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Author Topic: Poor Little Lacey.  (Read 3720 times)

Offline ⚡⚡DrachenDame⚡⚡

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Poor Little Lacey.
« on: May 01, 2009, 07:05:35 PM »
So, Last night I noticed that Lacey was a little tilty, and she seemed tired and low energy. This morning I called the vet and made an appointment. She has an infection. :( The vet gave me Baytril and Doxy .25ml of each twice a day. Apparently she's been getting way beat up, more than I thought and one of the bites must have gotten infected. He told me to seperate her immediately, the smaller the better. So I dug up a 5.5 gallon glass tank from my garage, gave it a good cleaning and lined it with an old towel. I tried to feed her some HT, but she wouldn't take it. However, she eagerly ate some Gerber Puffs, so that's good. I put some fluff in there with her so she could cuddle up, because there's not enough room for an igloo. She has a water bottle, and a nice little pile of HT and Gerber Puffs. She's had one dose of Baytril so far. I have to give her a dose of Doxy tonight and then again in the morning. Good thoughts and prayers please.  :BlueDumboBigEyes:
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Offline SuburbanOblivion

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Re: Poor Little Lacey.
« Reply #1 on: May 01, 2009, 08:16:40 PM »
Hope she feels better soon.  :heart:
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Offline Schrute

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Re: Poor Little Lacey.
« Reply #2 on: May 01, 2009, 11:08:20 PM »
Oh no, poor girl! They'll never turn down Gerber puffs I've found, haha. :) Best of luck to your sweetie. :heart:
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Offline ⚡⚡DrachenDame⚡⚡

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Re: Poor Little Lacey.
« Reply #3 on: May 02, 2009, 02:48:29 AM »
I gave her the Doxy and she took it no problem. She's eating and drinking so that's good, but she can't stand at all :( I just want to take her out and cuddle her, but I don't know if that would hurt her. I've been putting my hand in and petting her, as the tank is on m desk. My poor baby.
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Offline ⚡⚡DrachenDame⚡⚡

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Re: Poor Little Lacey.
« Reply #4 on: May 02, 2009, 12:11:40 PM »
Small update:

I gave her the morning dose of Doxy and Baytril, yet she is still declining. Although she is eating and drinking, the fact that she can't stand completely breaks my heart. I know a lot of you on here hate me for some reason or another, but maybe we can put our differences aside and all pray for a speedy recovery.
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Offline ⚡⚡DrachenDame⚡⚡

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Re: Poor Little Lacey. (Now With a Pic)
« Reply #5 on: May 02, 2009, 12:50:52 PM »
I gave Lacey some puffs while she was lying in my arm and she took them quite enthusiastically. After she ate them she started to brux and boggle at me. I really hope she makes it.


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Offline Squeaks

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Re: Poor Little Lacey.
« Reply #6 on: May 02, 2009, 01:28:04 PM »
I had a little girl rat over a year ago who injured her foot and had a URI at the same time.... she didn't make it. She was so tiny though, I had just gotten her. I'm not sure what happened to her foot, might have been her sister who is now fat and likes to pick fights all the time. She had stopped eating and drinking all together though, I had to syringe her liquids.


Sounds like Lacey is doing better. Just keep giving her love...... I still feel terrible because I was at work when my little girl passed =/
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Offline eye.luv.my.rats

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Re: Poor Little Lacey.
« Reply #7 on: May 02, 2009, 02:14:18 PM »
I will pray for little Lacey! I hope she feels better very soon. I'm sorry it's so tough right now. Hopefully, the ab's will do their job and she'll perk up. :heart:
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Offline rattie love

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Re: Poor Little Lacey.
« Reply #8 on: May 02, 2009, 02:30:26 PM »
Lots of prayers and good thoughts for your little Lacey and you. She is lucky to have such a good mom.
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Offline D

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Re: Poor Little Lacey.
« Reply #9 on: May 03, 2009, 07:14:09 PM »
How is little Lacey doing today??  :BlueDumboBigEyes:
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Offline ⚡⚡DrachenDame⚡⚡

