[Fattoratto1997]

My rat, Fergus, he’s around a year and a half, came from a not so great breeding situation. As time has gone on all of my rats have had breathing issues, they’re all on medicine and regularly see a specialised exotic vet. One of my rats passed away as the breathing issues became to much and he wouldn’t take any medicine no matter how many different ways I tried to give it to him, and I’m worried that this is going to happen to Fergus.
He’s currently tried many different medicines and has had a new one prescribed after a vet appointment today, I can find out the name is that helps. He’s currently losing weight rapidly and gets so stressed every time I give him the medicine and even had a nose bleed tonight. I can’t give him the medicine in food as he seems to be able to sniff it out and avoids anything with the medicine, even his favourite food. He currently won’t touch much, apart from the odd treat and some banana.
I could urgently use some advice as to whether there’s anymore I should be doing and how I can get him to eat something, what food is best in this situation?
I’m worried I’m on limited time and any information would be extremely useful, this is my first time using a forum so apologies if this post isn’t extremely clear.

 

[Clueeee]

Right now, I'd suggest to just give him whatever gets him to eat thats reasonable (baby foods, banana, applesauce which you can make at home easily, maybe wet cat foods, you can crush the pellets and mix with water and see if that helps)
Regarding the meds, if he won't take them willingly you'll probably have to force feed it. Wrap him like a burrito, and have the syringe(NO NEEDLES!) go in sideways into the cheek so it reduces risk of aspiration. On youtube you'll probably be able to find a video explaining how to burrito a rat. By the way, is the breathing issue a URI?
If he refuses to eat overall, I would also suggest evaluating his quality of life.

 

[Fattoratto1997]

Right now, I'd suggest to just give him whatever gets him to eat thats reasonable (baby foods, banana, applesauce which you can make at home easily, maybe wet cat foods, you can crush the pellets and mix with water and see if that helps)
Regarding the meds, if he won't take them willingly you'll probably have to force feed it. Wrap him like a burrito, and have the syringe(NO NEEDLES!) go in sideways into the cheek so it reduces risk of aspiration. On youtube you'll probably be able to find a video explaining how to burrito a rat. By the way, is the breathing issue a URI?
If he refuses to eat overall, I would also suggest evaluating his quality of life.

Unfortunately I didn’t get to try any of this as he had to be put to sleep as the respiratory issues were to intense. Thank you so much for replying to me, it means a lot!

 

[morbid]

i'm so sorry for your loss 😟

 

[Fattoratto1997]

i'm so sorry for your loss 😟

Thank you for taking the time to comment, it really means a lot

 

[Clueeee]

Unfortunately I didn’t get to try any of this as he had to be put to sleep as the respiratory issues were to intense. Thank you so much for replying to me, it means a lot!

Sorry about your loss ❤😭 I’m sure he had a great life with you however!

 

[Cheesefather]

Unfortunately I didn’t get to try any of this as he had to be put to sleep as the respiratory issues were to intense. Thank you so much for replying to me, it means a lot!

I'm sorry for your loss You did so good for your baby!

 

[RatPappy]

My rat, Fergus, he’s around a year and a half, came from a not so great breeding situation. As time has gone on all of my rats have had breathing issues, they’re all on medicine and regularly see a specialised exotic vet. One of my rats passed away as the breathing issues became to much and he wouldn’t take any medicine no matter how many different ways I tried to give it to him, and I’m worried that this is going to happen to Fergus.
He’s currently tried many different medicines and has had a new one prescribed after a vet appointment today, I can find out the name is that helps. He’s currently losing weight rapidly and gets so stressed every time I give him the medicine and even had a nose bleed tonight. I can’t give him the medicine in food as he seems to be able to sniff it out and avoids anything with the medicine, even his favourite food. He currently won’t touch much, apart from the odd treat and some banana.
I could urgently use some advice as to whether there’s anymore I should be doing and how I can get him to eat something, what food is best in this situation?
I’m worried I’m on limited time and any information would be extremely useful, this is my first time using a apologies if this post isn’t extremely clear.

I'm so very sorry. I commend you for your care and love.