Possible ear infection?

The Rat Shack Forum

Help Support The Rat Shack Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

RattoPazzo

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 8, 2020
Messages
113
Location
Italy
My rat currently has a very itchy ear and due to HLD she has been unable to clean it herself. About a week ago I started cleaning it for her and today I noticed a zit-like thing at the end of the ear canal. She has no has tilt, no foul smell in her ear and no balance issues. she only gets a bit of wax accumulation that is easily cleaned and looks and smells perfectly normal to me. Could it still be ear infection or is there something else that could cause this?
thanks
 
Can you please post a picture or video showing the ear or more specifically the lump... I'm hoping it's not what my first instinct told me(zymbal's gland tumor) but a photo would definitely help
 
I hope it's not that...
I will as soon as I can get a decent one. Just so you can get a better idea, it's inside her ear canal where her ear drum might be so really deep (that's why I didn't noticed until now and why it's hard to get a good pic).
I'll also bi sending the pic to my vet who is most likely going to want to do a tc scan. could that be helpful?
 
Here are the pics

WhatsApp Image 2022-03-14 at 12.52.37 (1).jpeg
WhatsApp Image 2022-03-14 at 12.52.37.jpeg
 
So sorry I didn't get back to you sooner, hows her ear now.? Any changes.?
 
No worries😊.
no, I haven't seen any changes. my vet doesn't think is anything too bad since there is no smell and no head tilt but I'm not so sure. He has instructed me to clean her ear with an ear cleaning solution (no oils) and see if it goes away.
Since just few weeks ago one of her litter mates died of what I suspect is ZGT (she was not mine but I've been keeping in touch with the owner) you can imagine my state of mind 🥲 . but at this point she has had it for at leas tow weeks and maybe more...
 
Hmm I'm not sure what it could be if I'm being honest, I su just watch it and see ?
 
That's great. Hope everything goes back to normal. Thanks for the updates, and keep us posted?
 
I hope so as well. At the moment she is battling something else and she is going to the vet tomorrow. I've posted in a new thread all the details but long story short I'm worried she has pyometra. As she is now 2.7 years old it would be a disaster...
 
I hope so as well. At the moment she is battling something else and she is going to the vet tomorrow. I've posted in a new thread all the details but long story short I'm worried she has pyometra. As she is now 2.7 years old it would be a disaster...
Just read your thread and made a quick google on pyometra. These clinical signs are very interesting: increased thirst and urination, and loss of appetite, are exactly the opposite of what your rat is showing. I hope it's just a minor infection. Keep us posted, please?
 
we went to the vet and he confirmed pyometra. she is on enrofloxacin and metacam for the pain but the main thing is that she needs to start drinking again... for now we are trying to force her (witch is not nice for anybody) with a syringe. the goal is to get her to take in 20/25 ml. today we are at 7, maybe. she has also lost 30grams in 5 days so she is not eating enough... I don't want to give up since the vet is giving her a chance, but it's hard at the moment and more so because she was completely fine a week ago.

if you have any tips, tricks or advice on anything, especially how to convince her to drink again, please share...
 
Ps. she also seams to have grown a mass a the base of her tail like a single small testicle. As soon as she wakes up I'm going to take a picture. This is warring me further 'cause her late sister had a similar mass appear a few weeks before passing. She died of a combination of PT an Pyometra and this mass never got identified... it's soft like a mammary tumor but but I'm almost certain she did not have it this morning
 
if you have any tips, tricks or advice on anything, especially how to convince her to drink again, please share...
Just googled it, hope this is worth considering:

"Try to encourage your rat to drink water by sweetening it with a little sugar and offering it through an eye dropper or oral syringe. Add a pinch of salt and two pinches of sugar to a quarter-cup of warm water. Stir to dissolve. Using too much sugar or salt will further dehydrate your rat."
 
Just googled it, hope this is worth considering:

"Try to encourage your rat to drink water by sweetening it with a little sugar and offering it through an eye dropper or oral syringe. Add a pinch of salt and two pinches of sugar to a quarter-cup of warm water. Stir to dissolve. Using too much sugar or salt will further dehydrate your rat."
Thanks! since she was loosing weight I was using lactose free milk to get her to take in some fluids.

I've been syringe feeding her for the last 3 days. at first I had to force her a lot but now she is taking it willingly. on the first she seamed to have lost her appetite but today, on the third day she ate a bit of watermelon and some fruity baby food completely on her own. she has been passing stul once a day in little pallets, so no diarrhea! she is also peeing consistently.
she also seamed more lively today, poking her head out of her hide for the firs time since being on ab.
It's hard not to get my hopes up, even if I have yet to find a case of a rat surviving pyometra solely on antibiotics. Do you think it's possible? the vet said it was a mild case, still life threatening of course, but he seams to think she has a chance.
 
Thanks! since she was loosing weight I was using lactose free milk to get her to take in some fluids.

I've been syringe feeding her for the last 3 days. at first I had to force her a lot but now she is taking it willingly. on the first she seamed to have lost her appetite but today, on the third day she ate a bit of watermelon and some fruity baby food completely on her own. she has been passing stul once a day in little pallets, so no diarrhea! she is also peeing consistently.
she also seamed more lively today, poking her head out of her hide for the firs time since being on ab.
It's hard not to get my hopes up, even if I have yet to find a case of a rat surviving pyometra solely on antibiotics. Do you think it's possible? the vet said it was a mild case, still life threatening of course, but he seams to think she has a chance.
Right, you cannot blame yourself for getting your hopes up with what you observed lately. Sorry, I'm no expert, but considering pyometra as an infection, then why not? Let's just say the vet knows better?
 
considering pyometra as an infection, then why not? Let's just say the vet knows better?
Yeah, you are correct!
It's just strange that there are no stories online, but who knows.
In the mine time she seams to get better every day. she has more energy (that she uses to protest when I give her water) and has been eating on her own for tow days now!
 
Yeah, you are correct!
It's just strange that there are no stories online, but who knows.
In the mine time she seams to get better every day. she has more energy (that she uses to protest when I give her water) and has been eating on her own for tow days now!
That's fantastic. Getting better is the best sign we all want to see. And you pretty much did the best there was to do. The rest is a blessing.:) Is she still taking antibiotics?
 
Back
Top