My pet rat is sick

Question
Hi Janell,
as of now i have a white rat named Lucy who is a little over a year and a half years old. She has another rat companion (which i have always considered her sister-gray and white, hodded- named ethel) Lucy, the white rat has all of a sudden began to act sick and strange and i fear the worst. About a week ago she was acting strange kind of wobbly, and had difficulty holding her food in her hands. i had to help her sort of eat (she was still perky and active), and she ate and drank water and rested and the next day she seemed much better. This happened a few days later, the same routine, and then fine again. However last night she wouldnt move whhatsoever, and her arms and legs became somewhat..stiff. not stiff, just she owuld not use them and she flopped around. she seems sensitive when i touch her underbelly, kind of flinches when i do so. she has now sort of curled into a fetal positionher arms tucked under and her legs kicked out in an uncomfortable fasion. she cant move now and i have to hold her. she can not eat she will munch a little on broccolli but it seems like she is not really swallowing, oonly chewing. she will barely drink water from my fingers. I am so worried and i dont want her to be in pain. i have cried numerous occasions over her, thinking that in the morning she will have passed on. i am wondering if she has some sor tof brain tumor, because she has no balance and seems as if she is going through post stroke action. or if ehr spine is ok..? im sorry i really do not know much, im 19 years old and i love her so much. im wondering if i should have her put down. or if there is somehing i can do do better make her comfortbale through the last stages of her life, if whatever she has is terminal. I read about pituitary tumors, and wondered if that was the case. her sister ethel i beleive has a mammory tumor in the groin region, which is developing very quickly. she still acts completely normal and i can tell is nto in any pain . but i am so worried that it is going to keep growing.. i dont know what to do. i dont want to take them to the vet because i dont want them to be insensitive and justy automatically want to put them to sleep. i want to know if there is anythign i can do until that day comes to make them comfortable. or i want to know if i should just have them put down. seeing that u know bout rats, i trust your judgement even more then i would a vets. thank u for your time

sincerely brooke

Answer
Well Brooke, I'm happy to see you love little Lucy so much.. and unfortunately I can't give you the happiest of outlooks for your little girl, as you're probably right, whatever she has is probably terminal. Unless you have gobs and gobs of money to take to a vet and have her totally diagnosed, you may want to just steel yourself for the worst and hope for the best. I just had a rat stroke (two days ago) on me and it was much this same thing - I can't guarantee that's what it is, but I'd say it's very likely. I'm no vet though so I can't give you any sort of definitive answer.

In the meantime, encourage her to eat (soft foods like dog food, baby food, yogurt, sugar-free puddings, ensure) and drink. If you continue to really work at it, you can probably inch another month or more out of her. You need to gauge what her quality of life is, however. Do you want her to live like this, knowing she will most likely never recover?

As for Ethel, mammary tumors can be successfully removed and the rat can live for months (if not years!) beyond the surgery, and I encourage you to find a vet experienced in rats that can help you with that. No reason to lose both of them!

Good luck hon, and I hope whatever happens, that you find peace with it.