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Jaded Burnout posted:Maybe not exactly the same, but one of mine appeared to be completely paralysed in the rear, though no squeaking (as can happen from neurodegeneration), and we all assumed his days were numbered. I set him up with a cozy spot next to water, bathroom, and food, and otherwise he was OK. Then a few days or so later he got all better, to everyone's surprised. So at best guess he bruised his spine somehow and over time it subsided. from what i read when trying to find ANY info, it is anti-inflammatory, but i'm sure it's not ideal 
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Oct 18, 2020 04:47
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snoo posted:from what i read when trying to find ANY info, it is anti-inflammatory, but i'm sure it's not ideal Sounds like you're doing about the best you can without a vet visit then. (that's not to say there's definitely something else a vet would do, but IANAV)
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Oct 18, 2020 06:11
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One of my boys got a severe bout of pneumonia, probably myco. I took him to the vet and he's stabilized now. The issue is though, I have to give him a combined 3ml of medication every day and trying to have him take it is driving me up the wall. He's too spry for syringing it directly into his mouth, clawing my hands to shreds if I try to do it. It works but I really don't want to stress an already sick rat like that unless it's the last resort. He also refusing to take the meds no matter what I mix them with, and the meds themselves aren't even bad tasting. I've tried all kinds of foods rear end a mixer and he just eats a little bit of it and then refuses to touch it anymore even if it's something delicious. I'm going crazy over here. Do y'all have any tips?
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Oct 22, 2020 18:22
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Jack Trades posted:I'm going crazy over here. Do y'all have any tips? I had to vary things up quite a bit. Carrot-based baby food worked for a while, and another technique that usually worked was the crush up rice krispies into a powder and then soak the meds up in it to form a sort of solid. Just have to be careful about their ability to swallow it (which is a problem with direct syringing too) since it tends to be sicker animals that needed meds. When one of mine was really very sick he would eventually accept syringing, by holding onto him and holding the end of the syringe in front of his mouth, he would eventually bite down on it allowing me to hit him with maybe 0.1ml at a time (3ml is a LOT). When I was dealing with a particularly picky one I started mixing smaller batches, so that if he decided he didn't want any more I hadn't wasted it, and could try again later.
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Oct 22, 2020 18:35
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getting it directly into their mouth is way easier with a second person but also just awful to do we have to mix medications with a variety of things and sometimes what they'll tolerate changes. our current girls actually used to take metacam straight, but now they won't touch it at all and it's difficult to even mix it with something. I try really strongly flavored stuff that they'll test and enjoy before I mix with meds, but it doesn't always work. a favorite for all four rats was melting some ice cream and mixing in the meds. most of the time that would suffice
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Oct 22, 2020 18:50
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Thanks, I'll try your suggestions. Right now I'm testing the strategy of "its me, you and some liver paste on this couch and neither of us is leaving until the paste with meds in it is gone" and he is taking it but only in small bites every few minutes so maybe he's not being a huge bastard but actually has problems swallowing or something.
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Oct 22, 2020 19:35
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Slightly warm cream cheese mixed into mac and cheese flavored baby food was the magic trick for my rats when they didn't want to take their meds.
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Oct 22, 2020 19:59
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Here's the rat tax btw: He was a pretty good boy at the vet, other than really not wanting to stay still for the xray.
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Oct 22, 2020 20:23
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Oct 22, 2020 21:55
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oh my god OH MY loving GOD I figured out what was the issue. why he was eating the meds so consistently inconsistent. Offering it to him in a large chunk on my fingers won't do it, he refuses, but if I smear it thinly then he'll eat it all no problems.
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Oct 23, 2020 06:47
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Jack Trades posted:oh my god hahaha  sometimes our rats wouldn't eat mixed meds from a dish, only off of our fingers. picky lil babies
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Oct 23, 2020 06:53
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Best thing about rats: They are incredibly smart and all have unique personalities. Worst thing about rats: They are incredibly smart and all have unique personalities.
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Oct 23, 2020 06:55
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Animal-Mother posted:Slightly warm cream cheese mixed into mac and cheese flavored baby food was the magic trick for my rats when they didn't want to take their meds. While not good for rats at all, I've had tremendous success mixing medicine into melted ice cream as a last ditch effort.
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Oct 24, 2020 04:20
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You’d think rats would love things like ice cream, cheese etc, but the food I’ve seen my rats go most crazy for is... banana huel. They went absolutely apeshit and tried to climb into my mouth and chew through the bottle to get to it. Never seen them react like that to anything before. (I wish I liked it that much.) I’m definitely planning on using that to hide meds when the time comes.
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Oct 24, 2020 10:06
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I tried all the suggestions for giving my boys meds, including the ice cream, and it kind of works for a little while and then he just starts pushing away my finger and wiping his mouth on the floor, even though the medicine is 1. tasty in itself 2. liquid 3. thoroughly mixed with a nice treat So I don't what the gently caress. Splitting the medicine into 2-3 batches and mixing each batch with it's own treat seems to work so far.
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Oct 24, 2020 10:31
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Jack Trades posted:it kind of works for a little while and then he just starts pushing away my finger and wiping his mouth on the floor Yeah at that point the best approach I had was to just try again later.
