talking with experienced people on there.
 
I know nothing about Rats. But I think i've seen a picture of your rat and his head-tilt from Boz.

I hope you can make him better :)

angieluv wrote:
Most of you (except undergunfire) probably don't know that I adopted a rat from my shelter about 2 months ago. He was in bad shape when animal control brought him in ; he had severe lice and a respiratory infection but despite all this he is extremely sweet and nice. The vet named him Merlin
Click to expand...
 
Actually, many meds(baytril and doxy included) should be given at minimum for 14 days, 21 and even 28 days being the best option. Google the Rat Guide and find the dosing chart on the website. It will tell you the recommended lengths of meds. He should be fine being on meds that long :) I've had my Bella on Baytril for 21 days before, with no issues, and on FR(UK based rat site) some people have their little ones on very low doses of baytril permanetaly. If mycro is flaring up, which as Amy said all rats carry, some experienced vets will put rats on a low dose baytril permanetly, if no other options have worked. Unless he is showing adverse effects, you should be fine :)

I agree with Amy about nebulizing. My four had chronic respitory issues, and nebulizing did wonders for them. As long as I nebulize them 2-3 times a week(sometimes only once), and nebulize them every day for a week if they start to have sneezies, they are completely symptom free. The nebulizing cocktail I use does not absorb into their blood stream, so there is no chance of them building up an immunity. I'll look at the names of the drugs and their strength in the morning, and give you them. Maybe your vet would be willing to let you try them.

The new boy needs to see a vet immediantly. He will more than likely be put on prednisone and baytril to treat the infection. You're right, it will spread to the brain rather quickly if left untreated :(
 
Simply_Love wrote:
Actually, many meds(baytril and doxy included) should be given at minimum for 14 days, 21 and even 28 days being the best option. Google the Rat Guide and find the dosing chart on the website. It will tell you the recommended lengths of meds. He should be fine being on meds that long :) I've had my Bella on Baytril for 21 days before, with no issues, and on FR(UK based rat site) some people have their little ones on very low doses of baytril permanetaly. If mycro is flaring up, which as Amy said all rats carry, some experienced vets will put rats on a low dose baytril permanetly, if no other options have worked. Unless he is showing adverse effects, you should be fine :)
Click to expand...
I always thought it was never more than 10-14 days at a time and if you don't see improvement or achievement...then it is time to switch over to a new combo? I remembered reading that on GM before. I also thought you shouldn't have rats on Baytril their whole lives because they can become somewhat immune to it, and it will not work as effectively...you regularly need to change up the meds or do 2 weeks on, 1 week off??

I'n not saying you are incorrect....I just want to make sure I understand. If I am misunderstood...then I wonder what I read to make me believe what I have said for so long :(??
 
Also, this is from a forum admin on Goose....

"Our registration issues are fixed, so she should not have a problem...

She needs to e-mail [email protected] (goose) with the screen name she tried to register, the e-mail address she used, and what the exact problem is that she's having. Goose can not only look deeper into the dark corners of the site than I can, but if there is another issue causing it that may affect others, he can fix that, too. :)

The only issue is that he is currently working the rough equivalent of 80+ hours a week, so I don't know how fast he can respond... :-

If you'd like to post on her behalf in the meantime, so she can at least get advice, go ahead and do that. :)"
 
I tried to do that once with goosemoosebut I got no response at all from it but I'll try to do that again....

Another member (Sunny Cait)here gave me another rat site thatI did register at soI can try that one in the interim period and see ifI like it.
i will also try to e-mail the goosemoose people again.

I truly appreicate all the advice and help i am getting here..

thanks so much Amy. Rebecca and Simply love...and sunny cait..:D
 
Hi Maureen!

