[RavenTheRat]

Look who's freaking out agian *points to self*

Okay. So my rat Onyx was diagnosed with a respiratory and urinary infection a couple of days ago, and we've been giving her her medicine and she definitley perked up and is feeling better every day

But worries. Still the worries.

Do rats power groom sick rats? Becuase I saw my one rat doing what I'm pretty sure was power grooming but I'm worried that they might have been fighting. Onyx wasn't squeaking or showing any signs of pain but it looked kind of like she was trying to get away.

Also, Onyx's balance and coordination has been kind of off ever since she got sick. Like if she's walking down a platform she might walk too far to the left and fall off, or just in general she's falling off of things a lot because she doesn't seem to know where to put her feet. Now, she's been lethargic since she got sick, so maybe it's just that?

And drinking. I haven't seen Onyx drinking, though it could be I just wasn't paying attention. I'm not always in the room with them, so it could be just that. It's just it seems to me that the water bottle isn't emptying as fast as normal.

And also, I gave Onyx and Raven some paper towels to nest on, and Raven went over and started eating it! Or at least taking small nibbles of it and chewing it- I'm pretty sure she swallowed it. She's never done that, and they have a full bowl of food! Is that normal? I'm not one hundred percent sure she swallowed it, but she has NEVER done that before........

Sorry for all the questions, I'm just being paranoid probably but still...

 

[Finnebon]

Have you ever seen the power grooming before? That's mostly just non aggressive socializing sometimes dominance. I wouldn't worry about it unless she is getting totally picked on on being held down and power groomed all the time. But rats go through phases of interest like people do. I have a girl that loves to barber bald patches in a cagemate's fur. She will do this for weeks or months, and then not do it again for a long time, and then suddenly, my rat is patchy again. (I think she's jealouse of the furry rats because she's hairless so she tries to make her favorite cagemate hairless too hehe) but she goes in cycles of it. Maybe your one girl is just going through a phase of really enjoying power grooming.

Is it possible that Onyx might have an inner ear infection on top of the respiratory? Did the vet check in her ears? What meds did they prescribe? If the meds are good and it's strong enough with a long enough course that she will be on (14 days?) that should hopefully take care of an ear issue and she might be having. But depending on the medication, she could be having a small side effect of possibly dizzyness. But an inner ear issue would definitely make her lose her balance and get wobbly on her feet and should be taken care of right away because it could develop into a pretty bad issue if not treated. I would call your vet and mention it to them and see what they think, just to be safe. Medicine might also be making her less thirsty. If you're concerned, try buying something juicy and tasty like watermelon to give her to make sure she's getting extra fluids.

Not sure about the paper towel thing. All I can say is that rats are weird and do weird things. Keep an eye on her. Maybe take out the paper towels if you're concerned she could be swallowing any. Do you have newspaper? I like to shred newspaper into skinny strips and crumple it up and give to my rats as bedding. Maybe that won't seem so tasty!

I hope everything is ok with your girl! Hopefully the vet can give you a suggestion about what the wobblyness might be. Hopefully just an inner ear thing. For sure keep an eye on it and monitor for lethargy, weakness in limbs, lack of appetite, and weight loss. Also check her teeth occasionally to make sure they are still straight and normally aligned. I don't want to freak you out of course, but wobblyness could the the sign of something else so these other symptoms are always good to look out for just in case (for any rat!).

How old is she?

 

[RavenTheRat]

Have you ever seen the power grooming before? That's mostly just non aggressive socializing sometimes dominance. I wouldn't worry about it unless she is getting totally picked on on being held down and power groomed all the time. But rats go through phases of interest like people do. I have a girl that loves to barber bald patches in a cagemate's fur. She will do this for weeks or months, and then not do it again for a long time, and then suddenly, my rat is patchy again. (I think she's jealouse of the furry rats because she's hairless so she tries to make her favorite cagemate hairless too hehe) but she goes in cycles of it. Maybe your one girl is just going through a phase of really enjoying power grooming.

Is it possible that Onyx might have an inner ear infection on top of the respiratory? Did the vet check in her ears? What meds did they prescribe? If the meds are good and it's strong enough with a long enough course that she will be on (14 days?) that should hopefully take care of an ear issue and she might be having. But depending on the medication, she could be having a small side effect of possibly dizzyness. But an inner ear issue would definitely make her lose her balance and get wobbly on her feet and should be taken care of right away because it could develop into a pretty bad issue if not treated. I would call your vet and mention it to them and see what they think, just to be safe. Medicine might also be making her less thirsty. If you're concerned, try buying something juicy and tasty like watermelon to give her to make sure she's getting extra fluids.

Not sure about the paper towel thing. All I can say is that rats are weird and do weird things. Keep an eye on her. Maybe take out the paper towels if you're concerned she could be swallowing any. Do you have newspaper? I like to shred newspaper into skinny strips and crumple it up and give to my rats as bedding. Maybe that won't seem so tasty!

I hope everything is ok with your girl! Hopefully the vet can give you a suggestion about what the wobblyness might be. Hopefully just an inner ear thing. For sure keep an eye on it and monitor for lethargy, weakness in limbs, lack of appetite, and weight loss. Also check her teeth occasionally to make sure they are still straight and normally aligned. I don't want to freak you out of course, but wobblyness could the the sign of something else so these other symptoms are always good to look out for just in case (for any rat!).

How old is she?

Oh wow thank you!
They are both about 1 and a half years old

Yes, they powergroom each other very often. That was probably just me worrying about everything, hehe.

The vet checked her out completley, including feeling for tumors and masses. She checked the ears very thouroughly, so I don't think it's an ear infection
Like I said, she has gotten much better, so I think she might just still be lethargic (She was only started on the medicine 4 days ago) and so not really paying attention to what she's doing ^^ She has been washing herself and the porphyrin on her nose has been seriously reduced. She trots around a bit now too, and when we take her out to give her her medicine she is a lot more lively.

The vet gave us doxycycline and enrofloxacin, doxycycline twice a day and enrofoxacin once, for two weeks.

She seems to be a lot steadier on her feet than this morning

The water thing....... it's weird becuase when I offer water on my finger she licks it off, but she just presses her mouth once to the water bottle nozzle and then walks away. I know it's working, I tested it and Raven's using it. Could she have forgotten how to use it somehow?
But, she might have just licked off the water thinking it was her medicine or some other kind of treat, since it wasn't coming from the water bottle -she loves the way her medicine tastes X3
So yeah, maybe she just isn't thirsty. I leave the room often, so it's possible I just haven't been there when she's drinking.

I did take the paper towels out as soon as she started eating them, but then I just put them back in and they treated them like normal- take em, shred em, sleep on em. Huh guess rats are just weird xD

Sorry, still so many questions xD

But thank you so much for the help!