I had two rats, brothers named Smallpox and Pertussis, adopted from an accidental litter back in December 2013.
Sometime late April, Pertussis' incisors started growing unevenly, due chewing using only the left side of his mouth. I trimmed the long tooth to keep him from hurting himself, and made a note to take him in to see a vet, not sure if it was due to something very serious or not. I went out of town for 4 days to go on a family vacation we had previously planned, leaving the rats at home with someone coming over to feed and play with them each day. When I came back, Pertussis was very skinny, had cloudy eyes, and heavy porphyrin stains on his wrists. He had a weak gait with issues lifting his legs, but no circling or head tilting or itching, and in the end refused to eat or even to take any Ensure or yogurt. I regrettably put off taking him to the vet for a few more days until I could get my paycheck, but he continued downhill very quickly, eating less and less, until on May 7th he died after having what I think was a violent seizure. I didn't get an autopsy, thinking it wouldn't be that important, but based off of the symptoms I guessed he may have had a stroke or brain tumor of some sorts.
Today, I have noticed that his brother, Smallpox, has uneven teeth, however they're reversed and it's his left tooth that's overgrown. He's still taking food, and I'm not noticing a strange gait or head tilting. No visible issues with his eyes, and he doesn't seem to be reacting to any tenderness or pain in his face or jaw when I massage them. But after seeing how quickly Pertussis went downhill, I'm concerned that the same thing is now happening to Pox. I can't find any information on contagious health issues that would cause symptoms like what Pertussis had. They are brothers so it could be genetic, but it seems strange to me that symptoms would show up in one only a little over a week after the other died unless it was set off by stress. I can't get to the vet right now, so does anyone here have any idea what this could be?
Sorry this post is so long, I'm trying to cover any questions I've already asked myself.
Sometime late April, Pertussis' incisors started growing unevenly, due chewing using only the left side of his mouth. I trimmed the long tooth to keep him from hurting himself, and made a note to take him in to see a vet, not sure if it was due to something very serious or not. I went out of town for 4 days to go on a family vacation we had previously planned, leaving the rats at home with someone coming over to feed and play with them each day. When I came back, Pertussis was very skinny, had cloudy eyes, and heavy porphyrin stains on his wrists. He had a weak gait with issues lifting his legs, but no circling or head tilting or itching, and in the end refused to eat or even to take any Ensure or yogurt. I regrettably put off taking him to the vet for a few more days until I could get my paycheck, but he continued downhill very quickly, eating less and less, until on May 7th he died after having what I think was a violent seizure. I didn't get an autopsy, thinking it wouldn't be that important, but based off of the symptoms I guessed he may have had a stroke or brain tumor of some sorts.
Today, I have noticed that his brother, Smallpox, has uneven teeth, however they're reversed and it's his left tooth that's overgrown. He's still taking food, and I'm not noticing a strange gait or head tilting. No visible issues with his eyes, and he doesn't seem to be reacting to any tenderness or pain in his face or jaw when I massage them. But after seeing how quickly Pertussis went downhill, I'm concerned that the same thing is now happening to Pox. I can't find any information on contagious health issues that would cause symptoms like what Pertussis had. They are brothers so it could be genetic, but it seems strange to me that symptoms would show up in one only a little over a week after the other died unless it was set off by stress. I can't get to the vet right now, so does anyone here have any idea what this could be?
Sorry this post is so long, I'm trying to cover any questions I've already asked myself.