I'm sure you remember Poppy, the bunny with skin cancer, owned by Zouave. He has a lot more experience with rodents, and has a forum of his own that is more rodent-centric. This is the address, I also have his email if you'd like to get in touch with him that way.

http://kanez.proboards.com/
 
undergunfire wrote:
Simply_Love wrote:
Actually, many meds(baytril and doxy included) should be given at minimum for 14 days, 21 and even 28 days being the best option. Google the Rat Guide and find the dosing chart on the website. It will tell you the recommended lengths of meds. He should be fine being on meds that long :) I've had my Bella on Baytril for 21 days before, with no issues, and on FR(UK based rat site) some people have their little ones on very low doses of baytril permanetaly. If mycro is flaring up, which as Amy said all rats carry, some experienced vets will put rats on a low dose baytril permanetly, if no other options have worked. Unless he is showing adverse effects, you should be fine :)
Click to expand...
I always thought it was never more than 10-14 days at a time and if you don't see improvement or achievement...then it is time to switch over to a new combo? I remembered reading that on GM before. I also thought you shouldn't have rats on Baytril their whole lives because they can become somewhat immune to it, and it will not work as effectively...you regularly need to change up the meds or do 2 weeks on, 1 week off??

I'n not saying you are incorrect....I just want to make sure I understand. If I am misunderstood...then I wonder what I read to make me believe what I have said for so long :(??
Click to expand...


Oh, you ment 10-14 days, then switch drugs if you're not seeing improvement? I thought you ment only use for 10-14 days, then stop treatment completely. Yes, most vets will switch after 10-14 days if no improvement is seen, and even sooner if they get worse. I misread what you were saying :pSome drugs only need 14 days, but with things like doxy/baytril 14-21 days is best because they're usually used for more serious things (mycro) that vets need to be sure completely areunder control. My vet gave me a nice long speech on that. I think he may havebeen a teacher at some point in time. He explains things as ifhe is teaching a class :lol:

About the immuity thing, I've heard that too. I've only everheard of it used long term in rats that have no other option, anddon'thave long to live, and is used to keep them comfortable during their last few days or weeks. I don't think any vet would use it long term onyounger rats for more than a month(the highest recommended time I've seen in the US).There aren't alot of exotic vets in the UKit seems, especially those who see rats, so they may be doing it because they don't know what else to do...I need to not answer things when I'm tired,I don't answer things fully when I am :blushan:I'm going to change what I wrote now that I'm thinking clearly...


 
Simply_Love wrote:
Actually, many meds(baytril and doxy included) should be given at minimum for 14 days, 21 and even 28 days being the best option. Google the Rat Guide and find the dosing chart on the website. It will tell you the recommended lengths of meds. He should be fine being on meds that long :) I've had my Bella on Baytril for 21 days before, with no issues, and on FR(UK based rat site) some people have their little ones on very low doses of baytril permanetaly. If mycro is flaring up, which as Amy said all rats carry, some experienced vets will put rats on a low dose baytril permanetly, if no other options have worked. Unless he is showing adverse effects, you should be fine :)

I agree with Amy about nebulizing. My four had chronic respitory issues, and nebulizing did wonders for them. As long as I nebulize them 2-3 times a week(sometimes only once), and nebulize them every day for a week if they start to have sneezies, they are completely symptom free. The nebulizing cocktail I use does not absorb into their blood stream, so there is no chance of them building up an immunity. I'll look at the names of the drugs and their strength in the morning, and give you them. Maybe your vet would be willing to let you try them.

The new boy needs to see a vet immediantly. He will more than likely be put on prednisone and baytril to treat the infection. You're right, it will spread to the brain rather quickly if left untreated :(
Click to expand...


Okay, some apparently I can't edit things on this forum after 12 minutes.. so I want to correct it and say I ment some vets, though I've only heard of it in the UK, not experienced vets. I was tired, sorry for the confusion!

 
tonyshuman wrote:
Hi Maureen!

I'm sure you remember Poppy, the bunny with skin cancer, owned by Zouave. He has a lot more experience with rodents, and has a forum of his own that is more rodent-centric. This is the address, I also have his email if you'd like to get in touch with him that way.

http://kanez.proboards.com/
Click to expand...

Thanks Claire :)

i'm sure going tol learn alot about rats LOL
 
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