Do you think our rat has had a stroke??

Question

We have a pet rat about 1.5 yrs old. Suddenly she stopped sleeping on the upper levels of the cage and she is quite wobbly. She is listless wont scurry around and will not climb up the cage anymore. She is also fluffed up. As for eating she seems to have lost the ability to hold it with her feet although she is trying to eat food from her bowl - we have been feeding her baby food in an eye dropper which she takes well. Also when you pur her on your chest to crawl up it seems as though she has no strength in her legs. She seems quite happy even though she has all these problems. We took her to the vet and he gave her some antibiotics in case there is an underlying infection. She has been on them for 4 days but not much has changed. Do you think it is a stroke? or mayby a brain problem? Do we just keep up this regime and how do you know when its time to put her to sleep? Has anyone cared for a rat like this for an extended time?

For Zoo the antibiotic is Baytril 25 and giving .1 of a ml

Thanks everyone for your answers, we had to put her to sleep today. She became too ill, she couldnt even move herself to go to the toilet. She was also secreting red/brown discharge from her nose and eye. The vet said it was probably a pituitary tumour. It all happened so fast - she quickly deteriorated over a week. Thanks again.

Answer 1

what is the dosage of the antibiotic you are giving her and what is it?

Many vets underprescribe antibiotics to rats by using weight conversions for dogs and cats. Rodents have a very high metabolism and require higher dosages of antibiotics to work. If she is fluffed up, that is a sign of illness and not a stroke.
The RatGuide has a medication chart and dosage information that you can give to your vet if she is not getting enough. http://ratguide.com/meds/
At a year and a half, she could have a stroke. You can read about congestive heart failure in rats and the treatment here
http://ratguide.com/health/cardiovascular/congestive_heart_failure.php

It all boils down to quality of life for the animal, if it is not improving after she has received the proper dosage of antibiotics for at least a week or if she is visibly suffering.

I have an older boy who has lost the use of his back legs but is still able to get around, eat and drink and chill with his brother. I have him in a one level cage with a soft blanket for bedding so he can get purchase on it to move around.

There is also a guide on how to make medicine balls for your girl on the Rat Guide.


Smooch your girly for me.

Answer 2

It could be a stroke, a pituitary tumour, etc. My Smokey had very similar problems toward the end. Does she brux (grind and chatter her teeth) more than normal? Does her head tilt? Does she walk in circles? The circles might not be obvious - it might look like she's just wandering.

This is what happened with Smokey - she couldn't hold her food properly, she had trouble with her water bottle, her coordination was almost nonexistent (I set her down on top of a tube and she very nearly fell all the way down to the floor - she just couldn't grip the tube!) she walked in wide, slow, meandering clockwise circles, she'd forget that she was eating, wander off and then suddenly smell the food again and attack it with as much gusto as possible, only to forget and wander off again. In the end I was syringe-feeding her a mixture of watered-down babyfood and soaked lab blocks practically by force.

Steroids might help - I didn't get a chance to try this with Smokey: she deteriorated so fast that I had to have her put to sleep only a week after I noticed the problem.

You could also ask here: http://www.goosemoose.com/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,118/forum,rat

Answer 3

You did the right thing by taking her to the vet. The vet should have told you how long the medication will take to work and how long your rat should be taking it for. You should call and ask if you don't know. If you are worried that it is something more serious you could take her to another vet. Sometimes different vets will have different knowledge as some may have had another similar case wheeas another vet hasn't. I wouldn't be considering to put her down, especially as you said that she seems happy. You should do eveything possible to get her back to how she was. Putting an animal down is usually when they are close to dying and suffering. There is still hope for your rat so don't give up!

Answer 4

Is she titlting her head as well or leaning to one side? If so, it may be wry neck, which can be caused by a number of things - stroke, tumor or infection. The most common cause is an inner ear infection, but with the other symptoms you've described, it sounds like it may be more linked to a stroke.

I would suggest moving her to a one level cage as it will be more convenient for her and less likely that she would hurt herself by falling from the upper levels. 1.5 years is pretty old for a rattie, but as long as she's still eating and seems to be happy, she sounds like she still has some fight left in her.

Petsmart carries a nutritional supplement called NutriCal, which my ratties LOVE. It has the consistency of toothpaste, is high calorie and it was the only thing I could get them to eat when yogurt and baby food failed.

I had a rattie that lived to about 2 years and got a bad case of bumblefoot. When he stopped taking even the NutriCal and wouldn't come out of his pet house for a few days, I knew he was ready to go. I was going to take him in to put him down, but he was gone the next morning. Follow your gut - your rattie will let you know when she's ready.

Also, I don't know how you found your vet, but if it wasn't on a recommendation from another rat owner, I suggest finding one that may know more about ratties. A lot of vets don't know how to treat ratties and often misdiagnose or mis-subscribe medication for them. Check the following website for vets in your area that are recommended by rat owners:

http://www.rmca.org/Vets/index.php?action=list

Good luck!

Answer 5

hi there,
so sorry to hear your little one is not feeling well. this sounds very similar to when one of my rats became unwell. he was having seizures, although he had had many before we actually witnessed one, and the eventual diagnosis was a brain tumour. he also lost the ability to hold food although he was absolutely ravenous. we decided to put him to sleep when he was unable to move around in his usual manner, we stayed with him till the end - something i recommend to ensure he is looked after.
you will know when the time is right. good luck and my thoguhts are with you

Answer 6

That condition doesn't sound normal. Take her to the vet immediately to find out what's wrong. I hope she's ok.

Answer 7

she definately sounds like she is sick and you need to get this poor creature to the vet and find out what is wrong with it . good luck .

Answer 8

Could she of fallen and injured herself that way??