Is This PT?

[whoknew]

So Dexter (about 18 months old, himi, male) is acting strangely. He's always been a bit of an odd guy, but obviously something isn't right. For the last 2, maybe 3 days he's been living on the ground floor of the cage in his little hidey-house. At first I thought he just liked it because he could shred up all the newspaper and doze comfy. But today I noticed that Dewey (his brother) was in the house with him. Now, Dewey is Never on the floor- he is a hammock-o-holic! So I investigate, and here's what I find:
- dazed looked Dexter
- feels weak when i pick him up
- sort of wants to nibble on my hand
- walks off my knee while crouching down with him
- when given a cracker, will not use his hands- just eats off the ground
- seems pretty unbalanced when cleaning/walking/attempts to climb.

So, I feel like this may be PT, but maybe someone else could offer another possibility.
Any help would be appreciated!

 

[MomRat]

Things that sound like PT:

Nibbling your hand, instead of just sniffing or kissing
Not holding food
Lethargic
Unbalanced, falling off of edges(knee)

I would get your baby on Prednisone and an antibiotic as soon as possible. I'm sorry. :sad3:

 

[Rachael]

It definitely sounds like a PT to me

He'll need to be put onto antibiotics and steroid asap. You'll need to feed him runny foods/mush up his normal food.

I'm so sorry.

*hope this sends this is the 4th try*

 

[whoknew]

This is really what I was afraid of- confirmation, haha.
I'm heading home this weekend ( live in Ottawa for school ) so i'll have a vet appointment. I can try my hardest to get him to a vet here, but it is difficult without a car, and 3 esays and 2 midterms in the next 3 days.
Right now I'm trying to get soft food into him as much as possible. He just looks so sad

 

[Rachael]

I'm so sorry. Just give him anything that would tempt him really. Is he eating anything.?

 

[Rachael]

Sorry I meant drinking anything.

My edit button has dissapeared...??

 

[jorats]

It does sound like it... I'm so sorry. I hate it when it hits young like 18 months.

 

[whoknew]

He will eat some things.. i held a cracker for him and he sort of awkwardly munched on it. ive been giving him some oastmeal and he'll try and lick it off the spoon/ push it into his mouth. He seems to have a bit of trouble moving the food around in his mouth though.. not sure if they usually sort of use their hands for this at all..
i just hate seeing him like this.
his brother alternates between being active and bouncy and laying with him on the bottom of the cage.

 

[missnikki]

What is PT ???

 

[Rachael]

What is PT ???

A brain tumour (pituitary gland).

 

[crumbilina]

awwwww

This does sound like PT

:hugs: I'm sorry.

Good luck with your little guy! Hopefully the steriod and antibiotic will give him a boost!

 

[LadyGray]

I'm so sorry :-(

Why do they nibble on your hands if they have a PT?

 

[jorats]

Why do they nibble on your hands if they have a PT?

A pituitary adenoma can cause all kinds of neurological symptoms from head tilt to even gasping making you think he has myco instead of a pt. So depending where the growth is hitting, it can cause a lot of things like nibbling, loss of motor control, circling, knuckling...

 

[whoknew]

He wants to nibble my fingers constantly, instead of the usual licking he did before.
it doesn't really look like he's knuckling or circling..he just seems very confused, weak, tired and apathetic.

 

[missnikki]

Sounds like he might have had a stroke as well... At least I know mice seem that way after stroke, not sure bout ratties tho... I wish you and your ratty all the best!!

PS what is knuckling??

 

[mamarat]

Knuckling is when they have their little hands in fists.

I'm so sorry whoknew, it's so hard to watch PT but in consolation my vet said she doesn't think they feel pain either with it.

 

[whoknew]

It is terrible.. it's actually killing me to watch him wander around..
I have a vet appointment saturday morning for him.
I know, it's very late, but it's with my trusted vet in Pickering.. I just can't go while I'm here in Ottawa.
I'm really trying to keep him as comfortable as possible until then.

edited:
and i definitely see now what is meant by "circling".

 

[crumbilina]

Good Luck
:hugs:

 

[whoknew]

So I just got back from the vet and...
Dexter lives to see another day! haha, I'm sorry, I havn't updated on his condition until now.
He has been improving little by little each day, although he's still not holding food in his hands.
The vet thinks he's probably had a stroke, but is recovering alright.
She looked at his eyes, and the only thing she can see that's wrong is his pupils are extremely pinned and some other stuff I didn't really understand, but she thinks his retinas are detatched.
Other than that.. he seems to be okay.

 

[Catibrie]

poor baby. lots of kisses to him