[Maiden]

Herlad is a a bit older, I'll get a correct age tomorrow, but he has a new chronic condition that I am managing the best I can.

It started a few months ago, he became lethargic and I noticed he didn't yawn anymore. He slowly lost mobility in his hands and up unto his legs until he could barely move. I took him to the vet who said he wasn't going to make it, the vet gave him 2 weeks tops and was ready to have him pts that day. I wasn't ready. The vet gave him a cortisone injection and sent me home. I started separately feeding him baby food and giving him cap fulls of water every two hours.

He got better, but two weeks later he started to decline again. The vet gave me some prednisolone and sulfatrim to give him at home. He got so much better that the vet said I could stop dosing him at home. Something happened and it came back. Each time it is the same. Fist he gets lethargic and stops yawning (like he never fully wakes up), then he starts to lose mobility until he can barely move at all. The cortisone injection will bring him back and TLC (tender love and care) gets his weight back up and he is a healthy little rat again.

The vet thinks it's a brain tumor, or an inflamed spinal disc, he says he cannot be sure without getting him a CT scan.

I know that this condition is going to keep flaring up. I am doing all I can think of, which now includes leaving some baby food in the cage for my pair to eat while I am at work.

Can anyone think of anything else I should be doing, or have any advice on the diet I should have them on? Anything at all would be hugely appreciated.

 

[Isamurat]

This sounds like a Pituatry Tumour, it isnt a good outcome, it cant get better and brain surgery on rats isnt practical. To keep the symptoms under control you need to keep him on pred perminantly until the symptoms get bad enough he has poor quality of life. Once that happens then the kindest thing to do is put to sleep. PT's are not pleasent, they slowly loose themselves and can have fits and other distressing moments.

I honestly tend to put to sleep sooner than most having been through several, i remember one time i chose to have my lad put to sleep when i figured out he had a PT (he was an old guy and his quality of life was fairly borderline as it was), the vet explained all those times i caught him starting fixedly into the air were actually mini fits. That evening a friend who had opted to treat with pred long term a boy a very similar age and in a similar condiiton had her lad start fitting properly (violent convulsions) and nothing would stop it. She took him to be put to sleep then and it really brought home that you take a real risk for the rat when you keep fighting with a PT. I've never regretted putting to sleep too early, i've regularly regretted putting to sleep too late.

 

[cagedbirdsinging]

I've never regretted putting to sleep too early, i've regularly regretted putting to sleep too late.

This. As hard as it is to say, it doesn't sound like he has a good quality of life. It might be time to think about hard decisions.