Seizures

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Emmabeeee1996

Emmabeeee1996

New Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2018
Messages
4
Location
Canada Quebec
I really wasn’t expecting my rat to have another seizure but it happened again tonight. This is his third seizure and I will definitely be taking him to the vet to see what can be done. Im disappointed in myself for thinking I had figured out what was wrong and believing I could keep him from having these episodes. It happens when he’s out of his cage. he’s very nervous out of his cage yet very comfortable in his cage, and I try to let him explore but I think it stresses him out a lot and he does this weird thing with his eyes when he’s out (they seem like they kind of bulge out of his head more and you can see the whites of his eyes showing) I’m not sure if those are mini seizures or if he’s just extremely anxious. I don’t know if stress can cause seizures. I thought it was caused by music as the two previous times he was close to a speaker however this time he was close to the tv and it was turned off. I do not let my rats near electronics and always watch them but he just tends to walk around them. I’m scared that he is biting the wires or something but every time I look to see if they have been chewed there is nothing, and I don’t just leave him alone to chew on wires. It’s very odd and I don’t know if maybe TVs and computers make high pitches noises that we can’t hear that night set him off. I saved him from a little kid and i feel like that’s why he’s so nervous because he never used to be taken out. I’m not sure if I should stop taking him out of his cage if it’s going to put him at risk. I try to let him explore but I rather not risk him dying over it, he really could just hit his head or jump of something and injur his brain. He runs around uncontrollably and makes all his paws bleed and he bites his mouth. My boyfriend try’s to hold him as gently as possible when it happens but it is extremely hard and it restricts his lungs a bit. I am worried that this is dangerous but I feel like he could really hurt himself when hitting walls and I don’t know what’s worse. Should I let him run around or maybe try to trap him in a blanket I know that sounds bad but at least that way maybe his lungs wouldn’t be restricted and he also wouldn’t be hitting himself against things? Near the end of his seizures he gasps for air and then is very tired. I put him in the dark to relax and make sure he eats and drinks and is breathing okay but you can definitely hear that he’s hurt his lungs after every episode.
 
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I would suggest that you create a rat safe play area where you can be with him - that is so essential
That way you will not need to worry about him chewing wires etc.
When I had an apartment, my living room was the ratsafe play area ..... I lined the walls with sheets of chloroplast, all wires and electronics were on the other side of the chloroplast, the couch and their cage were inside the play area, thus they had access to the cage during their supervised free range time. https://www.ratshackforum.com/threads/reference-thread-read-only.35894/
Does he live with rattie friends?

As for seizures, lilspaz68 is a good person to get info from as she has had a great deal of experience with rats who have seizures.
Some people give rats CBD oil (made from hemp so no thc) and you could discuss it with your vet as it may have fewer side effects then the drugs used to treat seizures

Here is some info from the rat guide (a vet approved medical site for rat owners) that may be helpful http://ratguide.com/health/neurological/seizures.php

I do not have any experience dealing with rats experiencing seizures (except those who had seizures as part of the dying process), but I do have personal experience as I have had grand mal seizures

I hope that between you, your vet and lilspaz68, he is soon feeling better
 
SQ said:
I would suggest that you create a rat safe play area where you can be with him - that is so essential
That way you will not need to worry about him chewing wires etc.
When I had an apartment, my living room was the ratsafe play area ..... I lined the walls with sheets of chloroplast, all wires and electronics were on the other side of the chloroplast, the couch and their cage were inside the play area, thus they had access to the cage during their supervised free range time. https://www.ratshackforum.com/threads/reference-thread-read-only.35894/
Does he live with rattie friends?

As for seizures, lilspaz68 is a good person to get info from as she has had a great deal of experience with rats who have seizures.
Some people give rats CBD oil (made from hemp so no thc) and you could discuss it with your vet as it may have fewer side effects then the drugs used to treat seizures

Here is some info from the rat guide (a vet approved medical site for rat owners) that may be helpful http://ratguide.com/health/neurological/seizures.php

I do not have any experience dealing with rats experiencing seizures (except those who had seizures as part of the dying process), but I do have personal experience as I have had grand mal seizures

I hope that between you, your vet and lilspaz68, he is soon feeling better
Click to expand...

Thank you! I will definitely never allow him to be around electronics of any kind. Im still uncertain if that’s even the cause but As soon as I have the chance I’ll make any cord or wire unreachable to him. Most of the time he is just on my couch and really has no interest in anything else but to climb on the top of his cage. But I’ve learned the hard way that every once and a while when he does want to sneak around wires that’s when it happens and I’ll try my best so that it doesn’t happen again, I’m
Not sure if it’s a coincidence or if that’s really what is causing this. It seems like it happens when he’s a bit more interested in exploring so maybe he’s just afraid to explore because every time he goes on the ground and starts to sniff new places this happens. He has a friend and they get along well and he’s very comfortable with me petting him and touching him in the cage and he will climb on me and give me kisses but he is just very scared outside the cage no matter what I do. Maybe he has some neurological problems? I find it very strange how his eyes look when I put him on the sofa or on the ground. I’ve never experienced an animal with seizures before so this is definitely a learning experience. I really hope I am equipped to take care of him if it gets worse and he has them more often.
 
