any ideas?

[Jordannalovesratties]

Hi everyone, I'm hoping that someone may be able to help or give some insight into my rats weird behaviour recently. A couple of days ago i found my girl merry lying flat on the bottom of her cage her breathing appeared to be fine but she was very cold and very unresponsive. She then started to move around but appeared to be dragging herself like her head was heavy rather than walking properly and shaking her head quite a lot. i had a look on the forum as i am unable to take her to a vet and the symtoms seem to be very similar to that of a p.t but a few hours later she was totally fine again and appeared to be back to herself. I was thinking maybe a seizure of some kind? But then it happened again last night exactly the same symptoms and the same time, again she was fine within a few hours. She does still shake her head every now and then and i'm keeping an eye on her tonight to see if it happens again and plan on taking her to the vet tomorrow. Although vets here in the U.K never seem to know much about rats so i am hoping that somebody here may have come across the same thing and could know what it is. It makes me very upset because i have no idea whats wrong with her and can't do anything for her, thanks very much.

 

[mamarat]

How old is she? Could it be a stroke?

 

[Jordannalovesratties]

Shes about 13 months, i was thinking that maybe is there anything i can do if it is?

 

[LA]

Have you seen her right before this happens? If so does she just become listless. If not I would want to know what happens before she does this, does she in fact have a seizure and you have happened to find her after the actual seziure and this is while she is recovering? I know it's very hard to watch a rat for a whole day. That might give some insight.

 

[Jordannalovesratties]

I've never actually seen her have a seizure i just find her like this, i have tried to keep an eye on her for today and so far she seems to be absolutly fine.

 

[LA]

I would keep an eye on her best you can. What happens before might be key in knowing what the problem is.

 

[Moon]

What a sad, scary thing. Hopefully you get some answers soon

 

[Fidget]

It's still a possibilite that she has an innner ear infection - they can be very painful and disorienting - I've had one.
If so, getting her on antibiotics quickly could make the difference between her recovering and being ok, or worsening and developing permanent problems - like a head tilt.

So it's good you are going to get her to a vet. I hope you get a proper diagnosis and the right treatment and your Merry is all better soon!