1 year old male rat illness

Question
QUESTION: our rat has been recently treated for pnuemonia but is losing weight and fur, while eating very well. He is weak though, and we suspect may have lost some sight. Fur has been standing up since the illness started about two weeks ago. Can you offer any suggestons?

ANSWER:
Hi Daniel

Is he still taking medication. Also, he should be on medication for at least 21 days unless it was pneumonia caused by mycoplasmosis and if so, they need treated for a full 30 days to avoid relapse.

Also, what was the treatment? Was he kept in the hospital? Did he  need oxygen? Was he nebulized?  Sorry to ask so many things but it seems that he still has a way to go if he is losing weight and has Piloerection (ruffled/puffed fur)

How was the pneumonia diagnosed?  Were xrays taken?

What symptoms did he display?



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

QUESTION: Thanks you for your additional advice regarding Lazy Rat. Unfortunately the saga is continuing with a new complication. The Mycoplasmosis has more or less gone, his pneumonia symptoms seem nicely under control, but in the past few days Lazy has developed what seem to be unrelated symptoms; it started with persistent circling to the right as if to access his rear - no skin problems. Then he became rather 'drunk' on his feet having difficulty balancing. This balance problem has got to the point where he cannot stand properly and rolls over when he tries to eat - interestingly he has not been using his paws to eat since the pneumonia started three weeks ago - he has now become so weak in his chewing that we are having to crumble his food and limit him to soft fruit and veg. what is interesting is that he still has a certain amount of strength in himself, it is just that his coordination or balance is virtually gone. One other big clue I think is that he has no stopped passing water or poos. He has eaten very very eagerly throughout his illness, where has it all gone? Could there be a blockage somewhere? He has actually lost weight, but doesn't seem to be suffering from cancer or tumor.. we are really at a loss. Will probably ask the vet for an ultrasound tomorrow, but he seemed quite resigned when we spoke to him yesterday.. "if it is a tumor he's done for - if it is pneumonia he's done for, such is the fragility of domestic rats..". I am making him sound unsympathetic, he wasn't, he just felt that exploration for tumors would be too invasive and that nothing would show up on an x ray of the rear end. One final query; we came across some information about 'penis block' - we did notice him paying more than the usual attention to his goolies a few days ago. to sum up, it seems as if some internal swelling or blockage is interrupting his ability to walk. Thank you sincerely for your continued attention to this. We are truly grateful.

ANSWER:
::Sighs::


I cant say this any easier....it sounds as if your male has an pituitary adenoma and the prognosis is very poor.

The tumor is pressing on the vestibulocochlear nerve which is what controls equilibrium.  Inner ear infection can mock these tumors but soon as I read that he has lost the use of his forelimbs and is having difficulty in chewing has me totally convinced that he indeed has this tumor and is at the end of life.  I usually am not this abrupt, but I dont want you to have false hope, either and I dont want him to suffer, as well.  Although these tumors are seen more often with intact female rats, they are also seen in male rats, just not as common.

If you want to read up more about these tumors, here is a webpage with more information.  

http://ratguide.com/health/neoplasia/pituitary_tumor.php

I am really sorry....




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

QUESTION: I have to let you know that we had to have Lazy put to sleep - but fortunately before the worst symptoms of the tumor appeared. Unfortunately, I was very unhappy with the way the procedure went, and would like your advice for the future. I insisted that Lazy receive gas before the injection. The vet explained that this is not always as humane as it seems because some rats panic with gas,. however, it seemed better to me. unfortunately, Lazy began to regain consciousness just before the injection was administered to the lower abdomen and showed considerable pain before becoming apparently unconscious - it has taken me a week to be able to talk about it. I have two questions to which I would like a frank answer; when a rat gets the injection, he appears to become unconscious immediately.. or is he actually just paralyzed and still feeling pain until his heart stops? Also, when the time comes to put a rat to sleep, how do you suggest it should be done? May I take this opportunity to suggest that anyone else Reading this question not be afraid to take full control of the situation when a vet is tasked with putting your pet to sleep - you may not be a vet, but you are the customer, and you have been the one nursing your sick animal day and night for however long in the time leading up to the event. Surely we have the right to stipulate how the procedure should be carried out? I wish I had thought quickly enough to stop the vet administering Lazy's injection when he started to recover from the gas. I am surprised the vet didn't stop to administer more. What do you think the RCVS policy is?

Answer
I am so sorry that you had to put her to sleep, but it was for the best. I was sure it was indeed a pituitary tumor as stated before.

I will be honest with you here....the vet should not have injected your rat that way. They are to put it in the vein, which is impossible to do on such a small rat. I just wrote to someone the proper way to euthanize a rat on here and I will copy and paste what I said to them as well:

   
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Subject:    euthanasia
Question:    Please advise the best way to euthanize a rat.

Answer:    


Unfortunately there are very few methods for euthanasia that are deemed appropriate for rats or mice. Due to their small size, the regular vein injection used on dogs and cats does not work with our rats. The injection has to be inserted into the heart or the belly, which is a very painful process that can easily go awry and lead to a pierced lung or repeated attempts if missed, thus in turn making your rats last moments a horrific experience!!

Under no circumstances allow the veterinarian to give an intracardiac (which is in the heart) injection - which is illegal in California and declared inhumane by the American Veterinary Medical Association Panel on Euthanasia UNLESS the vet knows to have the rat fully  anesthetized just as if they were going to have surgery. Once the rat is totally out and cannot feel ANY stimuli at all, again, just like they were going to be operated on, the vet will inject the medication that will stop the heart, but again, the rat will be totally asleep for this.


Many vets will not allow you to stay with your pet which I do not like or feel good about at all. That just makes me wonder what really happened and did the vet really care enough to put the rat under anesthesia first....and did it happen humanely?
REMEMBER: a veterinarian who does not want you around has something to hide.

I know this subject is very sad but it is critical people understand the importance to know the proper way to do this and I am glad you asked.
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The way they should do it is KEEP THE MASK ON THE RAT BEFORE IT WAKES UP so he doesnt get any oxygen to his lungs in order to wake him.

I am sorry this occured and to be honest, I would not feel real confident with this vet any longer. Your vet was acting callous and lacked compassion.  Yes he should have STOPPED and gave the rat more gas.  He obviously did not give the rat enough gas anyhow because most of the time, they give them so much gas it pretty much stops their heart anyhow!

As for the other question you asked, if the rat was paraylzed or unconscious, I would prefer to think the latter and in fact I think I am correct. Regardless, euthanasia should be a calm and quiet experience. Sometimes they may freak for a second getting the gas but you can also be there too and you can pet him and reassure him its ok. They are usually out in seconds anyhow. Whats worse, a few seconds of panic OR pain?   I know you already of course will say panic like I would...this just has me really upset thinking the vet did it so poorly.

Is the vet an exotic specialist or a general vet that sees exotics on the side?
You can make the next follow up private where only you and I can read it. Let me know the vets name and clinic name and I can check the credentials because I have my doubts. So many rat owners are fooled into thinking their vet is an exotic vet  because it says on their website or advertisement that they see exotics and have vets on staff that have experience with exotics. This may mean the vet has done a bit of extra work with exotics and maybe shadowed at an exotic clinic like what I did a while back, but this still doesnt mean they are exotic vets that   are certified by the state, either.

I am really sorry this happened.