When he's outside the cage with his eyes wide and the sclera showing that sounds like nerves, fear of the unknown. As you've seen seizures are a whole different ballgame. If being that frightened outside of the cage causes these seizures I would definitely just work with him inside the cage.

do you ever see him rear up and bat the air, or does he just tear around the cage in a panic running into things as he goes?

Have you seen any triggers to his behavior like vacuuming, loud noises, sudden bright light?
 
lilspaz68 said:
When he's outside the cage with his eyes wide and the sclera showing that sounds like nerves, fear of the unknown. As you've seen seizures are a whole different ballgame. If being that frightened outside of the cage causes these seizures I would definitely just work with him inside the cage.

do you ever see him rear up and bat the air, or does he just tear around the cage in a panic running into things as he goes?

Have you seen any triggers to his behavior like vacuuming, loud noises, sudden bright light?
Click to expand...

He has never had a seizure in the cage and he’s never reared up. Only outside the cage he runs around and hits things. I think sound is a trigger but this third time there was no sound. Should I not take him out if he’s that afraid?
 
He only does the eye thing when out of the cage but I don’t see how it could be a panic attack because he will run continuously until his feet bleed and he seems completely out of control, it is almost impossible to catch him and when we do he’s still twitching and running.
 
This has nothing to do with his seizures .... but I am wondering if it would help if you make a play area with you on your bed where he and his friend have access to their cage ..... assuming the cat never comes into your room and nothing smells like the cat ....... if he would feel safer there
 
The cat isn’t allowed downstairs and I let him go on my sofa as it’s high up and he feels safer. He does the eye thing at first and then he calms down and looks normal and gets a bit bored so he’ll jump off and that’s when it usually goes wrong!
 
I’m going to take him to the vet as soon as I can. I’m not sure if he’ll need seizure medication? It has only happened three times in his life but every time it happens I’m very scared for him as it looks awful. I wish I was smarter to take him when it first happened but the first time I really thought it was a random event, the second time i was afraid but then I thought it was only triggered by sound and now this third time it’s happened too many times to not take him to the vet and it definitely seems like it will happen again in his lifetime unfortunately. He became very afraid after his cagemate died... the kid I saved them from really neglected them. Really it was the mom who should be taking care of them but she left them to the mercy of a 9 year old who wasn’t shown what to do or taught responsibility. Under the child’s care two rats died :( and now this one has seizures. His new buddy brings him comfort but he will probably never be completely unafraid do to his past.
 
Maybe a rat safe play area with things to explore, access to his cage and you sitting in it with him and his friends
When he starts to do the eye thing, I wonder if it would help if you cuddled him, or if you put him back in his cage with the door open - so he would feel safe and would be able to choose to resume activity if he wanted to Some ideas re play areas: https://www.ratshackforum.com/threads/reference-thread-read-only.35894/
 
He is always close to his cage and can access it if he wants but I’ll definetly make a smaller, safer area for him to be in and I’ll try to make sure it’s higher up. I’m always by his side as I know he’s too nervous to be left alone. I try speaking to him gently to comfort him and I try to pet him when he’s out of the cage but he doesn’t let me pet him for too long which is odd because in his cage he’ll lick me and let me pet his tummy and his head for hours. He’s such a sweet boy I really hope I can help him feel better!
 
i'm going to post 2 videos of more classic seizure activity (I hope since Photobucket is difficult to navigate now, so let me know when you cannot see a link)

the first boy we assume had a brain tumour as he barely responded to the phenobarbital and other medications.

the 2nd boy responded right away and was completely seizure free on meds

i think I might have the videos posted on Ratshack since Bear was owned by a former member. let me check
 
Thank you. Its pretty puzzling to me! Whether he’ll need meds or not I guess the vet will let me know. It’s not something that happens every day but it’s definitely happened too many times to not get him checked out. If he takes medication it won’t be for a long time before I know if it’s even working, probably months even since it happens so spaced out. He’s definitely having the kind of seizure where he runs around uncontrollably, I’m not sure if that’s grand mal. I’ll check the hermits post out. Thanks again!
 
I’m even afraid to bring him to the vet as I have to take a bus and subway and I’m really scared of what would happen if he has a seizure running around uncontrollably in the bus... I’ll either get someone to drive me or I’ll go really early Sunday morning as less people tend to take public transportation at that time. Wish me luck
 
Yeah I have a small carrier! I don’t know why I’m worried he’ll get out or something if he has a seizure. Or if it’s dangerous to confine him if he has one! It probably won’t happen anyways and I’ll just put soft blankets in there and make sure it’s really secure.
 

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