Need help with rat, at a loss.

Hi there, so I own two male rats, one has just recently turned a year old in may. However, towards the end of may (to be exact, the 23rd) He began acting strange, loss of balance, head jerking, not holding food, lethargy, etc. I took him to the vet the next day and they gave me critical care and baytrill, he seemed to be improving, but after getting off the baytrill, he wasn't improving anymore, we took him back and got his teeth trimmed (he had some hooks on his molars) and we were given metacam (which he's still on)

We decided to take him to another vet a few weeks ago, got a blood test and x-ray and the only thing that came back was slight dehydration, his x-rays looked great. So we pretty much decided it was a PT. However, The head jerking is going away and is only when he's being stubborn with his critical care now. His personality hasn't changed and he's actually even more energetic (although with his motion problems its not really working out for him) and feels like he's gaining weight and muscle back.

He's been to the vet several times now and I finally put him on doxycycline and after that he just... regressed?? Now he's falling to one side, and favoring the other but before it seemed like he was actually doing ok but could be better? I'm at a loss at this point. I don't want to say its because he's reaching the end, because he's still motivated to eat, is efficiently grooming himself; albeit having trouble, but he gets the job done. He's even drinking. He's not drooling and he isn't dehydrated. I just wanted a few other people's opinions as I am a first time rat owner. Thank you.

It still really sounds like PT to me. I think his little body just isn't working very well. It isn't the end though as long as he has quality of life.

Does he have a head tilt or walk in circles? If so it could be an inner ear infection. http://ratguide.com/health/auricle_ear/otitis_media_otitis_interna_labyrinthitis.php
If so I would suggest I would suggest clavamox + an anti-inflammatory (such as prednisone or keep him on the metacam)

It could be pt but he is young for that. http://ratguide.com/health/neoplasia/pituitary_tumor.php
A stroke is also a possibility. http://ratguide.com/health/neurological/stroke.php
For both of these I would suggest baytril + a steroid such as prednisone (can not be taken with metacam and may be a waiting period between the two).
If it is pt, you might also want to try him on cabergoline http://ratguide.com/meds/central_nervous_system_drugs/cabergoline.php because it helps the most frequent type of pt.

btw, rats can not just be taken off predisone, they need to be gradually weaned off it.

You will want to make sure his cage is safe for him (ie low hammock, no high places where he can fall from, etc), provide him with at least one shallow water dish that can not be upset, and also feed him soft foods in addition to his regular blocks. I would suggest rat blocks soaked in cool water to make mush, cooked grains such as quinoa, cooked cereals such as oatmeal, organic soy infant formula thickened with baby cereal (the kind that says add milk), and soft vegs and fruits such as cooked and mashed sweet potato, carrots, etc, thawed mashed or baby food peas, a piece of ripe banana, etc

hope this helps
good luck

I was thinking inner ear infection too. He will need strong meds and for a long duration. He may need Clavamox. If it's PT you could try dexamethasone to see if it helps him become more mobile and functioning.

As Jorats said, he will need to be on meds for a long duration if it is an inner ear infection (probably at least 6 to 8 weeks or several months)

Thank you all so much for the responses, to me personally inner ear infection makes more sense, but I'm not debunking PT yet. We got him some baytril and after his doxycycline he will be going on that and we'll see what happens. But so far he isn't improving with the doxy.

He for sure has head tilt but still gets around, slowly.

I'm currently giving him access to dry oats and crushed oxbow full time along with offering stuff like lettuce, cucumber etc.
and he's getting soft carrots and broccoli along with torn up chicken and rice. He's in a quarantine because my other boy can be a little crazy, but they still get to hang out. So far both vets haven't offered a steroid of any kind but if he doesn't improve with the baytril I will ask.



Thank you again.

Doxy is not good enough and baytril probably isn't either as you need something that will work against this type of infection. He needs to be on something like clavamox ...... you can get the vet to divide it into 3 or 4 equal amounts before mixing it up as once mixed it is only good (in the fridge) for 10 days. That way one bottle will last longer.

The anti-inflammatory will help to reduce the swelling and reduce the permanent damage.

You do not have time to wait, Inner ear infections cause permanent damage and if untreated, they kill.

Thanks again, I'll call my vet tomorrow morning.

In need of some more help.
We took him to the vet, got his medication, got him some clinicare and he's improving, he can walk in a straight line, clean himself better, jump a little bit. etc.

But our main problem is some serious weight loss. He's at 11 oz. right now, and dropping. Is there anything that can help him gain weight fast? He gets avocado whenever we have it, is getting his liquid diet 4-5 times a day, gets a warm meal of things like oatmeal, blueberries, peas, banana etc and he also gets chicken, rice and things like that. Along with this at every meal if he can eat it and it isn't lethal he gets some of it. He gets crushed oxbow (which he can eat, but is still not holding everything, although he holds some things) and I haven't gotten ensure yet because I'm not to thrilled about feeding it, but will probabaly get it anyways...

He's very motivated to eat. His weight just isn't sticking.

Outside of providing tons of food that he is willing to eat, you can always try restricting his activity. There's only so much you can do there, though. I would suggest that if you have a wheel or other exercise equipment, you remove it for the time being.

Thank you for the reply, I'll definitely try that.