Contradicting Symptoms... {Added Video}

[Argent]

Joey is almost a whopping 2 years old (1st July) and I keep having little panics over his health deteriorating >.<
He was diagnosed with an inner ear infection/stroke at around 12-15 months as he had a head tilt and fell about the place, and was put on Baytril and steroids and his condition improved though the vet said he might always have that tilt, which a lot of the time he does, but it's not even that noticable anymore.

Thing is, now at 23 almost 24 months old, he's going skinny, and I've noticed his feet and hands sometimes clubbing, mostly when relaxing or just stopped (he'll walk on the flat of his hands and feet and still groom himself properly) when he takes food off me it's usually by mouth rather than with his hands but he can feed himself, still eating crunchy things and still gives me a shove when he wants me to stop cuddling him >.<

He's almost always done the head bump thing when I touch the top of his head but I thought it was more of a 'get off me' kinda thing, since after he calms down a bit, he'll let me stroke his head. Also, he's never been much of a bruxxer, except when he's in a cuddly mood and will sit with me for about ten minutes at a time and doze, his eyes do boggle when he gets up to full whack.

I'm just so worried that it's a pt :/ though it could just be signs of old age and his already delicate disposition catching up with him from his old illness...I really don't want him pts, he's still happy and runs around my room, just a little slower than he used to-he still has life in him, I just can't bear to lose another rat in the vets...


edit: I've uploaded a video being fed some mashed cereal and a bit of spaghetti >.< excuse the cage mess-he likes rolling his food bowl around at night, I'm cleaning him out soon ^_^

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWSDOskPEqA

 

[jorats]

From the video, he looks great!!
I can't get over how dark his points are, he's quite beautiful.
If you are worried about weight loss, give him extra fat in his diet like olive oil in baby cereal.

 

[mamarat]

Your boy is not ready to be PTS. He's very alert, with big bright eyes still, loves his food. lol Enjoy your Joey. He'll let you know when it's time. He is SO gorgeous. :heart:

 

[Argent]

haha thanks! ^^ I guess I'm just worrying too much since our vets in the U.K aren't really willing to try much to relieve symptoms...you can see how he tilts in the vid, but he's been like that since the first time it happened
and I am very proud of his markings ^^ he's pretty different from my friend's idea of what rats look like heheh
also, I'll get my mum to pick up some baby cereal and we'll try him on that for a bit...she did say herself the last time she saw him how much better he looked...I must just be worrying too much since I see him every day XD

 

[user 78]

I do the same thing with my girl Penn. She's 26mo now and every little thing is a cause for me to start emailing everyone in a panic and researching random illnesses because she does 1 thing they list as a symptom. I never really expected Penn to make it past a year, and when she made it to 1.5yrs, I said I'd be perfectly happy if she lived till 2. Now that we're past that, I'm paranoid about aiming for 3yrs, but she's still going strong with no signs of stopping.. Most of the time, though, it really is just her getting older. She waddles around with her 'heels' flat on her back legs now, and she regularly falls while trying to climb things. But she still bounces around and rattles the cage door for Out time, so I figure she's still pretty darn happy.

Mind you she's been on Prednisone and Baytril since last October when she started showing signs of PT. Amazingly enough, the pred stopped all symptoms within a week or so. I'm a big fan of 'Not broke, don't fix it' so we're just gonna keep up with it until she tells me something different.

The thing to remember is, he'll let you know when he's done trying. It's not just that they slow down or do things in a totally different way than you're used to. You can see it in their eyes when they're ready to throw in the towel. It's hard to explain, since everyone has their own bond with their rats, but you just know.

 

[lilspaz68]

He looks wonderful!! And very happy. he seems to be grasping well so I wouldn't worry there at all...he looks like he's just eating things with his mouth because he gets to lick mom too...didn't you know food always tastes better when its handfed? :nod:

I wouldn't be worrying about him just yet. You've been given some good advice so I don't need to add to it.

I have a tilty at home too...she's losing her hind end but she's a happy slightly tilty girl too...

