# Ruptured eye....again :(



## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

Over a year ago, my rat Curly had his eye badly perforated by his cage mate. A few months later the same thing happened to his other eye, and he is 100% blind. being a hairless and so frail I got him a sweet as can be spayed girl rat to be his friend for life and he has been injury free since.

Well on Sunday I came home to find my rat Godrick's eye SEVERELY bitten , the hole is visible and he has bled into his eye and it is swollen like a pea. He is in extreme pain.

He is separated in a 1 level cage with no bedding but fleece, in his state I'd rather him be lonely then harmed.
I called my vet to make an appointment and the earliest I could get in was Wednesday 
So I had him on children s Tylenol for pain, and today my BF is dropping off metacam.

I have been keeping his eye area clean, and after the pain dulled for him he is back to his old self...well almost.
Wish poor Godrick luck tomorrow, I pray he does not need it removed.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Good luck little man!!!


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## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

Well he saw the vet.
My poor little guy! Luckily his eye got a bit smaller and less swollen. It is pretty bad though, he is on an eye-drop for his eye and metacam if I think he needs it.
But the injury weakened his immune system and he came down with a raging URI, and is on 3 weeks of Zithromax.

When I go back in 10 days for a follow up I am also scheduling a neuter since he is the low man on the totem pole in my group of 7 boys, I am gonna let him live out his days with Curly my blind special needs hairless, and Mrs.C his spayed wife since they are gentle.

And to top this off, I am going away for a few days on a long trip to Virgina 
I don't trust anyone to take care of him but me, so he is coming along with one of his brothers who is also being medicated for a URI.

This week has been crazy! 4 hour trips to get fosters, wounded eyes, URIs, escapes and AHH. The things I do for rats!


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Some eyes will shrink and "die" without any issue, and lets hope this one continues this way. Is he just on zithromax? Has he responded to JUST zithromax in the past? You may need to add baytril or doxy to kick that URI.


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## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

He has never had a URI so I would not know in this case. His meds need to be re filled in 10 days since I am also trying out the zithromax on another boy. If in the 10 days I see little or no imporomvent the vet said she will give me a combo of Baytril Doxy. And in the meantime I have another bottle of un-mixed zithromax. 

To make it easy on me, the little stinkers LOVE the meds they lap it up like candy. Which is nice after struggling with the drops with is a pain with only 1 person.


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## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

*Update as of 7/29/11*
Late update, but news is grim.

He has seen the vet 4 times since my last update, for re checks, and recently he went downhill, going from 700 grams to 350 in less then 2 weeks which is when I started hand feeding him ensure and oatmeal/veggies. I was giving him Baytril/Zithro daily, along with Ofloxin for his eye and ointment to heal the wounds around his eyes which keep appearing, but still no improvment

He went in last week for a re-check, and we were contemplating having him Put to sleep, but I had to put to sleep 2 other rats that day and I could not stomach the idea of losing him as well, and I decided to give it another shot with more abs and ofloxin and metacam.

His eye is giant and scabbed despite all the treatment, and his head has swelled massively. He has started to roll around, and fall on his butt when he tries to groom or eat, and today his OTHER eye started to bulge and bleed.
With all the abs he has gotten I can't imagine what this is. I am guessing PT, but I am not sure since I think the pressure from his swollen head on his inner might be causing him to roll around.

And since now he is clearly 100% blind for no good reason I am at a total loss as to whats wrong with my poor boy. He is lazing with me right now, I have never let rats sleep with me before, but I have been couching it the past few days with him. He has me so worried.
My BF, thinks maybe it's time, and we gave him the best shot we could. But I don't know if it IS time, but maybe I am just hanging on.

I guess any advice is better then none :/ Even if you think it's time for me to let go.


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## TobyRat (May 24, 2011)

It's possible this little guy could have a retrobulbar abscess, which is basically an abscess behind the eye. I would ask the vet about performing an enucleation (removal) of the eye. It sounds like whatever is happening involves the initial injury to the eye and that removing it may alleviated a lot of the symptoms he's having. In the meantime, I would feed him soft foods and even offer them through syringe. Facial swelling can cause it to be very painful to open the mouth.


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## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

I imagine that's why he is losing so much weight suddenly I will continue with the ensure and metacam to reduce swelling and pain then :/

But would that happen in both his eyes? Since as of yesterday his OTHER eye is also suddenly bulged and bleeding :/ And no known injury, he is in a hospital cage with one of his sweeter brothers.


