meghan

Jacques is my 11-month old intact male rat. His health history is not the
greatest - he had a myco infection that almost killed him at 2 months old,
then at 4 months old he developed a small tumor on his leg that spread to
the bone and he had to have his leg amputated.

Since then all has been well. Until recently. I noticed about 3 weeks ago
he was missing a lot of his fur under his chin, his chest, and his front
legs. I treated all the rats with 3 doses of ivermectin, though I doubted
it was mites or lice. I suspected self-barbering. He also developed a
strong case of "buck grease" around the same time.

Today I offered a bean and Jacques, when he turned in the hammock to get the
bean, squealed as he does when in pain. I gave him another bean, and the
same squeal. I pulled him out of there and another squeal. I set him on
the floor and gave him "the exam". I felt for lumps, bumps, felt the limbs,
the jaw, listening to his breathing... all seemed normal. He seemed only
slightly more lethargic than usual.

Tonight I took him out and more squealing. I cannot pinpoint a place on his
body that makes him squeal though. Then I noticed what seemed to me like
maybe he was blind? He was wandering around the bed, seeming lost and using
his nose more. Then he became very needy and buried his head under my arm
and was patted for a long time.

What could be going on? Could it be a pituitary tumor? How do I find out
if he is blind? Could he be squealing from fear? My other two rats are
totally fine and acting normal.

If I had a decent vet I would take him. But we live in a rural area, and
it's 70 miles to the "mediocre" vet and 4 hours to the only vet I really
trust (the one who did his leg amputation). Without any concrete symptoms,
I feel like I wouldn't get any kind of help at all there.

Do any of these symptoms sound familiar to anyone?

Thanks,
Meghan

meghan

Oh, I should also say that Jacques is a hooded dumbo and that after his
amputation he got really "thick" around his chest and abdomen. I was
assuming that was due to the increased muscle needed to haul himself around.
He is positively huge (probably too big) and eating fine. I am really
worried about him!

Meghan

joanne

I did have a rat do this once. I watched him closely and a couple days
later, he was ok again but then a month later, I had to bring him in
because he became lethargic and the vet found a lump on his spleen, a
very big one. He was put on antibiotics and the lump eventually went away.
It could be a pituitary tumor, if it is, nothing can be done really.
I'm not much help... it's such a hard call, especially when you don't
have a vet readily available to you.

Joanne
Owned by 16 rats

meghan

Joanne, thanks. I sort of have a feeling it's going to be one of those
things that just goes away or turns out to be a tumor somewhere. Like I
said, I don't feel any strange lumps yet, but his little body is so big and
muscular that it's hard to tell! He's doing ok today and eating well. Of
course if any definitive symptoms come up I will take him to the vet. I
decided it's nearly impossible to tell if a rattie is blind! The good news
is he is using his front paws well, placing them on the table etc. so no
loss of coordination yet. Sometimes it's hard to tell because of his limp
from the 3 legs. He is alert and comes when called, still squeaking a
little bit intermittently.

Meghan

joanne

Hopefully it's nothing serious.
Is he pooping good? Try and see when exactly he feels bad, after a
specific treat or maybe a veggie? For Jersy, I noticed that he would
become very quiet and still after having his banana treat. I stopped
giving bananas and he stopped being lethargic and squeaking. I really
don't know if the banana was it but you never know.

Joanne
Owned by 16 rats