 

[Godmother]

Joey is handsome!! And he's so lively. He's got lots of life in him yet. :heart:

 

[Argent]

oh noes >.< lively he may be..but his back right leg is doing something I'm not liking....the past couple of days he's been clubbing his feet and today he's dragging his right leg like he can't lift and move it forward properly anymore... it seems to feel unusual to him and a bit of a strange nuisance right now..is this the beginning of his back legs going?

 

[jorats]

It could be... he might have hurt it too.

 

[Argent]

That was another thing I was hoping it might be (well not hoping but it's not permanent...)
Anything I could do? I've sort of moved and rotated his leg and it will sit normally, doesn't appear to be in any pain (he'd squirm and squeak if it really hurt), he just can't seem to pull it back up from outstretched back on his own...do rats get sprains like that? He can still push against my hand gently but nowhere near as strong as his front paws at the same time...if anything the muscles in the back legs look a bit wasted...I'll try and get another video

 

[Argent]

Okay a video is not needed...he's definately lost almost complete mobility in his legs...his front paws club sometimes though he can still hold his food (well, support it to his mouth from the ground) and is still very interested in all things yummy (munches down all his veg every night like there's no tomorrow!)
I'm gunna get him some baby cereal and soy milk to help keep his energy up though his appetite is absolutely no problem-it's his mobility he's frustrated with...i had a go of that 'wheelbarrowing' around the room and I think he enjoyed it...though he tried to burrow into a pile of clothes which I couldn't follow him into >.<

 

[Argent]

wow triple post....but I have a question and don't want to start a new thread >.< how many times should I be grooming (brushing) him per day? He really can't do it himself anymore and really enjoys it when I do groom him but I don't think I can physically keep up with the number of times rats groom themselves on their own...is 'whenever I can' a good number to start with?

Also, I can't stress enough how despite being stressed/frustrated by lack of mobility, his excitent over food seems to have doubled! He cleared a dish of baby cereal (which he'd never eaten before) and bananas today, and he will always have dry and fresh food on offer til he can no longer handle it.

 

[user 78]

Whenever you can is a very good place to start. Many of the people I know did a little session in the morning before work, and a nice long session at night, after work. Make sure to keep an eye on his penis, so that he doesn't develop plugs, and don't forget about his ears.

 

[jorats]

I've had plenty of rats lose their rear end mobility. My Vincent lost it when he was about 28 months old. He's now 38 months old! They can get around really good by dragging themselves.

 

[Argent]

thanks for the advice...but I'm really sad now...I'm almost 100% convinced this is a pt....
I did check and remove a nasty plug (poor boy looked so sore >.<) this morning, been grooming him, keeping all kinds of food on offer, thing is, after I checked for the plug and got rid of it, I checked him over completely and there's some hard bumps forming under and around the ear that tilts upwards, all his feet apart from his right front are clubbing almost constantly and even though he's perky and eating, I can't tell if he's just numb to it, or hiding severe amounts of pain...I'm just terrified to take him to the vets and lose him...

 

[jorats]

Having had lots of rats with PT, I really don't think they are in pain. Talking it over with my vet, she agrees with me. I don't think the rats realize it even.

 

[Argent]

So he can't feel it? he's just a bit frustrated that he can't do what he could a few days ago? how long do you think I should keep him going? or should I let him just live it out and keep him comfortable?

 

[jorats]

If he were mine, I'd get him on Dexamethasone right away. It gives them more quality of living and seems to slow the process.
You will know undoubtedly when it's time.

 

[Argent]

Dexamethasone...would I be able to go into my vets and just ask for that? I've been learning pretty much as they have (they've had a lot of guesswork with my boys over the months ¬¬) and is it even available in the UK? My vet has been telling me that Baytril is the only product licensed for rats so that's all she can really...

 

[Argent]

ach I'm starting to think that might be too late....his balance and limbs are completely useless this morning...he tried to shuffle and ended up on his back... :'(