Hindsight and PT

[Narf]

I recently lost one of my boys at 26 months old to what I now suspect was a PT and I am traumatised.

he started off with some weakness in his back legs, which I assumed was HLD due to his age. I adapted the cage a bit and he was doing fine for a few weeks. Then the back legs seemed to almost overnight become completely useless and he was dragging them. I hadn’t noticed any other symptoms until that point so still assumed HLD.

then things went 100mph. On the Saturday he dragging himself around quite happily, I was wiping him down but he was still getting in and out of the cage with some adaptions by himself. He had his Sunday dinner and I noticed his front hands were starting to knuckle. I rang the vets for an appointment but by Monday he was lethargic and not doing much. He started head bumping when I was petting him and having twitches with his head. I started syringe feeding him and water but by night he was no longer eating and I knew I couldn’t wait for the vet appointment.

Then the seizures started and it was horrendous to watch. One after the other? He seemed to be unconscious as he had no blink reflex. I called the emergency vet and recorded a video of him fitting but he died before we got there.

So from Saturday with just the one symptom to early Tuesday morning being dead. I spend over 6 hours a day with my rats and they free roam during that time and I just didn’t notice anything!

watching this was traumatising, it was horrible and now with hindsight I feel horrible as I should have not assumed it was HLD and it should never have gotten to that point. I’m heartbroken and wish I had seen it sooner. I know for sure now I will never let another rat with PT get to that point.

 

[Dena]

Did he show any of the other signs of PT? Bruxxing often, not being able to hold something like a cheerios in his hands, arms held out pretty stiff from body while trying to eat? I could be wrong, but sounds to me like he definitely had HLD, and something else going on, like a stroke, or something. I had one that had two strokes, and seizures, before I got him to the vet to put him to sleep. But when I got to the vet, he was lucid again, and able to brux and boggle when I told him I love him, and asked if I was doing the right thing, he would brux and boggle immediately after.

Before your baby passed, did you notice any rattly noises when he was breathing? Did he have nipped in waists? Reason I ask, is because I've have 3 rats who had lung abscesses, and when they died, it was your exact description. Only other thing, was there was a puss like liquid that came out of their nose and mouth, and if I tilted them, it would just keep draining for a min.

I'm so sorry for the loss of your baby. It's very difficult when you have to see a difficult death.....

 

[Narf]

Did he show any of the other signs of PT? Bruxxing often, not being able to hold something like a cheerios in his hands, arms held out pretty stiff from body while trying to eat?

No he didn’t Brux much and his front limbs were completely fine until just before when his hands knuckled but they weren’t stiff. It was all his back legs and he would drag them with his front legs being completely fine,

did you notice any rattly noises when he was breathing? Did he have nipped in waists?

No noises or problems with his breathing at all and no nipped in waists. He was the same healthy weight +/- 5g for the last year of his life.

the vet saw the video and confirmed he was having seizures and by the lack of blink reflex was unconscious and likely not feeling anything but couldn’t say what it was without a necropsy and I just couldn’t bare the thought of having that done. He was my heart rat for sure.