re. poorly rattie

[Queenie Bee]

Apr 15, 2012 19:36:00 GMT hissie said:

A well cared for cat

this would be me

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[Deleted]

I finally managed to get hold of the lassie I got them off (she had 20 ratties at one point) and she said they are on their way to the rainbow bridge in the sky...Well Bob might be (still not drunk despite new tactics....tiniest amount of orange squash and honey in the water) but Milo definitely isn't ....

So yeah tomorrow...New rat food . I also soaked the mueli (reggie rat I think it's called) in hot water tonight before putting it in the baby food.....so Milo has had some of that as well (very fussy though tonight...we shall see how much is left in the morning). When Milo eats Bob comes over and then turns his nose up in utter disdain.....

Milo will be on a diet LOL at this rate by tuesday if Bob doesn't start eating!!!

Jane

[hissie]

Do they eat fresh fruit? Maybe try a strawberry?

I always put fluids in a syringe and put the syringe at the side of the mouth and hopefully they will lick the water (or whatever).

Hopefully your lil ratties will pick up jane x

[Deleted]

Well Bob had a load of baby food earlier on in the afteroon and it's pretty wet - kind of pureed mush.....straight out of the vacu pack ...(yeah very posh!!!...should be at £1.06 a pop and £1.45 a pop for the meat one) so he should be okay for a wee while yet.....

I'll try the syringe method tomorrow though with him if he's no better or middle of the night stuff...

J

[hissie]

Worth a try jane.

I know when each of my gerbils were ill, I had a little hospital tank were I put the ill one in to give it treatment, & a rest from the others.

[Karma]

What is the life span of rats?

It's very worrying when pets are unwell My dog had severe collitis a couple of months ago, he nearly had to be admitted to the vets and put on a drip, he was so de-hydrated.

My friend, who is an ex dog warden/worked with dogs in the army, suggested using a syringe and just giving him 10mls of water at a time. you would obviously use less than 10mls for a rat. it did work though, saved him having to be put on a drip

I do hope your pets get better soon

[beeratz]

Generally rats live to around 2/2.5 years old but some live to be older.
Jane if you pull up the skin on their neck, is it going straight back to normal or staying up? That will give you an idea of how dehydrated they are. If they have had some wet food at least they have got some fluid into them but if necessary you might need to syringe some water or tasty juice into their mouths, just do it slowly so as not to choke them. Some cucumber would be good too as its got a high water content
When you pull up the skin on the back of their necks, if its staying up (tented) then you might need to think about getting them to a vet as they may need some subcutaneous fluids if they are getting too dehydrated.
Really hope they start to improve
ETA: I wouldnt put much faith in the lady you got them off saying they're on their way to the rainbow bridge! You know your rats much better than her as they've lived with you, and it could well just be a minor illness which may be easily treatable

[Deleted]

They are back to health (well at least milo is).....diluting squash and honey in water got them to drink (like half a bottle ...thirsty ratties)....got up middle of night (like I said I would)... and most of the food is gone and milo is full of it

tomorrow when I go food shopping I'm changing the bedding (if not sooner) as it's soaked with pee. I just handle some. So wet ......ewww.....ratties must have been peeing constantly tonight.

Have also ordered elderly rat no. 3 from RR and Daily Rat 3 ...so that should be fine. Also the gourmet book I saw on the fancy rat forum

Thanks so much for everyone's kind words and help

Jane

[Queenie Bee]

Glad to hear Jane I bet you are so relieved

[beeratz]

Glad to hear they are feeling better
Hope they enjoy their RR food when it arrives!!

[hissie]

Fab news jane. Glad they are perking up

[Deleted]

Thanks guys soooooo much

So relieved...gave them a combo of Baby food this am, with a little of their dry mix (reggie rat) and some egg. (boiled)...they loved it....

Didn't get chance to get more bedding but still....not to worry. Had a spare box of tissues so put that in and took the wet stuff out....

Beeratz have you tried yours on organic baby rice cakes as a treat? Mine loved them yesterday. Was about the only thing they would eat at first plus porridge.....

Jane

[Chrissie]

So pleased to hear your ratties are better Jane

[beeratz]

I haven't tried them with organic baby rice cakes before but they've had snack a jacks before when I've had a pack and they seemed to enjoy them lol I'll have to get them some of the baby ones Where did you get them from?
So happy to hear that they're eating now and are on the mend do you have any photos of them?

[hissie]

My gerbils loved cheerios breakfast cereal lol.