He just can't catch a break.
He had a lower respiratory infection a few weeks ago and wasn't eating well. We put him on Doxy. He got better for a few days and then worse again.
We put him on Doxy + Baytril. He got better for a week and a half, then he got worse. This time, his lungs were clear, but his lower respiratory infection had migrated into an upper respiratory infection (in his nose/sinuses instead of his lung). He sounded terrible.
We added Theophylline and steam showers to help clear out those sinuses. He didn't show much improvement.
On Friday, we upped him to the max Baytril dosage. On Saturday, he was much better. Sunday morning, he sounded terrible again. Sunday evening, he was better. This morning, sneezy again. It has been a real roller coaster with him.
The good news is that the upper respiratory infection isn't as debilitating as the lower respiratory infection. He is eating fine and behaving normally, he just sounds terrible. And he is having some good spells where his breathing is clear, so maybe the increased dosage is just taking its time. I have hope, but I worry about what will happen if this doesn't clear it up. I fear trying other antibiotics. Loki hasn't responded well to Clavamox in the past (it caused bad diarrhea and made him extremely irritable and unhappy). I just have to keep my fingers crossed that he will get over this.
I like to post these kinds of updates not because I think the world is waiting to hear how Loki is doing - but because I think it is important to illustrate the kind of day-to-day health problems that will pop up if you own rats.
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