should i have my rat put to sleep

Question
QUESTION: Hi. I have two rats, i've had both bout a year and a half now. (sorry if i make this long winded) one of my rats was always twice the size of the other, eating first he was very pretty with a glossy coat, bit of an aggressive little man too so when they both had the red mucas around their noses i thought it was blood and that mubbling noise i also thought was normal. anyway, around december this year his weight just dropped off him, went of food and his mubbling starting to sound more like the sound of wood being sawed up or bed creaking, on a slightly entertaining note he kept swaying his head from side to side like he had an ear infection, the other rat starting sneezing and his coat looked ruffled. i took them both to the vet who said he didn't know a lot about rats but gave them both antibiotics, he suspected i'd left the it a bit late for the very ill one.the other rat was fine after the antibiotics and the one im worried about perked up and starting eating, his wobbling stopped and it all looked good. now however, he weighs nothing,he keeps urinating on the platform in their cage and i have to bath him weekly cause he literally is just sitting in it, he's just a bad of bones and his mubbling never really stopped. breathing looks like hard work and though he is eating and drinking it looks a struggle. the vet told me if it happened again we'd have to "make the dicision" and i just don't know if theres a way of making him better or fatening him up or anything. he's keeping the other company too.(i think i've perhaps answered my question here haven't i with the sitting in urine part)
cheers

ANSWER: Hi Laura

I am sorry your little man is sick but I dont see that he is miserable. A rat in misery stops eating and drinking  and simply, caring.  Does he still like to be out of his cage with you etc..?

As for the head swaying: this is normal.It is called motion parallax(hence the motion of moving the head side to side) When they move their head fast from side to side (does he have red or pink eyes, by chance?) this is done because rats have poor vision and lousy depth perception. Moving their head side to side, the object the rat is trying to focus in on appear to be changing position. An object that is closer to the rat will appear to move more than the objects in the distance. This helps the rat to be able to judge distance between objects.
In other words, your rat is simply trying to see how close he is to an object, especially before he jumps...this way he will not miss the jump (usually!)
You may have confused head swaying with "head tilt" that is associated with inner ear infection. Often with head tilt you may notice your rat is off balance, somtimes falling over to the side, perhaps walking in circles or even rolling actual somersaults when they are trying to get around. This is typical of inner ear infection because of the inflammation that is pressing on the 8th cranial nerve that controls
equilibrium. When they have this infection, antibiotics are needed for infection but the vet must also give the rat something for the inflammation in order to have the rat gain back his balance thus the head tilt goes away, or eases up. It sometimes can take weeks to go away and also may never go away 100 percent due to possible nerve damage but its ok...this always add character to the rat, I say.

Anyhow, I think your rat has chronic respiratory problems stemming from mycoplasmosis attacks not being treated for the proper duration which is 21 to 30 full days.

Its not because you waited to long to take action according to what you said:
<I>"he suspected i'd left the it a bit late for the very ill one."<I>

but instead, its more probably the fact he had a little more serious infection going on.
What type of medication were they given and for how long did they take it?

The red mucus you see? Its called porphyrin and it is produced by a gland located behind    the  rats eyes called the harderian gland. The porphyrin resembles blood, as you know, but its just mucus that is normally created to lubricate the rats third eyelid. When rats are stressed from illness or other reasons, they produce excessive amounts and it collects around the eyes and nose.  Some rats have traces of it  around their nose after sleeping which is normal, but large amounts of it is linked to serious stress.

Anyhow, I think your rat is going to the bathroom and standing in it because he is a bit weak yet, and too weak to move to the right area to urinate. With the right medications he will probably recover and get stronger again.  
Its important that he eat a diet a bit higher than normal in protein althoug his diet should be low protein  and fat (not alot of seeds and nuts etc...) and should consist of a good quality rodent pellet, vegetables, some fruits and chicken or beef liver a few times a week for extra animal protein.          
I would not consider putting the rat to sleep unless he has had the proper treatment by a vet that knows alot about rats. Exhausting all options first  before ending his already short life.  The good news is that he still eats and drinks. His weight loss is indicative of the fact he is chronically ill but again, if a vet that admits he doesnt know much about rats has been treating him, this is why he continues to decline health wise.  He should be taking two types of strong antibiotics, and should also be on steroids for the wheezing .  He should have several breathing treatments at the vets and kept over night while he is given injections of a strong antibiotic to wipe this thing out once and for all.  The Vet can feed him a special high calorie "critical care" diet that is loaded with vitamins and other good things to help regain his strength.  He may also need blood work run and should have his heart listened to very carefully for any murmurs etc... because heart disease can cause weight loss too. Dont let the thought of heart disease scare you...there are medications he can take for that too that will bring back his quality of life.
He isnt very old . Rats should live to be at least 2.5 years old and older with good health. I think your doing all you can do with what little resources this vet has but I would take him to someone that knows about rats rather than continue spending money with someone that is guessing through his treatment and even talking about ending his life when he hasnt even treated him properly with the medications needed etc...
If you tell me your zip code and city etc...I can find a vet that can help turn things around for your little rat and you can hopefully continue loving him for several more years.



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

QUESTION: thank you. my rat does like to come out and play yes and it definately seems worth investing a bit in his health. i live in the UK DE1 3AZ so not sure if that means you won't know of any good vets. if not i'l take this information to my vet. he's very interested in learning new treatments and such.

Answer
Hey, here is a name for you. He is a certified exotic vet. I did a search and they area about 50 minutes or less from your place to theirs.



Dr. Mark Taylor
Feldon Veterinary Centre LTD    
94-96 King Street
Bedworth Warwickshire Cv12 8JF
Phone:    024 76312193

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