[breyer08]

Hi, everyone. Russell has been having a hard time breathing today (as usual, he has good periods and bad periods with his breathing, and today seems to be one of the bad ones). But, on top of that, he has now taken to lying flat, with both legs behind him, and he seems like the sides of his stomach might be a bit bloated. Today is Sunday, so our vet's office is closed until tomorrow morning, but I wanted to check to see if anyone might have an idea of what could be going on or what I should do?

I did notice that he had a bowel movement stuck halfway inside his rectum, so I gently removed it. I picked him up and palpitated his stomach, and he seems just a bit bloated. He didn't want his lunchtime treat, but he did have a bit of baby porridge this afternoon, which he ate happily. (He also ate his breakfast as normal this morning.)

Any thoughts or advice??

 

[Vladina]

Breyer,
Just read your post and of course, as usual, since I am not a ratty expert having only been mother to my two rat boys and no others, I have no medical or sage ratty mom veteran advice on this, BUT I did want you to know I am here for you and your boys, at the very least for moral support and well wishes. I am always alarmed when I see a post about Russ or Stan having a problem and all I can do is send healing and happy thoughts to Russ and my best wishes that he will be okay and pull through this. I wish I knew what the problem was. Dang, why aren't I a small animal vet? I wish I was right now. Hopefully some more informed members of the forum will chime in soon, when they see your post. Give my love to Russ and I will keep my fingers crossed that he will hang in there as best he can until you can get him to the vet. All our love.

 

[breyer08]

:hugg2: Thanks, Vlad, for your good thoughts, as always!

The update so far is that he ate his dinner normally, and he just drank a bunch of water on his own, too. He is moving around his playpen and looks like he's about to settle in for a nap (using Stanley as his pillow, of course).

His sides still look and feel a bit bloated, so I'm going to keep an eye on him tonight.

 

[Vladina]

Oh, that is great to hear! That he was eating and drinking normally and of course settling down to use Stan as a pillow...all good signs, so I am hopeful! Keep us all posted on how he does!

 

[Storyseeker]

Oh Breyer, I'm so sorry to hear this!

Knowing nothing, I did a search and came up with this page on bloating:

http://www.ratballs.com/RatTails/Tails093.html

According to this, there might be an underlying growth causing blockage. But it does give tips for temporary relief.

Hugs to you and my two boys!

 

[breyer08]

Well, I don't think he is obstructed, at least, because this morning there were some fresh raisins right underneath his tail, so he seems to be passing bowels. He still seems a little bloated, but it's kind of hard to tell, since he's always had a bit of a round tummy... I gave him a block of shredded wheat for some fiber right away this morning, and he just got done eating the whole thing. He's now eating his breakfast, and he has been drinking well also.

I am wondering if his puffiness might be related to his breathing? In the past, when he has had bad episodes of respiratory problems, he has had a tendency to puff up--sometimes quite a bit, other times just his fur. As he's aged, his breathing has become more labored, and since the cold weather has hit here, he's been having to work a bit more to breathe.

....Ok, while writing this my husband called to check up on them, so I had to stop for a bit, and Russell has now finished his breakfast and is happily grooming Stanley. I think we're going to monitor him over the next day and see how things go. My husband said that early this morning, Russell had also passed some raisins and was drinking/eating well, so it looks like it's probably not an obstruction issue. I'm betting it's related to his breathing. I have to go out of town this afternoon for work for the next three days, so my husband is going to monitor him and if he looks like he's gotten worse by tomorrow afternoon, I will come back home and we'll take him in to see the vet. (The problem is that he is so fragile now that a vet trip is a horrible shock to him, so we try to avoid it unless absolutely necessary.)

Please keep Russell in your thoughts this week. :hugg2:

 

[lilspaz68]

Its possible he had a resp attack and swallowed air while gasping. This will pass in time but if you are unsure you can get something like Ovol for infants to help relieve it. If his belly feels squishy then its likely gas. Did he seem in pain or just uncomfy while he was lying flat out with his legs behind him?

 

[breyer08]

@lilspaz: He didn't seem to be in pain, just uncomfortable. (And part of the reason his legs were out behind him is because of his HED, now, so I forgot to mention that he does that every so often anyway.)

I am now out of town, but right before I left (about two hours ago), he was back to his normal self. No longer puffy or bloated, walking around his playpen, irritating his brother, and demanding his lunch. So, I'm feeling better about him now. My husband is still going to be keeping a close eye on him today and tomorrow, but hopefully it was just an overnight deal and is mostly over, now.

 

[lilspaz68]

@lilspaz: He didn't seem to be in pain, just uncomfortable. (And part of the reason his legs were out behind him is because of his HED, now, so I forgot to mention that he does that every so often anyway.)

I am now out of town, but right before I left (about two hours ago), he was back to his normal self. No longer puffy or bloated, walking around his playpen, irritating his brother, and demanding his lunch. So, I'm feeling better about him now. My husband is still going to be keeping a close eye on him today and tomorrow, but hopefully it was just an overnight deal and is mostly over, now.

HAHA, that's different. I have an HED boy who pulls himself around like that too.

Glad he's doing better

 

[Vladina]

So glad to read the update Breyer, that is such a relief he is doing better! Whew! Let us know how he does? Kisses to your boys.

 

[jamesReid]

We are happy to hear he is back to his ratty self!!! yea!!!!!

 

[breyer08]

Thanks, guys! According to the hubby, Russ has been just fine the past two days, and even climbed the shelves in his cage (which he hadn't done for a few days). He has been pestering Stanley nonstop, too, so I always consider that to be a good sign. :lol:

 

[Vladina]

Yay! If Russ is pestering his brother, then that is a great sign!
So happy to hear it! I am sure Stan is not as pleased as the rest of us though, ha ha.