I really hope they can fix her up! Good luck and keep us updated.

 

Awww, if she suddenly became lethargic, not very active anymore, loss of weight, hanging her head off of things and sometimes breathing hard while being still, plus the cyanosis (blue colour from unoxygenated blood) of her extremeties, as well as a coolness to them, she might have CHF or congestive heart failure. The easiest way to find out is to give her a diagnostic dosing of something like lasix or enalapril or even both. IF she responds, her extremeties warm up, things just improve within 1-3 days, then she has a heart issue and will need to be on those meds for life.
IF there's no change at all, the meds will do nothing to harm her they just won't help and she doesn't have a heart condition.

Then you are looking at COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), pulmonary abscesses, scarred lungs etc.

Did she slowly regress, and act sick? Pneumonia is a true illness not just a condition. Tumours could be pushing on her lungs not allowing her the full capacity to breathe but the weight loss is not always indicative of this.

I would seriously try your rat on heart meds, since its the easiest way to "test" for it.

 

She actually hasn't been acting sick. She's not sleeping more than she usually does. I've been monitoring her eating and drinking between seeing my regular vet and going to the specialist today and it hasn't changed she's still just as excited for treats and dinner time. Her breathing has been labored but not when she's holding still.

The vet is doing some X-rays and keeping her till Saturday so hopefully they'll have more ideas then.

 

Awesome for the x-rays. They will be able to see tumours, consolidated lungs, etc, but they will also be able to see the size of her heart.

Let us know! I hope its nothing too major and your baby comes home and gets better.

 

Good luck, I hope everything turns out well. Give your girlie an extra cuddle for me.

 

Good luck!!! keep us posted!!!

 

Thanks for all the well wishes! It's makes me fell better. I called them today and so far no change, which means they're still not sure which is wrong but she's not getting any worse. Hopefully I'll have news tomorrow.

 

Well I called the Vet after I got off work and he said they found some masses in her chest. The growths don't seem to be affecting her lung capacity so there is a larger illness affecting her breathing and weight. Hopefully I can bring her home on Monday. In the meanwhile her sister Fredi is having a hard time being alone, I bought them together and they've never really been apart. She's getting a lot of extra attention and treats.

 

My 20 month old girl has scarred lungs/pulmonary abscesses...they will never be cured but I am making her more comfortable. She is on every-2nd-day sub-q shots of dexamethasone and gentocin.

You might want to try a steroid to reduce any inflammation in her lungs and help her get more oxygen in there.

 

I brought Tippy home today. My poor baby was so worked over being in a strange place that she lost a lot of fur. the Vet says it was just nerves and it should grow back no problem. I have two prescriptions for her Baytril, and Furosemide. Hopefully I won't have any problems giving them to her. She has a check up in two weeks and I hope she'll have put on some weight by then

 

My mom takes furosemide for her to pee.. thats weird. do they think shes dehydrated?

 

Furosemide/lasix is a diuretic and helps with the excess fluids that can be built up in the lungs or around the heart.

Make sure she is drinking while on the lasix because they can dehydrate.

http://ratguide.com/meds/urinary_tract_agents/furosemide.php

 

They have plenty of water and she loves the taste of her meds so hopefully she'll be doing great in no time.

 

Lasix works scary fast (you can get results in 20 mins but I prefer to wait a day)..how is she doing now?

 

I haven't seen any changes so far but it's only been a couple of days. I'm remaining positive.

 

Definitely remain positive With the no quick improvement on the lasix you can pretty well rule out heart issues which is good, so now you have to wait a couple more days to wait and see if she responds and that would mean a bacterial infection, eminently more treatable.

 

I hope it's treatable, but I don't have any problems paying for a prescription for her is she needs something permanently. I have seen a little improvement in her breathing but she's still really skinny and her tail and paws are a little discolored due to poor oxidization. I got my new work schedule today so I can call her vet tomorrow and schedule a checkup for next week.

 

Update!
Tippy is gaining weight! She doing much better but I noticed a weird scab on her neck below her right ear. I don't see how she could have done it herself and I haven't noticed Fredi chewing on her... I didn't see it when she came home from the vet on Monday. but it doesn't look like a fresh wound. Either way she has another appointment tomorrow so they can check on her condition and look at the scab.

Any ideas what it is or where it came from?

 

Gaining weight is the best sign!!! She's on her way!

Is the scab more on the back of her shoulders?
If so its likely they gave her a baytril injection to jumpstart the oral meds. Baytril is really caustic and can cause issues at the injection site.

from http://ratguide.com/meds/antimicrobial_agents/enrofloxacin_baytril.php
Because enrofloxacin may cause skin ulceration at the injection site, when giving SQ, it is recommended to dilute the injectable solution with NaCl or LRS. 1

 

That could be it. Either way she has a check up tomorrow.

 

I am happy to announce that Tippy has gained about 50 grams since her vet stay! The vet says the scab on her neck is probably from an antibiotic shot they gave her and it's healing nicely. She loves her meds and will steal the syringe from my hand and retreat into her cage to chew on it. Hopefully after her appointment next week she can go of the Furosemide and just have the Baytril.

 

Woohoo!!! Thats just wonderful! Go Tippy!