old age

Question
QUESTION: Hi Sandra.
Rufus is definitely in the 'old age' stage of his life now.
everytime he starts to move it scares me, i guess im a little bit of an over protective mother, considering that all of my rats started moving around 'weirdly?' once they hit old age. [if that's a good way to put it.]
anyways, i was wondering if rats start suffering once the are as old as my little rufus.
hes very lethargic, not eating much and not drinking much either so hes very skinny. his breathings turning on him to, its getting very hard for him.
oh and hes been very cold lately too (mostly his toes).
im no liking how emaciated he looks, it makes me feel horrible.
im hoping he goes in his sleep soon, as hard as it is to even say that, but i really dont want him to suffer.
do you think that he is suffering right now? if he is i will probably get him euthanized.:(

ANSWER: It sounds like he has heart disease.  How old is he?

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QUESTION: he is between 4 and 5 years old. probably closer to 5.

would you be able to send me some information on heart disease in rats?

ANSWER: CHeck my website....I wrote a huge article-devoted an entire page on my site to both heart disease and kidney disease. I have based it on my own experiences with my rats plus following proper procedure from clinic rats too and all of my information is documented and backed by a qualified Vet so just in case you had any doubts about what I write, just to let you know:D

Anyhow here is the URL and I think you may find alot of info on heart disease and rats since it is common. Keep in mind it is treatable as long as you have a vet that is willing to provide proper medication and not just say nothing can be done.

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

Let me know if you find this info ok or need more and I can find you another source that is accurate.

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QUESTION: thank you soo much for that information. i will bring it in to my vet and get her to check rufus out.

what kind of medicine should i recommend?

Answer
I would start the enalapril for sure. It is a very safe diagnostic type medication. In other words, if there ends up being no heart disease and the enalapril is already started, it wont hurt the rat at all, it just wont do anything.  It may take a week to 10 days to show results that are positive such as helping the rat have more energy etc... If your rat has  an enlarged heart, Dilated Cardiomyopathy  or Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, this needs to be determined first and the treatment would consist of Atenolol, enalapril, lasix if there is fluid esp during congestive heart failure.  What do you see going on that makes you think Rufus has heart disease.