The Lose of Two Beautiful Angels

I haven't posted in quite a while and although I did write another post and I remember publishing it, apparently something went wrong because it never showed up and I lost the information.. how fun?! The past month was tremendously straining and hard on the heart and the wallet. After Maggie had developed the 2 tumors I noticed her balance kept increasingly getting worse. I assumed the tumors were throwing her off but after talking with other rat owners I knew this couldn't be the case.

Her vet appointment was already booked at Crown Pointe Animal hospital to talk about getting the tumors removed and to get her spayed. A very well known hospital that specifically delt with small animals and surgeries. But now I knew she was not going for her tumors. It was about a 3 hour drive and we were tired. Dr. Auger was the one to work with my girls and he seemed like a fantastic vet. He did a thorough whole body check on both of them, he truly seemed to care about their health and well being. I was also extremely impressed with his knowledge of rats. In the end he was not convinced Maggie had a pituitary tumor as she was not showing all of the signs. We decided at first to go with a herbal remedy to increase blood flow and to overall help her body fuction better. He did however give me a perscription for Prednisone incase it turned out to be the tumor. The herbal remedy was called 'Xu Fu Zhu Yu Tang'. Maggie and Milly were on this remedy for a bit over a week when I noticed Maggie could not hold food anymore - She in fact did have the pituitary tumor. For those of you who do not know what a PT is :


Pituitary tumors are an abnormal growth in the pituitary gland, the part of the brain that regulates the body’s balance of hormones. Female rats are more at risk of this tumor. Clinical signs include:

• Gradual weakness and lack of coordination
• Stiffness or inability to flex forelimbs that gradually progresses to the hind limbs as the tumor continues to grow.
• One eye protruding more than the other. This can be due to asymmetrical growth of the tumor pressing on structures behind the eye, and is referred to as exophthalmia.
• Unequal pupil size in one eye compared to the other
• Difficulty holding food when eating.
• Circling, head tilt, seizures, hydrocephalus and sudden death.
• Head pressing/Head bumping. This sign may be present when there is increased intracranial pressure (rat may bump head up when petted, or extend head pressing against a fixed surface).

Though the cause of pituitary tumors still remains unknown, factors that may play a role in their development in rats include:

• Age
• Genetic factors
• Diet (incidence of pituitary tumors shown to increase where high-calorie ad libitum (free-fed) diets are given)
• Breeding history
• Infections
• Injury

Maggie started her prednisone(steroid) for her tumor. PT are so far incurable and altimatly lead to death, there are things that can be done to give the rats a bit more of an increased life; hense the steroid. Maggie didnt show many signs through the whole ordeal up until nearing the end. Her only main signs were off balance and she could not hold her food. The last week of April Maggie entered the final stages. I had to syringe feed her constantly but she began spitting the food out. Maggie passed away here at home in my arms at 3:30 in the morning. Her breathing became sporadic and then finally slowed to a stop. I am thankful however that it was a fairly quick process, Maggie did not suffer.

Only days afterward, Milly started to breathe very rapidly and I could tell it was making her uncomfortable. Milly was being such a wonderful sister to Maggie, snuggling with her, taking care of her and even cleaning her seeing as she couldn't anymore. Only a week after Maggie had passed I guess Milly decided she already wanted to go join her. Millys appointment to get checked was Wednesday, June 1st. Her breathing was horrible that day, I suggled with her all the last week, letting her out constantly except for over night. When we got to the vet and she began checking her over Milly burst into a gasping attack and we decided right there that we could not allow her to continue like this. Milly was rushed back to be put to sleep as fast as possible. Afterward, when the vet came out to talk to us she said that she checked Millys heart to indicate if that had anything to do with it and unfortionatly what she found lead to Millys passing. Millys heart was 2 times bigger then it was suppost to be causing the valves to malfunction and not enough oxygen was getting to her lungs. Milly had heart failure.


In only the passed 3 years I have lost 9 beloved family members and although my heart is badly battered and will forever be scard. All the pain was worth having them grace my life with their presence. I wouldnt change it for the world. These were 2 beautiful ladies I only ended up getting by chance, and they have forever left their foot prints embedded in my heart. Run free at the bridge my angels, tell the boys I miss them everyday.