Skittles head tilt *edit* I think he actually may have had a stroke or neuro issue

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Dena

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Joined
Nov 12, 2018
Messages
377
Location
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A little bit ago I noticed skittle digging in, and scratching his right ear. His head is also slightly tilted to the right. There's nothing coming out of it, and no funky smells. He's still eating and drinking like normal. No circling. He just seems....pouty and a little tilted. I definitely already have meds on hand. Should I just give as a precaution? Also should I give prednisone as well? I'll try to get a video of him.
 


Please ignore all background noise. My family is nuts! Also, he was kinda being a brat and not wanting to come to me. But if he feels bad, it's excused. 😉
 
Definitely start antibiotics. He looks a little dizzy as well as tilted. Good combo and if he's been tilted more than 3 days the prednisone is unlikely to help much.
 
Skittle weighs about 450 grams. How much prednisone do I give him? I have methylprednisone 4mg tablets, and prednisone 10mg tablets. How do I mix, and how much do I give him?
 
Skittle has taken a turn for the worse. He will barely move, squeaks when touched, and I'm having to feed him water by a syringe. I didn't know the steroid dose, so I gave him .17ml of metacam. I don't know what could be wrong with him, and because of the hurricane, I won't be able to take him to the vet.... I'll do what I can for him here....
 
Hmmmmm well now he has seemed to come alive all of a sudden. Bruxing and boggling, and pooping all over my lap. No longer squeaking when touched, and eating his food mush. 😕 I don't know what is going on with this boy! Could it be that the antibiotics and metacam have helped that fast? So strange.....
 
Hmmmmm well now he has seemed to come alive all of a sudden. Bruxing and boggling, and pooping all over my lap. No longer squeaking when touched, and eating his food mush. 😕 I don't know what is going on with this boy! Could it be that the antibiotics and metacam have helped that fast? So strange.....
Idk if they help THAT fast, but hey, take it as a blessing
 
Hi, that could be a reaction to the Metacam, I don't know exactly what it does to their brain, but I noticed on Trooper that it made him act hyperactive just right after I gave it to him. The medication helps with the pain but the way they react is scary. I would read more about Metacam.
 
I closely monitored reactions and I don't think thay was the case here. I read about this medicament used in cats, and there was a pattern there. I would just say to watch for side effects .
 
My rats have never had a negative reaction to Metacam. I suspect it's just what lilspaz68 said, the relief the medication caused probably gave him a burst of energy. My Mazu had a very bad ear infection and when she went on Metacam (along with other medications) you could SEE the relief with her. She never had any problems with it though !
 
I actually figured the metacam possibly made him out of it, since he seemed to come alive HOURS after getting it. He was just floppy, and would just lay there in my lap, and I had to syringe him fluids and hold his mush in a spoon under his chin so he could lick it up a few lick at a time. He literally didn't even seem to have the strength to close his eyes. I could hear his tummy making strange noises, and then he pooped all over me a few times (not runny, but soft, smelly poop), then he seemed to perk up. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
I actually figured the metacam possibly made him out of it, since he seemed to come alive HOURS after getting it. He was just floppy, and would just lay there in my lap, and I had to syringe him fluids and hold his mush in a spoon under his chin so he could lick it up a few lick at a time. He literally didn't even seem to have the strength to close his eyes. I could hear his tummy making strange noises, and then he pooped all over me a few times (not runny, but soft, smelly poop), then he seemed to perk up. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Maybe he ate something that got stuck in his bowels or he had some sort of gastritis. Poor little man. How is he now?
 
Slightly more spoiled than before. He runs up to the doors of the cage when he thinks I may be coming over there, and wants to jump up on my shoulder. Then, if I don't hold him as long as he'd like, he throws a fit, and pouts. I've been feeding him lots of baby food veggies, and baby rice cereal, along with his blocks. So I at least know he's getting SOME kind of wet intake.
 
He actually acts like he may have had a stroke or something. His entire right side is weaker than his left. He seems off balanced once in a while. When he eats, he holds his food in his left hand, and has trouble gripping with his right. He also eats super slow. When you do the foot flip test, like you do a dog, he will just leave his right hand sort of knuckled, and is slow to flip his right foot, or will drag it, then flip it. When he grooms, he uses me to lean on so he can wipe his face (more so with left hand than right), and can barely groom his boy parts. I have been having to do that for him.
 
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So besides his right side seeming weaker, and his right hand knuckling when he tries to walk, he is mostly dragging his right leg behind him. He seems to get a little more perky, then go down hill, back and forth. And all he wants all the time is for me to hold him. If I walk near the cage, he hears my jingling bracelets, and crawls to the bars, and begs to be held.....
 
With a stroke, a rat can recover on their own over time possibly fully but most times just better, or another stroke could take them away from you.. steroids do help in this case as it hastens the process.
It sounds like he just wants to be held.
 
Oh he definitely wants to be held! I hold him a lot lately, since if I'm not feeding him, he seems to not eat. He can only hold food in his left hand, and eats incredibly slow. I have been washing his underside, since he seems to just lay in his own urine now. He didn't care for it at first, but now he seems to relax as I'm cleaning him, and often he pees or poops as I clean him. Yesterday, every time I fed him, he would eat a whole bunch (or what I would think is a bunch, like 2 large tablespoons of oats baby food with pears and apples, baby food sweet potatoes, and later, a couple tablespoons of plain yogurt), then he'd curl up on my chest or lap, and sleep for a while.
 
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