Pituitary tumor

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oasisandbambi

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 6, 2018
Messages
48
Location
Portugal
Hello, I adopted this very silly boy a couple months ago. When I adopted him I was told he was either one and a half or two. I am leaning more and more to the second option, and think is is close to being three now. A couple months ago he started developing HLD and naturally became a bit more clumby than he already was. Hes always been weirldy funny and a bit clumby but a about a week ago I started noticing him losing a bit more balance but nothing that seemed too alarming. Today I noticed he can't hold his food right and he is struggling to clean himself. His little front paws cross when he cleans his face :( I highly suspect a Pituitary Tumor. My country decalared Emergency Lockdown/ quarantine for indetermined time yesterday and I won't be able to take him to my regular vet that is a two hours away. Its the only vet that sees exotics in my area. There is a vet right next to my house that I will call tomorrow to check if its open but they dont know much about exotics. I have been reading a bit about treatment but if someone has got any advice on what I should ask the vet to prescribe to him or any links I can show them I would appreciate it. In case the vet is closed during this time and Im not able to get him treatment, what can I do from home to make him confortable? I will be making everything in the cage very accesible. His always been very slim but I feel like his losing a lot of weight. I just ordered some Ensure for him but Im not sure what else I can do. Are there any foods / vitamins that I can give him? Thank you.
 
Hi, I am very sorry this is happening..
Your boy needs to be put on oral baytril plus either prednisone or dexamethasone …… If he has pt he will need to be on them the remainder of his life. The steroid (pred or dex) is to reduce the inflammation and hopefully reduce the symptoms. This will give him some more good quality time depending on how fast the tumor is growing.
The most common type of pt will also respond to cabergoline and bromocriptine. Cabergoline is more expensive but only given every 72 hours (amount is based on weight and is often half a pill), is more effective and rats can tolerate the side effects better.

Here is some vet approved information you can share with the vet
You can hand your rattie a small piece of food and see if he can hold it in both hands and eat it. You can also try the wheelbarrow test found in this link. This link also gives symptoms and treatment information Health Guide: Pituitary Tumor

Links re medication are:
http://ratguide.com/meds/antimicrobial_agents/enrofloxacin_baytril.php
http://ratguide.com/meds/endocrine_hormones/prednisone_prednisolone.phphttp://ratguide.com/meds/endocrine_hormones/dexamethasone.php
http://ratguide.com/meds/central_nervous_system_drugs/cabergoline.phphttp://ratguide.com/meds/central_nervous_system_drugs/bromocriptine_mesylate.php
My little girl Zoe started showing signs of pt this week and she is doing much better on pred + baytril.
I hope your boy has a lot of good time left with you
 
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I soak my rat blocks in cool water to make mush
I also feed organic (or non-GMO) infant soy formula (I buy it as powder in a can that I add water to as I use it) thickened with baby cereal. - this can be licked off the finger, eaten from a dish, or fed a drop at a time into the side of the mouth using a syringe.
My seniors like to lick it off the end of the syringe.
Both of these will provide needed nutrition.
You could use the ensure the same way I use the infant formula

You can also feed baby kale, mixed greens, cooked vegs, baby food (or use a blender to make your own), cooked oatmeal, cooked quinoa, a piece of ripe banana etc basically foods that he is able to eat independently or with your help

Soft, easy to eat food are best and have a high water content so will help to keep him hydrated
I find that even when my rattie is able to eat indepently, it is important for me to hand feed the formula thickened with baby cereal several times a day.
It is also important to check the rattie's weight daily or every couple of days because they can suddenly stop being able to eat and lose a lot of weight very fast

I hope this helps and let me know if you have more questions

{{hugs}} pt is horrible and you can only do your best

Btw where I live they have declared an emergency too. Thank goodness vets are an essential service.
All the best to you and your sweet little boy
 
I soak my rat blocks in cool water to make mush
I also feed organic (or non-GMO) infant soy formula (I buy it as powder in a can that I add water to as I use it) thickened with baby cereal. - this can be licked off the finger, eaten from a dish, or fed a drop at a time into the side of the mouth using a syringe.
My seniors like to lick it off the end of the syringe.
Both of these will provide needed nutrition.
You could use the ensure the same way I use the infant formula

You can also feed baby kale, mixed greens, cooked vegs, baby food (or use a blender to make your own), cooked oatmeal, cooked quinoa, a piece of ripe banana etc basically foods that he is able to eat independently or with your help

