pituitary tumor in male?

Question
My adult male rat (around 23 months) started showing signs of front paw
weakness about two weeks ago. Clubbing and "neglect" or dragging of the
paw. Still uses the paw for eating however.  Good appetite, but more
lethargic. No head tilt. Over the holiday, after some research, I decided to
treat with liquid infant ibuprofen, which helped considerably for about a
week. However, the problem persists. It also appears that his breathing is
labored and he often hangs his head over a ledge - much like your
description of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

My vet and I agreed a few months ago not to treat him for myco prematurely,
that we'd save antibiotics for when they were "really" needed. Oddly, all his
minor respiratory symptoms completely stopped just when the limb
weakness began.  

I'm going to try to see my vet this Saturday, but I'd like to have as much
information as possible, especially since I may not be able to see him for
another week.  Is there any chance that this forelimb weakness is something
besides a pituitary tumor?  What else might result in numbness or mild
paralysis?  Arthritis maybe?  I don't see any signs of swelling or any other
useful external clues.

For what it's worth, I've always had him on a fairly low calorie and very
healthy diet.  (He eats better than I do.)  However, I recently introduced some
additional olive oil and omega-3 sources into his diet because I realized I
might have cut back too much on the beneficial fats.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, and if you need additional
information, just let me know!

Answer
Hi

I am sorry your senior boy isnt feeling very well.

As for pituitary tumors in males, yes they can occur only not half as common in males as they are in females. They also tend to not be classic textbook and can be easily misdiagnosed.  I remember a few years ago one of my males, Casper, begin to act really odd. He wanted out of the cage whenever he saw me or heard my voice. Once out, he would run and run aimlessly, not really going anywhere and not really being content with his progress of where he was running to. It was odd. He didnt seem to have any issues as long as he didnt see me or hear me. So, off to the vet we went. My vet, who is my current vet and has a clinic devoted to avian/exotics is a gem and is very patient with me and my off the wall diagnostics but he is also used to me and knows when I may have "something" there.  We put a blanket over his cage (I brought him in his own cage) and kept him in a back room. At first he was fine for the first few days but once he befriended the staff that cared for him daily, he did to them what he did to me.
We put him on steroids and valium and antibiotics (as a back up since steroids weaken the immune system)  
All was well for a few months but his behavior became more anxious and bizarre and so we had to let him go. Sure enough, I was right.....I said it all along that he had a pituitary tumor that was no classic text book and necropsy proved me to be correct.  Being hyperactive and anxious is a symptom but not a common one and that is the only sign he had.
However, that doesnt mean your boy has one, but it is possible even with the mildest of symptoms that he could.  He may have also had a stroke that caused weakness in his forelimbs.  Classic PT not only shows total lack of the grasp reflex, but they also have head tilt, circling and spinning, begin to lose their ability to chew and swallow, become anxious and hyper. It can be all of those things or just one thing or one thing in mild form. Time will tell.

I would get him on steroids if you noticed he had some improvement on an NSAID. Prednisone would help if there were pressure on the cranial nerves that the tumor may be pressing on. Almost like an inner ear infection, the 8th cranial nerve may be involved but you did say he wasnt unsteady, which is good.

At this point it may be too early to say what is going on, but he sounds like he has  respiratory issues. Even hanging their head over the ledge can signify respiratory distress, and you did say he had respiratory issues early on.  THere may even be a chance his lungs are scarred and this could be compromising his breathing too. Its just hard for me to say without throwing all of these possibilities out there.  If it would be his heart, he can be treated with medications too so that is at least some comfort to know that this isnt all bad news.

Hopefully I didnt confuse you more by throwing so many other things at you!!   Does your vet have alot of experience with rats and is he able to provide the proper medications and even diagnostic testing on your rat if need be?