[lizzydeztic]

i believe she may be dieing. she's very lethargic and does this weird motion where she pushes her ears forward and tucks her head down a bit like she's choking or trying to clear her throat. i know she is not choking since i've seen her eat since i noticed this about 20 minutes ago. she's not completely inactive, but i'm very scared. what could be happening?

 

[JennieLove]

I wish I knew what was wrong, but I can't say. Has she drinken anything at all? How old is she?

 

[Stephanie]

when she pushes her ears down and tries to clear her throat it means she is trying to get air get to the vet asap. Sam did this when he passed away you can try a steamy room to get you through the night but the vet is going to have to see her and start oxygen therapy probably. I hope all is alright.

The steamy room is easy just sit in the bathroom with the hot water in the shower running for fifteen minutes.

How old is she? Are her feet cold? is she shivering at all? is there red stuff (porphirin) around her eys, mouth or nose?

 

[lilspaz68]

If she's not choking then it does sound like respiratory attacks. Does she run around all panicked at times? She's trying to breathe.
Vet, etc, hopefully meds.

 

[lizzydeztic]

i hope it's not too expensive, i'm out of work right now.

she has no porphirin. shes not shivering and her feet are warm. however she does have snot coming from her nose. if i can't afford the meds i'm going to have her put down. she was a rescue and she had alot of problems with amonia build up or something and im still paying back the vet from it. i forgot what was wrong with her at first.

i called the vet and was told how much and how to give her benadryl. her odd motion has stopped alot, but she still does it. my vet also works with natural remedies and told me that a small amount of green tea would help since the antioxidants will help build her immune system. what do you think? im skeptical.

 

[Stephanie]

i am really skeptical of the benadryl I am gonna do some research right now on it I think you really need to get her to the vet though so she can be seen. Sounds like she had myco problems though and those can reoccur at any time.

[edit] what kind of bedding is she on right now and in what kind of cage?

 

[Poppyseed]

For something that bad, natural remedies aren't going to cut it. She needs antibiotics since it's bad.

But after the antibiotics and when everything is cured you could use echinacea to keep her immune system up. It's very good if you are keen on home remedies, but it just doesn't cure everything and green tea really won't kill it unfortunately. That sounds like more of a preventative than a cure.

I'm sorry you're out of work... I would see if the vet would give you a payment plan option. She really needs to be on antibiotics.

 

[ladylady]

I'm sorry you're out of work... I would see if the vet would give you a payment plan option. She really needs to be on antibiotics.

mhmm-sounds like a fairly tough infection

 

[Night]

Get to the vet, ASAP. I sympathize with the fact that you're not working currently, but you should always have an emergency fund for your animals no matter what.

 

[lizzydeztic]

the things is i've had emergency funds for my animals, i had to treat them for mites and an URI before and that basically took out any money i had saved. my dog sheba is pretty old and the winter was very harsh on her this year, what money i had left over went to her as well.

the bedding i use for them is carefresh, i usually rotate with towels though. i don't like the mess carefresh makes all over my floor. i use hypoallergenic baby laundry detergent for the material i use in their cage, and anti bacterial bleach alternative dish soup to clean the cage and it's accessories. however i'm going to stop using carefresh, i noticed that these things happen within a week of them having carefresh in their environment so maybe they are of the few that are sensitive to the dust of carefresh. i also notice that whenever i do use carefresh their itching worsens.

i took her to the vet for a check up, she put her on diphenhydramine hcl? i was told it was an allergy issue due to her symptoms occurring within days of the sprout of plants outside. i'm planning on investing in a small air filteration system for the room if she gets better within the next week. my birthday is the 25th and whatever birthday money i receive will be saved towards this. if she doesnt get any better, it's back to the vet i guess.

i'm just so confused. i've had bunnies, guinea pigs and gerbils and none of them were sick as frequently.

 

[lizzydeztic]

i just researched the drug and it came up as benadryl.....should i be worried and perhaps go back for something else?

 

[Stephanie]

I wouldn't be worried I did some research on benadryl and it seems to be ok though I am weird about benadryl in my own use. If the vet prescribed it I would trust it. My little man has allergies too and he gets runny eye whenever I take him out when things are blooming. He gets rid of it on his own and the vet said as long as it isn't screwing with his breathing no course of action was needed. Seems like you have a pretty good handle on things though. I would make sure all candles, air fresheners and any other smelly things were taking out of the room too.

 

[lizzydeztic]

thanks for letting me know about the candle issue. i dont burn them but i do have some in the room. i'll remove them pronto!

thanks you guys for the help and i'll update on her condition for sure. i'm holding her right now and she seems to be doing fine.

 

[Stephanie]

that's great Lizzie yeah anything that is scented can aggrivate a pre-existing allergy I had to take all of my candles out of my living room because of the ratties LOL