Hello,
I have a two year old male dumbo rat who is the sweetest rat we've ever had. Over the past few months, I've noticed him beginning to lose weight. It seems like he's always been one to have some respiratory issues, from the time he came home with me. It's never really affected him much, just the occasional sneeze. But lately, he's become more lethargic, and occasionally wakes me up at night from the sound of him having a coughing fit. I've checked him over for any signs of cancerous tumors, and there are none. Whenever I hold him up to my ear, his lungs sounded good to me. On Friday, we took him to an emergency vet because he had a strange lump on his foot that opened up and wouldn't stop bleeding. The vet prescribed antibiotics and pain killers by syringe for 7 days.
During the visit, she mentioned that his lungs sounded harsh, and that she was more concerned about that then she was his foot. She said that the only option would be to x-ray him, however, and that she recommended I make an appointment with an exotic vet.
Overall, his appetite is still good, and he gets around pretty well. He still seems very curious and active whenever we get him out to play.
I'm hoping someone can tell me what might be going on with him. I absolutely do not put a price tag on my pets' lives, but this is looking like something that could get very expensive very quickly. The visit on Friday night was $130, and although I don't have much money at all, I didn't mind spending it to get him the care he needs. My concern is that I may be spending a lot of money to find out that there isn't anything I can do to get him healthy again. And I say this because that has been my experience with every rat I've had before. I take them to the vet and the vet essentially tells me that they can do this, this, and this, and in the end, the rat is still going to die.
What do you think is the best course of action? He's only two, and that seems young to be having these issues.
I have a two year old male dumbo rat who is the sweetest rat we've ever had. Over the past few months, I've noticed him beginning to lose weight. It seems like he's always been one to have some respiratory issues, from the time he came home with me. It's never really affected him much, just the occasional sneeze. But lately, he's become more lethargic, and occasionally wakes me up at night from the sound of him having a coughing fit. I've checked him over for any signs of cancerous tumors, and there are none. Whenever I hold him up to my ear, his lungs sounded good to me. On Friday, we took him to an emergency vet because he had a strange lump on his foot that opened up and wouldn't stop bleeding. The vet prescribed antibiotics and pain killers by syringe for 7 days.
During the visit, she mentioned that his lungs sounded harsh, and that she was more concerned about that then she was his foot. She said that the only option would be to x-ray him, however, and that she recommended I make an appointment with an exotic vet.
Overall, his appetite is still good, and he gets around pretty well. He still seems very curious and active whenever we get him out to play.
I'm hoping someone can tell me what might be going on with him. I absolutely do not put a price tag on my pets' lives, but this is looking like something that could get very expensive very quickly. The visit on Friday night was $130, and although I don't have much money at all, I didn't mind spending it to get him the care he needs. My concern is that I may be spending a lot of money to find out that there isn't anything I can do to get him healthy again. And I say this because that has been my experience with every rat I've had before. I take them to the vet and the vet essentially tells me that they can do this, this, and this, and in the end, the rat is still going to die.
What do you think is the best course of action? He's only two, and that seems young to be having these issues.