My rat had a stroke and now she won't stop chewing?

[Gloometh]

My rat had a stroke about three days ago. We thought it was the end, so we decided to just let her go on her own. Over the past few days, she's lost the use of her legs and has started having little "fits". She'll wave her head around and grab/chew things wildly while shivering or with increased heartrate.

We thought she was going mad, but last night, she started seriously chewing. She chewed holes in blankets and clothes and my mum was woken up by her chewing a hole in her house.

Just now, my mum thought to give her an apple since she was chewing my shirt. She chewed pieces off and then dropped them to the side and barely ate any.

I have given her a second piece and she's doing it again. She's barely stopping and when I take it away, she starts chewing the cloth.

The weird thing is that she's been... nattering. Seriously, she'll stop and chatter and her eyes will boggle around and that is the weirdest part for me. Her whole strength seems to be into destroying this apple like it's mother killed her father or something. Sometimes she'll grab the slice and wave it around.

Is she mad, is she in pain, or is it fear/pleasure/insanity?

 

[SQ]

She may be in pain.
Have you considered having a good rat vet look at her to see if meds will help,
or having her humanely pts? (see http://www.jorats.com/forum/viewtopic.p ... how+to+pts )

 

[Gloometh]

I was considering calling the vet. she doesn't look in pain though, and she's not sqeaking though. she's stopped now, but I have a huge pile of apple.

I would prefer not to put her down... it's her choice to go, and she should decide that.

 

[SQ]

Signs of pain in rats:
viewtopic.php?f=26&t=18981

If animals are suffering and can not be helped medically, it is a gift to let them go.

 

[Gloometh]

I'll have a look at the topic.

She only appears to be nibbling her feet a little, and curling up her paws. but she did have a stroke, and she liked to nibble her feet before. i'm not sure of the difference between teeth nattering and teeth grinding. she's her regular self aside from the chewing.

 

[mamarat]

Chewing can be a sign of pain. Rats can come back from a stroke with meds. How old is your girl? Poor sweetie.

 

[Gloometh]

I will consider getting meds then, if it's a sign of pain.

We're not really sure, they said she was about 6 months when we got her, and she's been with us 9 months. She could have been older though.

 

[mamarat]

Are you sure it was a stroke? That could also be signs of PT. A bleeding tumor is very aggressive. She would be at that age too.

 

[Gloometh]

I'm pretty sure it was a stroke. And I'm not sure what PT means.

At first she was limping and sliding off things, and she had one paw curled into a fist (wasn't using it). then she slowly lost the ability to use her back legs and started dragging herself around and then she lost most of the use of her other front leg.

She does have a tumor inside her belly - it's been swollen for several months, but there isn't anything we can do about it.

 

[Cigar]

PT is pituitary gland tumor, they're more common in females. The pituitary gland is in the brain.. that's why it causes so many problems. http://ratguide.com/health/neoplasia/pi ... _tumor.php

ETA: How big is the lump in her stomach?... Maybe it's causing abdominal pain? That might be why she's constantly bruxxing. And of course animals will self mutilate in pain.

 

[Gloometh]

hmm... reading that... that looks like it may be that... that would explain why she was doing the head twisting and so on. How do they die from that? D: Like, do they just drop dead or do they go slowly?

 

[mamarat]

Has she been seen by a vet for the tumor? If it's in her belly after a while it can cause a lot of pain and difficulty walking and such. I've had a couple of rats like that and at first signs of pain I had to PTS. Good luck with your sweetie.

With PT it can be slow or very fast. It depends what kind of tumor it is and where it is pressing on her brain. I would be more worried about the tumor in her belly.

 

[Exodog]

I watched the "downwards spiral" when my sweet Grurder had a PT. She started tilting first, then it got better for a little while and we thought she was on the mend, but then very suddenly the symptoms worsened drastically, and she declined very quickly in a matter of a day or two. She had to be PTS, but having her in my arms while they gave her the gas and injection, and knowing she was feeling less and less pain; it truly was a gift to the both of us, even if it nearly ripped my heart out to decide for her. Sometimes they're too stubborn or too much of a fighter to decide when enough is enough, and they need you to walk with them and help them cross over. You'll do what's right with your baby; you'll know when the time has come, if it comes to that.
We're here for you through all of this; don't forget that.

 

[Cigar]

Yeah, if the one in her stomach is bigger definitely worry about that. Rats are so small, it could easily displace/put pressure on organs making her circulation poor, harder to breathe, etc.

I've only had 2 females and 1 of them developed what seemed to be PT. She went downhill very fast unfortunately. She lost what little eyesight she had, couldn't use her hands, had no balance, etc. so I let her go peacefully.

 

[Gloometh]

There isn't anything we can do about the tumor. She hasn't been in any pain, she leaps and jumps and eats like a pig. Her sister died of that, it exploded in her stomach. The vet said there was nothing she can do. We can't remove it, and formally, it wasn't a problem.

I can't tell if the one in her belly has been getting bigger, since she's lost weight recently, so it makes it look bigger, but it hasn't changed size for a few months, as far as I know.

 

[lilspaz68]

The tumor can be a long horrible painful death. They will slowly lose weight, and become skeletal with a tumor inside of them. Rats have a terrible way of hiding pain, from their wild instincts to not show weakness. Predators will notice this weakness and will have that rat for lunch. Sadly when they are showing signs of pain like this, its very extreme. She needs a vet to be treated or humanely put to sleep (gas first, then the fatal injection).

Tumour and respiratory rats will linger and die terrible deaths, so they should be pts by a vet before they suffer too much.

 

[Gloometh]

Thank you all for your help. I think we've figured out what's wrong.

If she doesn't get worse/pass away in the next day or two, I will consider taking her to the vet. I know my girl, she gets pissed off really easily, and she'll show it. She's not right now, so I know she's not troubled, even if she is hiding her pain, she doesn't hide her frustration.

 

[Moon]

If she does have a PT chances are very good that she's not going to be acting like her usual self, pain or no pain. It can cause rats who were never cuddly to cuddle happily and rats who have never bitten to bite. Just keep that in mind.

Regardless of what her health does, you should take her to the vet. Lots of time can be bought if she's got pt, with proper use of steroids they can gain back much, if not all, of their previous abilities and habits, if only for a short time.

 

[Gloometh]

okay - perhaps we can arrange a vet visit soon. thanks for the info.

 

[RatHeaven]

Sadly i know how you feel my jones just had a stroke a week ago and he just started eating solids and drinking water i had to hand feed him their for the longest time. I hope your little one will inprove the tumore not much we can do