Pet rat dying

Question
Hi Sandra,
I have been researching online for a couple hours now, but wanted your opinion as well. Last night I noticed my rat moving around, barely walking as if she wa drunk or really dissy. She was eating, and drinking (a lot more than usual). This morning she ate a little bit, but hasn't drank, and for the last about 3 hours now, hasn't eaten anything, or moved much. She is now just laying in her house, with her head sticking out and moving a little, shes cleaning herself now. It seems to me like she is dying, she is just over 2 years old. I want her to pass peacefully, and am weary about going to a vet, because I know the car ride and such would be distrubing for her. But I also don't want to see her suffer, and just wish she would go to sleep and not wake up. From what I've read, this doesn't always happen and she could go on like this for weeks even. I've also read about an inner ear infection that can cause them to kinda wobble around. My question is this, is it more humane to let her go naturally, in her house she loves so much, or should I just get it over with and take her to a vet. I want to make it as painless as possible, I love her so much, and hate to see her like this. Please offer any advice you may have. Thank you.
Ruthie

Answer

Hi Ruthie

Wow this hits so close to home right now it isnt funny. I have an older rat that is just over 2 years old and he has had many ailments. He is slowly dying from heart disease and he just likes to stay in his ferret ball, eat in there, even go to the bathroom in there which is unlike him since he has always used a litter pan. He still eats and grooms himself but he wont come out of his ball unless he has a panic attack he has been having lately. Every time I see him run around in a panic and jump back in his ball again, I say THATS IT! We are going to the ER and have him put down! I dread the ride and feel that soon as I pry him from his ball he is going to have this massive heart attack and die....and like you, I just wish he would go to sleep and keep sleeping peacefully. Two weeks ago I found my 3.5 year old rat in a heap in the corner of the cage, barely conscious, barely had a pulse at all. He did look at peace though, but I knew this could go on for hours so i took him to the ER and had him euthanized because there was no way to know what he was feeling and if he was suffering, I wanted to end it. He had a stroke, which why he was like that. We concluded he was paralyzed and probably would be brain damaged had he survived.  As for my Smudge, the rat that lives in his ferret ball, like you, I just dread taking him in and wish he would go on his own and so far, this has gone on for two weeks. What I am waiting for with him is the next sign....a sign to tell me he is suffering, because a suffering animal doesnt eat or want to groom themselves etc...

As for your girl though, her condition is acute if I understood correctly. It could very well be an inner ear infection and this could be resolved with medication and she could recover and live another year or more!  I would not consider euthanasia for her until you have tried treating her. The symptoms she has are more leaning toward inflammation on the vestibulocochlear nerve (the 8th cranial nerve)from infection in the inner ear. Antibiotics alone will cure it but her symptoms will linger since inflammation takes longer to go away in this case than infection does. A huge mistake vets make in situations like this is they fail to prescribe medication for inflammation and just prescribe antibiotics. When the rat does not show signs of improvement within a week, often the vet will talk the rat owner into putting the rat to sleep suggesting it may be a pituitary adenoma since signs of this also are closely linked to that of inner ear infection with a few exceptions. One thing that you may witness with a pituitary adenoma is that the rat may lose the use of her front paws and may not be able to hold food. they also lose the ability to chew as well, which can lead to starvation and this is when euthanasia is the kindest action.  If the vet doesnt give steroids the rat doesnt get better right away and he thinks brain tumor and the rat may die when there was a big chance she could recover.  That said, I would suggest a vet that knows about rats such as an exotic specialist rather than a regular vet that sees exotics, unless your vet is very experienced with rats.  My suggestion is to seek medical treatment for her by putting her on antibiotics and steroids for at least 14 days. If during this time she continues to get worse, cannot use her front paws, cannot chew and swallow and loses the ability to walk etc...that is when you know something more than an ear infection is going on.

Do you have a good vet?