Trying to understand why pet rat died

Question
QUESTION: Sandra,
I lost my pet rat Snickers last night while I slept.  He was a Russian Blue, and had just turned 2.  He was well when I saw him last, at midnight, and dead in his cage this morning.  The cage had white hand towels in it, no wood chips.  He slept in the bedroom with me, and with his companion - who is fine.  
There may be three possible factors to this.  Snickers had some health issues in the last month, although all seemed very much on the mend.  

1. Snickers had been on anti-biotic for repertory illness (Chloromycetin oral, which he loved) for a couple weeks - but he seemed fine - hadn't sneezed or moaned in over a week, and the condition, when it was active, was both brief and not very severe.  
2. A month ago something changed in him - his hind legs got a little weak, his balance got bad, and he lost his hearing - and then he fell and seemed sore as a result.  I thought it might have been a minor stroke that lead to all of this.  My Vet gave him oral steroids and pain medicine for two weeks and he seemed nearly all better (not as good as new, but close).  
3. Finally, he ad a front top tooth that was growing at an angle, which we had to have clipped once a month.  That seemed to cause problems a couple weeks back.  The Vet was out for a week and Snickers stopped eating hard food and lost 20% of his body weight in a few days.  I fed him soft food - mashed banana, a little avocado, organic baby food, and Kaytell Exact Hand Feeding Formula for birds, mixed with water (which my Vet recommended).  This put the weight back on him in a week and he loved all the food and the added attention.  

Last night he was active, alert, affectionate, and eating his soft food fine.  But I did notice a smell from him, which seemed to indicate he hadn't been cleaning himself well on the tummy.  I dipped him in luke warm water and dried him off.  He didn't mind it.  Then we went to bed and I woke to find him dead.  

Could it have been any of the food (the Exact formula)? - or do you think he could have gotten a urinary infection? - or was there something else going on, something that all these varied symptoms may add up to.  Did I do anything wrong?  I know it is just guess work, but I am lost as to what happened or how to be a better rat owner in the future.  If I could have done better, I need to know.  Any thoughts would be much appreciated.  Marc.

ANSWER:
Hi Marc


I am very sorry for your loss. It really hurts when we lose our rats but it seems it is even worse when they surprise us and pass away for no real reason.
Understand that what I am about to tell you is simply an educated guess as per my experience with working with rats and closely with some of the most respected exotic vets in the country.

I believe your rat died from heart failure due to heart disease. He had several signs of heart disease, one being an enlarged heart, also called cardiomyopathy.  
He showed several signs, from the time you said that he lost his balance and fell to hind leg weakness.

Sometimes a rat will have cardiac arrhythmias,(This is when the heart beats very rapidly)which can cause the rat to become very dizzy and lose his balance. THis may explain him falling and losing his balance.

The hind leg weakness can be from caused by Thromboembolism, which is a formation in a blood vessel of a clot that could cut of circulation and cause weakness. Sometimes there is swelling in the limbs as well. If these clots break loose and travel, it can be fatal if it causes a blockage.  This could cause sudden death as well as heart failure from the condition itself.

This disease can also mimic respiratory illness too so it can be a bit confusing to a vet that is not real experienced with pet rats to properly diagnose.

It was nothing you did wrong so do not blame yourself. The chances this was genetic are very high.

Again, keep in mind I did not examine him and I am only basing my best guesstimate on the symptoms you described.

My heart is with you and your ratties!

Sandra


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

QUESTION: Thank you Sandra.  This makes sense to me and seems very reasonable.  Would an enlarged heart also explain his inability to chew and eat hard food the last couple weeks of his life?  I originally thought this was because of the upper front tooth - but even after having it clipped he would only eat soft foods and would often rest his face in the plate, resulting in me having to wipe his chin for him.  It confused me, because he seemed to have regained most of his strength in all other regards and was very active and energetic his last week.  But the change in the way he ate remained.  Again, thank you for responding and helping to give me some clues as to why I lost my wonderful pet.  Marc.

Answer
The problems with malocclusion that he had with his teeth (when the tooth grows in sideways causing misalignment) had nothing to do with his heart. He may have had a sore in the roof of his mouth that went undetected. However, when rats suffer from heart disease, they often lose their appetite in general. One reason why is exhaustion. It takes energy to eat for a rat, from propping up and holding the food, chewing etc...is actually tiresome for a rat that tires easily from heart disease. However, he readily took the baby food because all he had to do there was swallow. The rest was done for him. He didnt have to hold it or prop himself up and hold himself up, he didnt have to chew, either. I usually suggest to people that have a rat with respiratory distress also to feed babyfood because if they are suffering from lack of oxygen, they will be too weak to want to be bothered with chewing etc..

Hope this makes sense.

respectfully,

Sandra