my rat is not well

Question
QUESTION: i hope you can help me with my problem, I have a rat that is 1 1/2 years old and she has become ill over the past few weeks she started with a red discharge from her nose which transferred onto her paws at that point i took her to the vets which they gave me baytril to give her twice a day then she started to lose weight and i also noticed that she couldn't eat her food as she could not hold it in her paws then took her back to the vets and they thought that there could be something wrong with her teeth as they noticed that her teeth were able to separate which is not normal for a rat and they think that her teeth could be broke below the gum or her jaw could be broking so they gave me metacam to give her  and i was also told to feed her through a syringe as she had lost too much weight to put her under to check her over but since bringing her home and feeding her every two hours she has put the weight back on but i feel that there is something else wrong with her as she still cant hold her food and she seems to just go round in circles when she is on the floor and she seems like she is lost and i don't like seeing her like that and it seems to me that the vets don't really know what is wrong with her and i don't want to put her through any more pain and suffering as she doesn't seem a happy rat at all i hope you can give me any imformation on what you think could be causing this to my darling baby ruby


         thankyou very much
         kerry mcmorran

ANSWER: Hi Kerry

I am very sorry about your rat and that she is not feeling so well. :-(

I do want to address this about the rats teeth first off. The vet is incorrect to assume that the rats teeth do not separate because in fact, they do. There is a space right between the rats bottom incisors. The upper incisors and lower ones work together, one to hold the food, the other to cut it up. The upper incisors are shorter and yellower than the lower ones and actually the more yellow or often an orange color, the better, which means the rat is healthy. White teeth in rats spells trouble, which means that the rat is ill. Their teeth also work side to side and up and down. I am a bit surprised the vet was not aware of this...but as this post goes on, I can see this vet is not really up to par with rat illnesses or he would have been able to see something wrong...the same thing I see and I am not even there with her in person.
Now on with the more serious issue: Her behavior:
Often, walking in circles can mean the rat has an inner ear infection which is often caused by mycoplasmosis bacteria. However, you said the vet gave her baytril and she still did not recover and in fact, got worse.
This leads me to believe that something else is very wrong with your rat.
Unfortunately, I don't have good news to share with you but I have to be very honest. Keep in mind, I am NOT a vet, but this is from my experience that I share with you what I believe to be wrong with your little female rat.

Usually around menopause, which is around 18 months old, estrogen levels go haywire and cause problems with the intact female rat (unspayed) It is very common for female rats to develop mammary tumors and these are often able to be easily removed.  They also develop pituitary tumors which are found at the base of the brain and unfortunately they cannot be operated on. They are also fatal.  The first sign of a pituitary tumor is the loss of the use of the front paws, and she is showing classic signs of spinning and circling when she walks. This is due to loss of balance. The red discharge from her eyes is called Porphyrin and it is made by a gland called the harderian gland found behind the rats eyes. When the rat is sick or stressed they produce excessive porphyrin and when they groom, it gets on their paws and they spread it all over their fur as well. It gets on their eyes and nose too. She is probably having excessive porph because she is stressed from not feeling well.
I am surprised your vet didn't pick up on this when he realized she cant use her front paws. Does he know she is spinning ??  
Is he an exotic specialist?

Here is what you can do based on my opinion of what I feel is wrong with her. For starters, she needs to be seen by an exotic vet if she isn't already. Please print this out and share this with the vet as well.  She can be fed by a syringe with your help, giving her soft foods such as baby food, allowing her to lick it from your finger. Also, she can be given injections of a hormone called LUPRON. This is given once a month and is known to help shrink pituitary tumors in female rats. I cannot guarantee this will work with her but it has helped other females live longer with the pituitary tumor.  Steroids may also help with inflammation in her brain but she needs antibiotics also to go along with the steroids since they can weaken the immune system and can cause a secondary infection.
I am sorry to give you such grim news.
You can keep me posted about what the vet says. Also, here is a link to a very good site that talks about Pituitary tumors and their treatments.

Please refer to this site:

http://ratguide.com/health/neoplasia/pituitary_tumor.php
One of the first signs this site will tell you of the PT is the gradual weakness of the front paws and how they cannot feed themselves because they cannot hold food. It also talks about walking in circles and spinning like she is doing.
They say about the same thing I am telling you but do not discuss the use of LUPRON since it is not widely used yet in rats. Many vets are unaware of its success but I have been working with rats and new treatments for several years now and have discovered with my vet that this hormone that helps decrease the production of estrogen, which is the culprit in mammary and pituitary tumors to the point the rat can go into full remission.  

Please do a follow up and let me know how she is doing. Again, I am sorry for the bad news.

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

QUESTION: re lupron my vet has told me the price of this medicine is three thousand pounds per 1ml and i cant get any information on net where to buy from us could you help me with info of where it can be bought

ANSWER: Oh my!!  Thats a hefty price!! Where is your location?



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

QUESTION: Hi there, sorry i have not been in touch before now. Iam in lanarkshire,Scotland.I also have bad news i had ruby at the vets yestardy as she went down hill rapidly since sunday night and i felt it was best to have her put down as she could fight no longer than the last 3/4 weeks that she has been fighting with very little treatment.I feel i have done the best thing for her and that she is not in any more pain and at peace.I also spoke to my vet again regarding the LUPRON and she said that they would not order it as it is not something they wouldn't use and the exotic vet doesn't even beleive in the drug and wouldn't even entertain it but i feel that the experience that i have went through with my darling baby ruby i feel that as i have three other rats i would still like to research for this drug and see if its possible to be used in scotland,could you give me any advice or informatoin on this and a estamate price that i would pay for this as i would pay anything to treat my baby's unfortunly i have had to go through haertache as my own vets won't use this drug but i hope to find a vet that will be willing to try. thankyou again for taking the time to help me and for all the imformation that you have given me,I'll be sure to keep researching this drug.
         Thankyou
         kerry mcmorran

Answer
Dear Kerry

I am so sorry to hear  about Ruby, but unfortunately, I knew from the first time I read your post to me that she was not going to make it. Pituitary tumors are fast progressing and deadly. I am also sorry your Vet there is not up to date on treating rats. I am not sure why the vet doesn't "believe" in the drug. Its a real drug, not some gimmick purchased at a local store. Its a hormone made to inhibit the growth of of hormone dependent tumors such as mammary tumors and pituitary tumors. In fact, the first studies it was ever done on was done on female rats which is how they discovered it would even work on them in the first place. It is used on human females with endometriosis and males with cancer of the prostate.   I don't understand how the vet said he doesn't believe in it. I guess education is key and when someone is not educated about something unfamiliar they perhaps just dismiss it unless they themselves know about it. Thats a shame because it is a drug that, when used properly, can save our rats lives.

I wish that I could help you find a vet but I didn't even realize you were not in the United states. I am sure things here are done differently there.

Here are just a few links to lead you to read about its use and again, I am so sorry about your little girl.


http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/lupron-d75_cp.htm

http://www.drugs.com/lupron.html
________________________________

You can also contact me at my private email:
Sandyscrittercity@yahoo.com

Hugs and much luck to you

Sandra Todd