Pet rat is acting differently, could she have arthritis?

Question

Havarti   QUESTION: Dear Sandra,

About two weeks ago my husband and I noticed that our female rat (Havarti, who is a little over a year old) was being lethargic. She didn't want to greet us at her cage door anymore, but would rather sit in her house. We also noticed that she is a lot more clumsy. She started falling off things she'd climb on and she also is off balance and sometimes falls over while grooming herself. She also doesn't stand up on her hind legs anymore. We had to lower her water bottle and also get her a more shallow food dish. Another thing we saw was that she would lean on her dish to eat her food and while she was out, she would eat her food hunched over and off the ground rather than sitting up and holding it in her hands.

With all of this in mind, we sought out a vet. However, we were slightly disappointed with the vet. He weighed her, checked her heart and then felt for tumors but basically said he didn't know what was wrong other than he could tell she didn't have the usual upbeat demeanor of a female rat. He suggested she could have an infection that was affecting her central nervous system so he sent us home with some antibiotics and a little pain medicine(baytril and butorphanol). We've been giving it to her twice a day for about a week and we're still seeing the same symptoms, except she seems to be a little less lethargic. She now hardly ever uses her hands except when walking and when she walks its more of a slower waddle now. Her hands seem limp and when she lays down they sort of just do whatever, like she doesn't want to move them. And in the last day or two we've noticed that it looks like she has small patches of hair loss on her arms and what we're assuming to be porphyrin on her arms and sometimes on her nose. But, she has no symptoms of respiratory illness.

We've tried to look up articles and read everything we can about her symptoms. The thing that we've come closest to is arthritis. We found it from this link: http://ratguide.com/health/figures/degenerative_osteoarthritis_figure_1.php
She basically has all these symptoms.

How common is this in rats? and if this is what she has, do you know of any ways we can help her feel better? Obviously we can't reverse arthritis, but we would like to do the best we can to make her comfortable. Also, if you don't think this is what she has, what do you think it could be?

Thank you for your time. I really appreciate it. Havarti means a lot to us and it's been so hard to see her and know she isn't feeling her normal self.

I have attached some pictures of her hands so that you can see what I'm trying to describe.


ANSWER: Hi

Thanks for writing about sweet Havarti. Although I would love to agree with you and say it sounds like she has arthritis, I cant.  This is the part of giving advice online that I dont like...but here goes.

Your girl sounds more like she may have a pituitary tumor and unfortunately, the loss of the use of her forelimbs (as you fondly refer to as hands:) is a sure sign of a neurological disturbance.
The loss of fur is also a sign of a disturbance in the pituitary gland. Although I cannot be totally positive about this, unfortunately I have seen too much of this over the years and it really sounds like she has this.  Please see my website to read a bit more about the signs and keep in mind that she doesnt have to display every sign to have this tumor, just a few of the major symptoms.  Is she able to chew and swallow?

Here is the URL.  Please let me know when your done reading it. I could be totally wrong, and in fact I would love to be wrong, nothing would make me happier...

http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/pituitarytumors.htm

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QUESTION: Thank you for your quick response. I have just read your article on pituitary tumors and I guess that could be her problem since it relates to the loss of use in her hands. Would this tumor also give off symptoms that are related to arthritis in the previous article? (flat footedness, sitting on her bum rather than being up on her feet, etc.) Just curious, because she has those symptoms too.
She is still eating, but she mainly only eats soft foods now because harder foods generally require her to hold them while she eats. We're also concerned that she may not be drinking very much so we have been trying to keep track of her water intake. We've been soaking some of her favorite things in water before we give them to her. (peas, apples, grapes, etc)
I'm assuming the only way to know if she has a pituitary tumor is an x-ray. If she has a tumor would this be causing her pain? or just causing her problems with balance and function of her limbs? Also, I know you're not a vet, but if this is what she has, do you have any idea of how long rats with this condition live?

Answer
How is she doing?   

To answer you about how long she can live with a PT, its hard to say. Depends on the size of it. Rats can have them for a year as long as they remain small. Soon as they get bigger or if hormone levels rise after they go through menopause around 18 months, give or take a few months, this can trigger the growth of the tumor. Once signs start to show this tells me that the tumor is large enough to be putting pressure on the brain, which causes the neurological symptoms your seeing.

She can survive comfortably with help from you.  Help her eat, usually baby foods to lick etc....help her drink, keep her cozy and warm and safe from falls by keeping her in a one level cage.  she can be with cagemates if she has them. Also, one of the signs that its time to let her go is when she cannot swallow. This is usually the indicator that its really not fair to keep her alive, esp if she cannot swallow her food.  

If she is still trying though, I would never consider taking her life from her until she is ready and only YOU will know when its time. Not me, not a vet, you, the person that loves her and knows her best.

Also, you cannot see a pituitary tumor by xray. Xrays show bone not soft tissue like the tumor is. A CAT scan would show it, but.....they are pricey to do and its a good bet she has it if she is showing signs.

The only way to really be able to say for sure she has it is when the rat passes on, a necropsy would reveal it. :(