Theletterv
Member
Hi there, just in the past few days I noticed one of my girls not acting like herself. At first I thought she just seemed a bit tired and weak, wasn't coming out as much, kind of keeping to herself and sleeping more. But she didn't seem to have any other obvious symptoms, and didn't seem to have any respiratory symptoms which was what I was mostly concerned about. However, within the past couple days I suddenly noticed she could not hold food anymore to eat. She was having a very hard time eating dry foods. Over the past two days this has gotten a lot worse; she was still climbing a bit the other day, but cannot climb now. She can't really eat anything unless it is soft and liquidy or I hold it for her. Just overnight she got a lot worse, now seeming very weak, and now her back legs are affected as well, and her legs are all held rather stiffly. Her front paws also sometimes bend over, like they're "knuckling over". She can't groom herself very well and walks very slowly. Just the other day I suddenly realized her symptoms looked like a pituitary gland tumour, so I got the first vet appointment I could (most of the vets near me were booked for weeks) and I brought her in today. I don't have experience with this vet, but the clinic does see rats and other small animals.
Now, the vet told me some stuff that I didn't think was true about rats and pituitary tumours. For example, that they are rare in rats, and that they grow very slowly, and I wouldn't see the symptoms come up so suddenly. He thought maybe she had fallen and injured herself. I try to keep the cage filled up with lots of places for them to land if they fall, but it is still possible, as it's a big cage, and an unlucky fall could have happened. On top of this, he said that her neck was very painful when he palpated it, so that made him think it was more likely a fall. Poor girl is feeling very bad right now, mostly curled up and sleeping. Earlier today I thought I might have to have her euthanized today because she just seemed so uncomfortable. I was, however, looking into getting cabergoline prescribed for a pituitary tumour, if the vet thought it was worth it (considering how bad she seems to feel), but instead she's on a painkiller and anti-inflammatory, and I'm supposed to see how she does through the weekend. Steroids were mentioned but not given because they have more side effects, I guess, and the vet thought to try this first.
I just wondered if anyone who has experience with falls/pituitary tumours might be able to offer some advice. Can trauma cause these kinds of symptoms? She doesn't seem to circle (but she doesn't really walk around enough to notice) or do any head-butting, and she doesn't have a head tilt, but her arms and legs are stiff and she is very clumsy. She not only cannot hold food but also seems to have trouble chewing it, and eats very slowly. (So I have been giving her soft food and soaked pellets, which she does eat.) She has excess porphyrin in her nose and eyes, but I guess that would be natural given that she is in pain and not feeling well. I just want to do the right thing by her, and of course will have her put to sleep if I feel she is suffering too much and there isn't enough hope of a good recovery / alleviation of symptoms. I'm just a little confused about what is really going on with her.
Oh, also, editing to add that she is just under 1 year of age, she was born last year in early August. I thought pituitary tumours were more common in older rats, but I also thought she may just be one of the unlucky ones.
Now, the vet told me some stuff that I didn't think was true about rats and pituitary tumours. For example, that they are rare in rats, and that they grow very slowly, and I wouldn't see the symptoms come up so suddenly. He thought maybe she had fallen and injured herself. I try to keep the cage filled up with lots of places for them to land if they fall, but it is still possible, as it's a big cage, and an unlucky fall could have happened. On top of this, he said that her neck was very painful when he palpated it, so that made him think it was more likely a fall. Poor girl is feeling very bad right now, mostly curled up and sleeping. Earlier today I thought I might have to have her euthanized today because she just seemed so uncomfortable. I was, however, looking into getting cabergoline prescribed for a pituitary tumour, if the vet thought it was worth it (considering how bad she seems to feel), but instead she's on a painkiller and anti-inflammatory, and I'm supposed to see how she does through the weekend. Steroids were mentioned but not given because they have more side effects, I guess, and the vet thought to try this first.
I just wondered if anyone who has experience with falls/pituitary tumours might be able to offer some advice. Can trauma cause these kinds of symptoms? She doesn't seem to circle (but she doesn't really walk around enough to notice) or do any head-butting, and she doesn't have a head tilt, but her arms and legs are stiff and she is very clumsy. She not only cannot hold food but also seems to have trouble chewing it, and eats very slowly. (So I have been giving her soft food and soaked pellets, which she does eat.) She has excess porphyrin in her nose and eyes, but I guess that would be natural given that she is in pain and not feeling well. I just want to do the right thing by her, and of course will have her put to sleep if I feel she is suffering too much and there isn't enough hope of a good recovery / alleviation of symptoms. I'm just a little confused about what is really going on with her.
Oh, also, editing to add that she is just under 1 year of age, she was born last year in early August. I thought pituitary tumours were more common in older rats, but I also thought she may just be one of the unlucky ones.
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