shes a dumbo about a year and a half old. we have brought her to the vet and now her and her cage mate are on baytril. every once ina while she breathes through her mouth and makes this clicking sound. shes usually active but now she just sits. she breathes really rapidly and always chatters. she seems very uncomfortable. is there anything i can do to help? is she in pain? what are her chances?
Mycroplasma is treatable in the early stages. It is when it turns into a full-blown case of it that the odds for survival are low. If your rats are not showing improvement in a few days, return to the vet for another kind of antibiotic. Often what is working for one rat does not work for another, so bear this in mind. Your one rat may do just fine on the Baytril, but the other may not respond to it; thus, may need a different antibiotic. Also, two antibiotics are often prescribed as there can be a secondary infection that needs a different medicine to treat it. Baytril and Doxycycline, for example, are often given in tandem. Following are two very good links with detailed information on Mycroplasma:
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com http://www.rmca.org/Articles/respir.htm http://www.suite101.com/content/mycoplas ... There are many different medicines that can be prescribed. Following is a chart of the ones prescribed for rats, along with a link to a conversion chart to ensure the appropriate dosage is given:
http://www.rmca.org/Articles/dchart.htm http://ratguide.com/meds/reference/conve ... The one article talks of ways to keep your rats comfortable during this time. A humidifier may help. It is also important to remove the tinkle areas from the cage, as the ammonia smell will irritate their nasal passages.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com It sounds like you caught it early, so that means a very good chance for recovery or remission. Not all cases end badly. I sincerely hope they both are up and running around like normal very soon.
Myco is a very common illness in rats. Perviously, it was thought that this was a highly contageous illness, whereas now the idea has changed, and it is thought that the majority of rats carry this disease, but some rats are genetically more susceptible to suffering the severe effects of the condition than others. Breeders are now trying hard to breed Myco resistant rats.
If she seems uncomfortable, then she probably is. Rats typically dont tell us when they are sick-so any change in behaviour is cause for concern.
Whether it is problems with Myco or whether it is another illness, or some other issue, is up to your vet to determine.
Myco does not have to be a life sentence for rats, but it is not cureable, and your babies will need to be on medication for the rest of their lives. Unfortunately, the problem tends to worsen with time-but that does not mean that they cant still live a relatively long life.
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com The chattering you are describing sounds like 'bruxing' which is a noise rats make when they are happy-they grind their teeth together. They will occasionally also make this noise when they are stressed.
Mycoplasmoses is VERY common in rats. You rat probably isn't in pain, but it is hard for her/him to breathe.
You can't do much to help, except for taking the best care of her you can.
Her chances are pretty slim. Myco is very hard to cure and can certainly kill a rat. That is why my rat died. Half the time, you find out she/he is sick when, it is kind of late.
I hope your rat is ok.
That is the hard part about rats. They provide you with unconditional love, and it lasts two years.