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Re: Poor Little Lacey.
« Reply #10 on: May 03, 2009, 08:48:18 PM »
She doesn't seem to be doing better today. She's still alive, which I'm quite happy about, and she doesn't seem to be declining as steadily. She has a lot of Porphyrin around her nose that she just can't seem to clear away. :( I held her for about an hour today, feeding her treats, and just cuddling her. She seemed to really like that. It seems as if she can't use her right hand at all, which worries me. However, she's moving around a bit, and I gave her half a tissue box, which she's been moving and chewing on. She's been taking her medicine without a problem, which is great because I was worried about that. I'm going to give her her second dose in a few minutes, and I am quite hopeful that she'll start doing better.

This is her just a minute ago.


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Offline D

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Re: Poor Little Lacey.
« Reply #11 on: May 07, 2009, 05:20:39 PM »
I hope your sweet little Lacey is doing better today..

I wonder if anyone has any advice on what you can do to make her more comfortable while the antibiotics start working. If you don't see any improvement by tomorrow..I say contact your vet again and ask for stronger medication..maybe metacam as well?

I really hope she will pull through. She has such a sweet little face and the last photo just broke my heart.  :'(

Keep us updated!
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Offline ShadowDancer60

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Re: Poor Little Lacey.
« Reply #12 on: May 08, 2009, 01:51:31 AM »
I hope Lacey is doing better.

A little prednisone might help, if there is any kind of internal swelling near her ear.
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Offline ⚡⚡DrachenDame⚡⚡

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Re: Poor Little Lacey.
« Reply #13 on: May 09, 2009, 12:51:54 AM »
Well, I spoke to the vet yesterday, because she was excreting such excess porphyrin, but also because she seems to have muscle limpness in her upper body. He said that it's probably a degenerative neurological thing. I'll give him a call on Tuesday, as he suggested. She's eating, drinking and pooping normally, But she is almost completely unable to stand. If she's not better by Tuesday, I'll give him a call again and see what we can do. :(
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Offline D

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Re: Poor Little Lacey.
« Reply #14 on: May 09, 2009, 10:15:54 AM »
I'm so sorry that your girl is having so much trouble..  :BlueDumboBigEyes:

As long as she is interested in food, I think that is a good sign..maybe like shadowdancer06 suggested, the vet can prescribe her prednisone. It may help. I really hope she pulls through.

Does anyone else have any other suggestions that may help?
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Offline D

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Re: Poor Little Lacey.
« Reply #15 on: May 10, 2009, 11:05:07 AM »
How is Lacey doing this weekend? I hope she has had some improvement..
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Offline ⚡⚡DrachenDame⚡⚡

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Re: Poor Little Lacey.
« Reply #16 on: May 10, 2009, 07:43:22 PM »
It's up and down. Some times she seems to be doing a lot better, grooming more; and then other time she seems worse. Lots of porphyrin, blood on the tissues. It just feels like a losing battle. I have a bad feeling that she's been spitting out the medicine, and now it looks like maybe her bottom teeth are uneven. UGH!
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Offline D

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Re: Poor Little Lacey.
« Reply #17 on: May 10, 2009, 09:47:17 PM »
Have you tried mixing the meds in babyfood? My Squishy takes his Lasix and hawthorne extract in gerber babyfood oatmeal and pears. You might want to try this and offer it to her on a baby spoon so she can lap it up. You might even try giving it to her mixed in babyfood and just offer some on your finger that she can lick. It sounds like she is very stressed with all the porphyrin discharge. She is being kept alone for now, right? Having a friend with her may help her become less stressed. I know you mentioned she was being picked on b y the others, but maybe room her with one of her friends that are more submissive. Separating her may have caused more stress for her than she needs. Is she drinking water? I wonder if you should add some pedialite to her drinking water just in case. Also, maybe a little time in indirect sunlight during the day may help as well. It is proven that sunlight helps humans and animals heal faster. Try some salmon oil as well if you can..it is a natural anti-inflammatory.

