Seizures

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Charlie, the boy who probably looks more like your boy than Bear does. His seizures are violent and I had to hold him carefully so he wouldn't hurt himself. He responded beautifully to phenobarbitol. So much that once he was stable on it, I started to slowly wean him down to the lowest possible effective dose. I kept bringing his dose down waiting for that moment he would regress slightly and then I would go back to the previous dose. He never regressed and ended up completely weaned off of it and seizure free :)

 
Thank you so much for uploading those videos for me, those poor little cuties. I’m very glad you could effectively treat Charlie’s seizures, they are definitely what my guy has! How often did he have those seizures? Is there a specific place you found easier to hold onto him by? My ratty is so hard to hold on to that I almost always drop him when trying to catch him :( I really do try my best to keep him safe but it’s so hard when he’s so wiggly like that. I appreciate it so much!
 
As you can see I held Charlie around the chest where the breast bone would help me hold but not squish his bits while I am holding onto him. I found that holding, and talking to seizing rats often helped them come out of it faster and safer when they are like this. SOME rats come out violently aggressive a rare side effect of seizures so if you notice he's acting weird, don't touch him or just be safe with a towel. Most seize and then recover slowly.
 
Luckily he’s not aggressive after seizures just very tired and floppy. I think I’ll try to get him with a blanket next time anyways just because I struggle holding him. I have to get used to the seizures too, hopefully next time I’ll be calm enough to pet him and talk to him. I’ll try to record it next time for the vet. Thanks for all the helpful information! :)
 
Oh I’d never bring a rat anywhere if I didn’t have him in a carrier and had any doubts he’d get out, I was just expressing my fear of if it happened but I wasn’t very clear. Thank you! I’ll really make sure he’s secure. :) I think I’m just so worried about it because I saw a wild rat in the subway one time and everyone was so afraid. Some people get so frightened of rats, they are so misunderstood. I just feel nervous of anyone seeing him even, I’ve had friends tell me that I shouldn’t own rats because they have diseases... usually I get someone to drive me but I have to take him in the bus. I’ll just put a blanket on top of his carrier.
 
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Also I made a more rat friendly space and blocked him off from Anything potentially dangerous. I put my couch and mattress close to each other and he sat in my lap and groomed himself although he was still doing the thing with his eyes and when he got a little more nervous I plopped him back into his cage. He seems to trust me a little more everyday. Thank you for all the help.
 
No he hasn’t had any more yet, thank you for checking in! As soon as I’m done my semester at university which will be this Friday I’m going to take him for the seizures. I’ve been trying to keep him as calm and stress free as possible. He doesn’t have them very often it’s been 2 times in the months I’ve owned him and the first time it happened I was over at the family’s house who used to own him, so 3 seizures in a year. every time its happened it gives me a heart attack though and he’s so tired after it happens. I’ll be relieved when I can take him, hopefully he stays calm through the journey to the vet, I’ll bring his friend to keep him calm.
 
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It may never happen again, so you won't need to take him to the vet unless it becomes often and he needs them suppressed.
Yeah I’m not sure, I’m considering taking him anyway just to be sure he’s okay. But it’s pretty odd, if he only has seizures every once and awhile it’s hard to kinda prevent them or know the cause. I’m wondering as he gets older if it might become more frequent? I’ll just try to make it as safe as possible but it’s always so unexpected.
 
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