fit? stroke? tumour?

Question
hi there, last night i lost my 2.5 year old female rat. it came on quite suddenly, we lost her best mate last weekend and she had been a little bit down so we had been giving her extra attention. she was cuddling on the couch last night when she suddenly started shaking in her back end. it felt like a vibration starting at her lower spine, over the course of a couple of hours the shaking continued and she seemed to lose function of her back legs, then front legs, couldnt hold herself in upright (kept rolling to the side) and although she could move her head she seemed to choose not to. i know i c ant bring our girl back but id just like to know what this could have been. unfortunately we are in an area where there isnt a 24 hour or emergency rodent vet

Answer

I am sorry for your loss.  It sounds like a stroke or she may have had an Epidural or Subdural Hematoma which are both very dangerous blood clots on the brain.  Its a bit hard to be totally accurate about what caused her death so keep in mind this is an educated guess based on her symptoms. Again, I am sorry for your loss.