Soft, easy to eat food are best and have a high water content so will help to keep him hydrated
I find that even when my rattie is able to eat indepently, it is important for me to hand feed the formula thickened with baby cereal several times a day.
It is also important to check the rattie's weight daily or every couple of days because they can suddenly stop being able to eat and lose a lot of weight very fast

I hope this helps and let me know if you have more questions

{{hugs}} pt is horrible and you can only do your best

Btw where I live they have declared an emergency too. Thank goodness vets are an essential service.
All the best to you and your sweet little boy
I can't thank you enough !! Thank you so much for your time. This is all great information! I will show all the links to my vet hopefully they'll listen!
I'm sorry about little Zoe ♥️ Vets are also open here but my exotics vet is 2 hours away Id have to take the train but can't due to lockdown :( Im really worried about this. I don't know how long lockdown will last and I think one of my boys might need x-rays or even surgery and he can't have it at my local vet.

Thank you again so much for your help and stay safe !
 
"Vets are also open here but my exotics vet is 2 hours away Id have to take the train but can't due to lockdown :( Im really worried about this. I don't know how long lockdown will last and I think one of my boys might need x-rays or even surgery and he can't have it at my local vet.
Thank you again so much for your help and stay safe !"

I am so sorry. I hope you can find alternate transportation as medical appointments are essential services or that you vet can talk the local vet through giving an xray and look at the xrays.
All the best with your vet

Thank you :)
I hope your ratties will be ok and that you stay safe too
 
"Vets are also open here but my exotics vet is 2 hours away Id have to take the train but can't due to lockdown :( Im really worried about this. I don't know how long lockdown will last and I think one of my boys might need x-rays or even surgery and he can't have it at my local vet.
Thank you again so much for your help and stay safe !"

I am so sorry. I hope you can find alternate transportation as medical appointments are essential services or that you vet can talk the local vet through giving an xray and look at the xrays.
All the best with your vet

Thank you :)
I hope your ratties will be ok and that you stay safe too
Hey. I brought Joey to my local vet, I talked about pituitary tumor but I think they rulled it out right away for some reason. He stayed there for 3 nights with fluids and the vet gave him some meds for a cerebral infection (?). I went to get him today and they said they diagnosed him with a nerve and muscle disease that I can't recall the name of. Said they couldn't do much more for him. He seems to have worsen and I still believe this is a pituitary tumor. I can't find transportation to my regular vet and if I could, it's not allow to travel in a care with more than two people here right now :( my only option at this point is to call my regular exotic vets, explain the situation and ask if she can write me a prescription and email it to me or send it to me on my phone, so I can get prednisone or something from the pharmacy. I just called and the vet will only be available next Saturday :( until then I am keeping him on Baytril. I got some Unsure, every post I see about it everyone says their rats love it but he does not care for it lol. I am syringe feeding it to him. I'm not sure how much ensure can he get a day? Hes still eating regular food, mushed!
 
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What flavour of Ensure? Mine loved strawberry best, vanilla a distant 2nd and really disliked chocolate.

I'm so sorry about your boy. If a vet hasn't seen many cases of PT they won't recognize it and will look for zebras (meningitis I assume?)
 
What flavour of Ensure? Mine loved strawberry best, vanilla a distant 2nd and really disliked chocolate.

I'm so sorry about your boy. If a vet hasn't seen many cases of PT they won't recognize it and will look for zebras (meningitis I assume?)
The only flavours I could find to order were vanilla and chocolate so I picked vanilla! I mixed it with a little soy formula and a bit of peanut butter and he loves it now! I wanted to ask how much ensure is too much ? His always been really thin and his underweight now so I have been letting him have as much as he wants, is there a limit?

Yeah they mentioned meningitis. My regular vet is very kind and approachable she may let me explain and understand the situation and send me a prescription.
 
No limit especially since he's underweight.
I had a rat with meningitis, he had to be hospitalized for a week and they kept changing up his meds and giving him fluids eyc.. When I finally got him home he had a head tilt and was a little addled for the rest of his life. Sweet boy.
 
No limit especially since he's underweight.
I had a rat with meningitis, he had to be hospitalized for a week and they kept changing up his meds and giving him fluids eyc.. When I finally got him home he had a head tilt and was a little addled for the rest of his life. Sweet boy.
Aw bless your little man. Are the symptoms of meningitis similar to pt?
 
Just wanna give a little update ! I got him Prednisolone and his doing a bit better ! I'm also giving him Baytril. I'm doing Baytril once a day because I have to force him to take it and he hates it so this way he doesn't stress as much. I hope it doesn't make much difference doing once a day instead of twice.
 
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