Don't give up on her just yet..be positive around her and be sure to tell her that she is going to be ok. I believe animals can pick up on our emotions.  :) Just hold tight until tomorrow when you can give the vet a call and ask for more advice. Don't forget to ask about the pred!

I really hope she will pull through. Just make sure she is eating and drinking. You may want to get some fragrance-free baby wipes and clean her little face of discharge and check if she needs any wiping down below, too. She may not have the strength or ability to groom herself. Spend time with her and give her a good rubdown. Massaging helps the body grow and heal.

Please continue to keep us updated on how she is doing..
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Offline ⚡⚡DrachenDame⚡⚡

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Re: Poor Little Lacey.
« Reply #18 on: May 11, 2009, 03:57:29 PM »
She seems to be doing better. the baby food idea is a good one. I'll have to try that. She is in a tiny tank, 5.5 gallons, and there is no room for another rat. I also don't know if I can trust any of them with her.
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Offline SuburbanOblivion

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Re: Poor Little Lacey.
« Reply #19 on: May 11, 2009, 05:07:45 PM »
How sad. I hope she feels better!
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Offline D

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Re: Poor Little Lacey.
« Reply #20 on: May 20, 2009, 07:58:00 PM »
Hope Lacey has recovered! How is she doing?
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Offline ⚡⚡DrachenDame⚡⚡

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Re: Poor Little Lacey. *Small Update*
« Reply #21 on: May 22, 2009, 09:08:11 AM »
Well, though she is no longer getting worse, I fear her improvement has stopped as well. She seems to be losing weight, and just the other day I found little tiny bugs on her. I quickly checked all the other animals in the house as well as the food and bedding, and I still have NO idea where they came from. I spoke to my vet he said they could be one of a thousand opportunistic parasitic insects that prey on sick or injured animals, and the other rats would have easily groomed them off. Ugh! The vet seems to think that perhaps she has some kind of tumor or other brain issue, as she hasn't fully recovered. I'm going to make an appointment to take her in next week.

She seems in good spirits, is as active as she can be (chewing on cardboard, nesting, etc). She's also eating and drinking regularly. I don't know if she'll ever fully recover, but I do hope so.
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Offline wretchedeclipse

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Re: Poor Little Lacey.
« Reply #22 on: May 22, 2009, 11:41:08 AM »
Poor little Lacey.  :BlueDumboBigEyes: You are such a good mama though. Not giving up when you know she hasn't given up and all. :)
Sending good thoughts to you and her for a hopeful recovery.
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Offline Macie_and_Emma

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Re: Poor Little Lacey.
« Reply #23 on: May 22, 2009, 12:02:19 PM »
I'm not sure if you've explored this idea, but from the symptoms you've described (unable to use hands, trouble walking/standing, not improving on antibiotics, healthy appetite) it sounds like it could possibily be a pituitary tumor.  I'm sure you know more about her condition than I do since she's your rat, but just thought I'd throw the idea out there incase she's been misdiagnosed.  PT is awful and comes on quick, and can cause all sorts of odd symptoms.
« Last Edit: May 22, 2009, 12:04:03 PM by Macie_and_Emma »
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Offline ⚡⚡DrachenDame⚡⚡

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Re: Poor Little Lacey.
« Reply #24 on: May 22, 2009, 02:04:40 PM »
Quote from: Macie_and_Emma on May 22, 2009, 12:02:19 PM
I'm not sure if you've explored this idea, but from the symptoms you've described (unable to use hands, trouble walking/standing, not improving on antibiotics, healthy appetite) it sounds like it could possibily be a pituitary tumor.  I'm sure you know more about her condition than I do since she's your rat, but just thought I'd throw the idea out there incase she's been misdiagnosed.  PT is awful and comes on quick, and can cause all sorts of odd symptoms.

That's something I hadn't even thought of. Does it cause tilty-ness? That was the very first symptom, and it did come on awfully quick. I'll have to check that out. Thanks!
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