Post by adoptaratcanada on Jul 23, 2009 1:19:10 GMT -4
Dukhat's Day at the Vet
I left him there for the day so they could assess him, in particular his breathing issues which seemed tied in to when he eats...
Here's the quicky version: they did an x-ray and little Dukhat has "a mass" on his lung. They can't say for sure what it might be, but it's either a growth or a partially "consolidated lung" meaning the bronchial passages have closed up on themselves and the lung is not fully functional.
Presumably this is what's causing his issues, that he can't get enough air, mainly in the excitement of feeding time.
Nothing they can do for it, alas.
He'll be trying different meds to help him and will get another x-ray in a few months. If it's grown, then they know it's a mass.
They didn't think steroids would be of help. If anyone has any thoughts on alternative therapies that would help, I'm all ears.
So for now, I have to try and make feeding time not very exciting. I feel I might stay with very soft foods for him (baby food, pureed things) because if he's excited and inhaling deeply while eating I don't want him choking on anything solid. That *might* be what happened to him last night with a carrot but I'm not sure (I didn't see the gagging that my old rat, Chopin, did once).
I've been taking Thor out of the the cage for feeding time because he's a maniac (sweet, but a maniac) and disruptive. I usually feed Dukhat and Earl Grey on different shelves of the cage so they don't go after each others' food. I might in fact start taking out Dukhat so he can eat with NO fear of the other one getting it. Still...he might become overly exciting coming out, knowing it means feeding time. I just don't know...
I left him in the carrier when I got home and fed him there, and things seem ok.
I'm also now looking into other cages, one with a large floor space and maybe only one low shelf (and other things the brothers can get into), so he doesn't have to exert himself going up and down the big cage.
A question: if I can't feed him in such a way as to alleviate the resulting breathing issues, am I making him suffer unduly? He's such an adorable little guy and when he bounces back from the episodes he's very sweet and perky. That part of his quality of life is great. I just don't like putting him in distress several times a day. Hopefully I'll work something out that won't cause that.
Although nothing can be done, I feel less stressed now. It's when you see an ongoing problem and keep thinking, "come ON, let's get this thing fixed!" you feel things aren't happening fast enough. Even though it's chronic, at least now I know that's what we have to work with, and now can find ways to make things more comfortable for him.
Oh...this turned out kind of long anyhow!
I left him there for the day so they could assess him, in particular his breathing issues which seemed tied in to when he eats...
Here's the quicky version: they did an x-ray and little Dukhat has "a mass" on his lung. They can't say for sure what it might be, but it's either a growth or a partially "consolidated lung" meaning the bronchial passages have closed up on themselves and the lung is not fully functional.
Presumably this is what's causing his issues, that he can't get enough air, mainly in the excitement of feeding time.
Nothing they can do for it, alas.
He'll be trying different meds to help him and will get another x-ray in a few months. If it's grown, then they know it's a mass.They didn't think steroids would be of help. If anyone has any thoughts on alternative therapies that would help, I'm all ears.
So for now, I have to try and make feeding time not very exciting. I feel I might stay with very soft foods for him (baby food, pureed things) because if he's excited and inhaling deeply while eating I don't want him choking on anything solid. That *might* be what happened to him last night with a carrot but I'm not sure (I didn't see the gagging that my old rat, Chopin, did once).
I've been taking Thor out of the the cage for feeding time because he's a maniac (sweet, but a maniac) and disruptive. I usually feed Dukhat and Earl Grey on different shelves of the cage so they don't go after each others' food. I might in fact start taking out Dukhat so he can eat with NO fear of the other one getting it. Still...he might become overly exciting coming out, knowing it means feeding time. I just don't know...
I left him in the carrier when I got home and fed him there, and things seem ok.
I'm also now looking into other cages, one with a large floor space and maybe only one low shelf (and other things the brothers can get into), so he doesn't have to exert himself going up and down the big cage.
A question: if I can't feed him in such a way as to alleviate the resulting breathing issues, am I making him suffer unduly? He's such an adorable little guy and when he bounces back from the episodes he's very sweet and perky. That part of his quality of life is great. I just don't like putting him in distress several times a day. Hopefully I'll work something out that won't cause that.
Although nothing can be done, I feel less stressed now. It's when you see an ongoing problem and keep thinking, "come ON, let's get this thing fixed!" you feel things aren't happening fast enough. Even though it's chronic, at least now I know that's what we have to work with, and now can find ways to make things more comfortable for him.
Oh...this turned out kind of long anyhow!
