Critter City

 

 

 

Leukemia and our pet rats

 

Over the past year, I have had many people write to me with questions that their vet could not answer.  Many were asking why their rat had an enlarged spleen, enlarged liver and kidneys and some also went on to say their rats were losing weight  and also had increased heart rates.

I was stunned to find that none of these vets were able to diagnose these rats. Not one rat had the correct diagnosis. I also would ask the rat owner if the  rat had blood work done and none of them had.  Finally, someone wrote to me and their rat had just died a few hours prior to writing to me.  Luckily they had put their beloved rat in their refergiator in their garage to keep his remains until they were able to bury him once the heavy rains they were having subsided.  I talked the rat owner into going to a vet that I know of for a necropsy.  Sure enough, their rat had what I also suspect the other rats that were suffering from the enlarged spleen and liver etc.... had.  

Leukemia!

One of the vets said that her rat had kidney disease, esp because the rat had an increase in urine. Another was diagnosed with kidney infection due to the increase urine output but also the dark colored urine.  I can go on and on.....but I wont.  However, now that your here, its a good idea  you continue reading this page so you can be in tune to what may be going on with  your rat should you encounter any of the   symptoms I list below. This information can be shared with your Vet and this way your rat can get a proper diagnosis.

Let me tell you first about leukemia in rats.  What may throw the Vet off is the rat owner not wanting to do any testing on their rat and of course when a rat is that sick, some tests may actually put the rats life at risk, especially sedation when their respiratory system is compromised.  If the vet can take blood from the rat without  sedation but also done humanely, allowing the Vet to take samples to determine what may be wrong is in the best interest of the rat.

A CBC needs to be performed when rats have these symptoms listed below. Pale gums

Pale extremeties

Lethargy

Excessive drinking along with increase in urine out put

Dark urine

Fast and labored breathing

Losing weight and lack of interest in food.

Upon examination, the Vet may find that the Kidneys, liver, spleen may all be enlarged.

Lymp nodes may also be enlarged as well.

The rat may also bleed excessivly from a sore that normally would scab over or have sores that may not heal well.

So how is this treated?  Is this fatal?

Lymphocytic Leukemia is the most common form of leukemia found in our pet rats. When a rat has leukemia, they often die from organ failure.  There is no known treatment other than treating the symptoms and keeping the rat as comfortable as possible.  Antibiotics can be used to prevent infection since the rats immune system will be very weak. There may be pain from inflammation and swelling that can be controlled using narcotic pain medication but some vets will continue to reach for the NSAIDS and to be honest, with the unhealthy liver and kidneys, I would think NSAIDS would be an unwise decision and would much rather see the rat on something stronger.

But of course I am not a vet and that would not be my decision, but if it were my rat, I would still ask for something stronger than metacam for pain relief.