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## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

My BF holds him still :/










he spends alot of time sitting in this position looking pained.


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## Qku. (Apr 29, 2011)

Holy.. wow. That looks horrifying and very painful indeed.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

That looks more like SDA with the ocular involvement. Are your rats sick, do any have swelling under their throats?

That boy needs to be PTS now...he's in agony, and you need to be strong and let him go because he is suffering and I don't see anything good happening if you wait.


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## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

:/ I have been away at my apartment with my boy for almost a month, is it safe to go home to my other rats? I have fosters there, and since they are quarentined I do not want to risk exposure :/

I will have him PTS then, I knew It had to be done, I just wanted to be sure.

No swelling that I can see, but 1 girl here has become scruffy and lethargic, and 1 has come down with a sudden URI.

Now I am seriously worried, where could he have gotten it, if he has it?


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## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

Also his eye was bitten back in april.

Since he make a massive improvement, then suddenly he got sick again recently...is it coincidence that his other eye became bloody, and he became ill?

On edge now


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Kiko said:


> Also his eye was bitten back in april.
> 
> Since he make a massive improvement, then suddenly he got sick again recently...is it coincidence that his other eye became bloody, and he became ill?
> 
> On edge now


Once you have him pts there's no more contagion from that side. I am really sorry Kiko.  Did you see the bite back in April? It might not be SDA but there's something seriously wrong with your boy. ((hugs))


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## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

Just called the vet, waiting for a call back :'(

Is it worth it to request a necropsy? Can they tell what was wrong with him? My poor boy has been suffering so long, I'd hate to never know what was wrong.

I did not see the bite happen, but I came home to his eye swollen and bloody with a hole, so I assumed.

not a good month for me, thanks for the support.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Kiko said:


> Just called the vet, waiting for a call back :'(
> 
> Is it worth it to request a necropsy? Can they tell what was wrong with him? My poor boy has been suffering so long, I'd hate to never know what was wrong.


You could try, but ask how much it is first, you don't need a nasty shock. Ask for a gross necro, and make sure they open the head to see what's going on.


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## 1a1a (May 6, 2011)

Very, very, sad to read this, hugs for you and your boy (or his spirit if he has already been pts).


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## TobyRat (May 24, 2011)

Aw, Kiko I'm sorry about your boy. 

I would assume that severe facial swelling could cause even the unaffected eye to bulge... but Lilspaz brings up a good point about possible SDA. I think a necropsy would be very beneficial if that's what you decide to do.


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## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

Godrick was PTS today, the vet suggested a Necro, and when I asked the price she said it was free. They are doing the 'gross' necro, and taking samples. And sending his eyes to a pathologist to see whats wrong with them as well. I am glad all this is free, it's somewhat of a mystery as what was going in in his little body, he was skeletal when he finally passed despite my best efforts. 

They will be calling me tomorrow with the results of his necro, she said she will keep his body intact as much as possible so I can bury him.
I will let you all know the results soon.

RIP my poor sweet boy, he fought a good fight, and I do not regret one minute of putting so much time and money into his well being, back and forth to the vet since April, so many treatments, this has hit me hard. He was the first rat ever to get SO sick with me, and the first rat ever to sleep with me all night. I just wish it had ended better....


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

I hope you doped up that little man as much as you could with pain meds while you were waiting for his euth appt.


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## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

lilspaz68 said:


> I hope you doped up that little man as much as you could with pain meds while you were waiting for his euth appt.


Of course, metacam daily in the most he could tolerate safely.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Why did you wait so long?


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## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

Our vet was at a conference, when we tried to go to our other vet after a day the office said the exotics vet was not in (for out other vet)
Trust me, it's not like I wanted to wait. We called daily, even went to office to see if they could take us on a whim :/


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Kiko said:


> Our vet was at a conference, when we tried to go to our other vet after a day the office said the exotics vet was not in (for out other vet)
> Trust me, it's not like I wanted to wait. We called daily, even went to office to see if they could take us on a whim :/


God I am sorry...bastids!!! making him suffer like that. Your heart must've been breaking the entire time.


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## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

It was, but he was a champ. He kept on grooming and bruxing, and I managed to keep food in him. When he finally passed on, it looked like someone took a 50 pound weight off his little body.


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