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Rat Health: Pituitary Tumors

© Karen Yang

I've been living with this topic for the past few months, as little Cherry has been ill with a pituitary tumor since around the end of September. We weren't sure that was what she had at first, but since then we've ruled out everything else. She's been under treatment for the past week and seems to be doing a bit better, but I know that probably won't last long.

Cherry has always been smaller than her brothers and sisters, but her energy made up for her lack of size. She was the first one in her litter to open her eyes, and was usually the first one out of their cage at playtime. Shortly after her first birthday, that changed. At first I just thought she was getting more dignified with age, but her sisters are still hyper. Then I suspected she was suffering from myco or pseudotuberculosis - both of which run in her family, but she had no symptoms of disease other than being a bit slow and lethargic at times and just not being quite herself.

About two to three weeks after I noticed the changes in her energy level, I discovered she was having trouble with her front paws. She couldn't climb as well as she used to and was having trouble holding her food properly. So then I knew for sure we were dealing with a neurological problem. It wasn't a stroke, for that usually affects only one side of the body. Trouble with both front paws at the same time is supposedly diagnostic of pituitary tumor in rats. Later she began having difficulty using her water bottle and I noticed she couldn't drink well, as her tongue seemed to be not working right. We moved her to the infirmary cage and set up a shallow dish for eating and one for drinking. She couldn't hold food or lick water, so she was using her lower jaw to shovel them in. This led to wet and dirty fur, and since she couldn't lick herself off well, we had to give her warm towel baths. Also she began having trouble with her hind feet and was starting to "circle" - leaning to one side so that she couldn't walk straight in the direction she wished to go.

In Debbie Ducommun's Rat Health Care booklet, she says that pituitary tumors are most likely the third leading cause of death in female rats. This is the first time I've had to deal with one, and it's been quite a learning experience. Typical symptoms are loss of co-ordination followed by difficulty using both front paws, then both hind paws. Later the rat may suffer from seizures, circling and head tilt. She also says that using antibiotics and steroids is the best ways to control these symptoms. Tamoxifen may also be an alternative, as these tumors seem to be stimulated by estrogen, like mammary tumors. What's key is to reduce brain swelling and restore some of the lost neurological function.