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Oct 24, 2020 10:43
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Jack Trades posted:Best thing about rats: They are incredibly smart and all have unique personalities. Amen to that. I hope your friend gets well soon.
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Oct 25, 2020 21:49
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I solved the medicine issue with mashed banana. Although the banana has to be mashed thoroughly because the little rear end in a top hat with pluck out the chunks and throw them everywhere. The boy is getting better now. He's being very energetic again.
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Oct 25, 2020 22:00
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  Naughty boys that don't take their medicine get the burrito.
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Oct 30, 2020 08:51
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One large rato burrito, please.
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Oct 31, 2020 00:01
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Haha, I remember my vet being surprised I chose a fruit flavor for antibiotics one time, just assuming meat flavor was the superior choice. What can I say, rats go apeshit for banana. I have a question about plastic-chewing. My rats have plastic igloos and pods and whatnot in their cage and of course they chew on em and I've never worried about it, but my current rats LOVE to chew on the plastic anti-slip base bits on my keyboard stand, and I always run to stop them because they're clearly ripping off huge chunks and just eating it. Is that... okay? I don't really mind if they chew up my stuff but I figured that must be bad for them. But is it? Are all rats just ingesting all the plastic they chew? I ask because googling makes it sound like they totally don't eat the plastic they chew, but they DEFINITELY are. I got a big red rubber Kong dog toy for rats years ago because I read they totally love those and totally don't eat them, and I took it away when their poop showed up riddled with little chewed red rubber bits. Bonus pic of current knuckleheads Luna and Stella: 
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Nov 3, 2020 16:42
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redcheval posted:I have a question about plastic-chewing. My rats have plastic igloos and pods and whatnot in their cage and of course they chew on em and I've never worried about it, but my current rats LOVE to chew on the plastic anti-slip base bits on my keyboard stand, and I always run to stop them because they're clearly ripping off huge chunks and just eating it. Is that... okay? I don't really mind if they chew up my stuff but I figured that must be bad for them. But is it? Are all rats just ingesting all the plastic they chew? I had the same debate with myself and wound up taking the safer path and keeping all that stuff away from them, which is not easy.
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Nov 3, 2020 16:48
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I have never heard of rats eating plastic but I guess if there's plastic in their poop then there's no question about it. Are you sure there's no problems with them? I've heard of some animals, rats included, eating sand and earth when they have stomach issues, to lower the ph levels in their guts. Maybe they're trying to do the same? EDIT: for the record, I've had rats chew all kinds of plastic stuff but I would always find piles of chewed plastic next to the thing and never in their poop.
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Nov 3, 2020 16:49
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Yeah, the Kong situation happened at least 5 years ago on rats long gone now. I guess I can't be totally 1000% sure they're eating the keyboard stand plastic, I haven't seen any in the poop, but it really LOOKS like they are and they don't seem to leave any plastic bits behind/drop them when they're chewing on them. I'll take away the plastic bits they rip off and if by any accident I leave them lying around, they'll hoover em right up if they find them again. I think at least for now I will stick with the Jaded Burnout route of just trying to keep them away from it. My room gets a little bit more rat-proofed every few years when I get new rats and have to learn what new things they can get into and chew on. I swear they're getting smarter with each generation.
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Nov 3, 2020 18:29
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Currently dealing with another abscess. Can’t get to my vet (covid reasons) but his advice was basically just to leave it alone. Ratto is doing an admirable job of cleaning it and even used a dish of water to wash her hands in and then clean the wound with. Always impressed by how smart they are. The only thing I don’t get is... when the abscess bursts, where does the pus go? They don’t eat it, do they? 
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Nov 4, 2020 10:24
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It best not to ask. Rat does as rat wants.
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Nov 4, 2020 11:41
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 Look at this smug mr fancypaws.
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Nov 12, 2020 13:43
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Nov 25, 2020 18:12
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Good faces.     
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Nov 25, 2020 18:18
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The old one:
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Dec 12, 2020 05:01
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Still miss my rats. Still don't feel right getting more right now.
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Dec 12, 2020 20:42
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Jaded Burnout posted:Still miss my rats. Still don't feel right getting more right now. Same.
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Dec 12, 2020 21:05
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My little assholes are too cute.
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Dec 12, 2020 23:55
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Antimony is three and a half years old. She went blind. She's got some health issues and is probably not long for this world.
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Jan 4, 2021 16:23
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Poor sweetie. Still, 3.5 is a decent run.
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Jan 4, 2021 16:41
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Animal-Mother posted:Antimony is three and a half years old. She went blind. She's got some health issues and is probably not long for this world. Cute old lady. 3.5 years is a long time for a rat.
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Jan 4, 2021 16:53
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Jan 7, 2021 00:53
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I use those same food triangles  So I'm talking to a breeder about re-upping on my rat stash.. I never really did bear the idea of getting rid of the cages etc.
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Jan 7, 2021 01:37
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I really wish I was at a point in my life where I could do the same. Still my plan as soon as I'm able, though.
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Jan 7, 2021 20:58
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Going to have to get them more used to travel (lol in this world) just so I can take them places for a day or two. I'm sure that won't be too hard, so long as I can get myself a smaller (but large enough) travel cage.
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Jan 7, 2021 21:05
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