hi, first let me apologize if this topic has been covered a zillion times already, but i didn't see anything that fit my problem exactly-- then again, i don't know how to search the archives very well yet. okay, so our (my and my housemate's) buddy lester appears to have had a severe allergic reaction to something (we're not sure what but he got into the bathroom yesterday--we try to keep him out--and was mucking about under the tub and in the waste-paper basket). The worst of it has passed--last night, he vomited, had very runny and blackish diahrrea --we gave him some children's benadryl and made him stay in his cage. this a.m. he still didn't look so hot--did get out of the cage but was lethargic and his little paws and eyes were still red. felt a bit warm. before i went to work this morning, i gave him a little more children's benadryl. we didn't have a dropper in the house--we've just been giving him a wee bit out of the cap, also soaked a treat in it (he's eating a bit so that's good and drinking water). last i saw of him, les was zonked out again, crashed in his hammock. i'm gonna check on him soon, in about an hour. i thought about getting some children's pedialyte (saw it recommended a few times on this list) and maybe a little baby food. Is that a good idea--what flavor baby food? If you guys could tell me any other signs to look for--to make sure he is recovering and not getting worse--and things to do about the latter--that would be great. if he doesn't get better soon, we will of course take the little guy to the vet. it's just we're super broke and last time (this happened once before, about 7 months ago) we took him, the vet gave him a shot of benadryl, gave us a bill for $80, and that was that. she (the vet) was the one who suggested getting benadryl to have on hand. so, as much as we love him, financial concerns (i.e. scarcity of funds!) demand that we try an at-home remedy first this time. Thanks mucho for any wisdom you can impart. Sorry to blab on and on ...Kristin [Posted in FML issue 2392]