Rat seizure?

Question
QUESTION: Hi Sandra.
Had a sad day yesterday with the loss of my lovely rat Chas and was wondering if you could shed some light on what happened to him to give us the chance to accept that he is at peace now.
He was about two years old and we noticed last week that he was dragging his back legs, we took all the advice we had read about his situation, made it a one level cage, lowered the water bottle and fed him from the floor of his cage, and he still appeared fine to eat and drink and was still moving himself around on his front legs. however when i came home from work last night he was hardly able to move, his little eyes were staring and he felt very limp when i picked him up - he also appeared to be twitching a lot as if he was having fits,and loosing saliva from his mouth which was horrible to see. i rushed him to the vet who put the poor little soul out of his misery. he lived with two other males who now seem to be moving the sawdust around the cage and piling it up - am also wondering if this is a sign of distress?
I appreciate any advice or help you can give me,
thank you so much, Emma xx

ANSWER: Dear Emma

I am very sorry for your loss. Sadly, I had this happen to one of my 3 year old boys back in December and have lost other rats this way as well.  Necropsy results for every case showed it to be neurological in nature.  I do believe this is what caused him to lose the use of his back legs. He may have had a blood clot that caused this and eventually traveled to his brain, which caused the seizures you noticed (the twitching) The drooling was probably due to the fact he was unable to swallow properly.   You did the right thing by allowing him to sleep with the angels.  I hope this gives you some closure, but keep in mind this is an educated guess and without a post mortem exam its impossible to be 100%.

As for the other boys digging around, they may be upset by the loss of their cagemate but the good news is they have each other.  I do want to ask you about the saw dust.......your not using actual saw dust for the bedding, are you?  I know in the UK you may call the bedding by another name which is why I asked.

Again I am sorry for your loss.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much Sandra - especially for your speedy response.
The bedding we use is not actually saw dust - its just what we name it here in the uk - always buy our bedding and care fresh from the pet store which is much less dusty and less likely to damage their little lungs - especially as Dave our other rat has been bad with respitory problems before. As you say, at least our two little ratties have eachother to play with and keep eachother company. Love the little guys and want to try and make them as happy as possible and not distressed about the loss of their little brother.
Thank you so much again,
Emma xx

Answer
Hi Emma

I have not slept all night so that is why I am up answering questions. Its 4:30 am here in the US!  I imagine its near lunch time there?
Ever since I heard Michael Jackson died, that just tore me up and I have been watching and reading the news all night long. I grew watching him and being a huge can, so its like losing part of my childhood :(

As for the saw dust, I figured as much that it was not actual saw dust but had to ask to be certain.  Some folks have used actual saw dust and even gravel for their rats.  GASP!

Again, I am sorry for your loss. Its never easy no matter how old they are.  I lost my 4 year old rat in May and still cry all the time when I think of him!