RE: Elderly rat losing weight

Question
Hi Sandra,

My rat Venus is 23 months old, and has always had the sneezes from very young. At the moment he's on baytril & doxycycline for respiratory problems.

My issue is, he has lost weight - he's down from 650g to 500g. I don't think it's a sudden loss, but I just noticed over the last few weeks his dry food isn't going down much. He is still keen on his fresh food, although isn't eating it with as much gusto as he was previously. He has his meds in yogurt or nutri-stat, which he will lap up eagerly. I've tried to look at his teeth, but they look no different.

Also, he tires out more easily. During free ranging he will run about for about 15 minutes, but then has to rest. Sometimes he'll go and lay down somewhere for up to an hour, then will have another mad few minutes later in the evening. He has definitely lost some of his cheekiness and energy.

Obviously I will be keeping an eye on his weight, and thought about weighing him again in a week and see if he has lost anymore. And then a vets visit will be in order. I just wondered if you have any ideas? My vets are ok, but I usually find it very beneficial to do a bit of research before any consultations.

Thanks,
Ginny

Answer
He very well could have heart disease.  Tiring easily, weight loss...those are both red flags.  

If your vet is willing to read up on stuff from outsiders, please refer to my page on heart disease and print it if you want and bring it along to the vets for suggestions on how to diagnose and treat it.  

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