Blindness

[missusjess]

Does anyone have experience with sudden blindness?

One of my LMR girls, Lilac, went blind this week. Earlier in the week, I noticed her balance seemed off - she'd fall over while grooming. No head tilt or anything, but my first thought was an ear infection. After a few days of amoxicillin, there were no changes, so I took her to the vet yesterday. He determined that she's gone blind. She's eating, drinking, and still wanders around the cage and during free range, but she's spending a lot more time sleeping. She eats solid food better when I hold it for her because she has a hard time finding it if she accidentally drops it.

I'm actually impressed at how well she's doing for losing her sight so suddenly. She's just more hesitant to move around and I suppose it will take some time for her to get used to losing her vision.

Unfortunately, as my vet pointed out, it's hard to tell what could have caused this. My hope is that she'll learn to cope soon because she's usually the most outgoing of all my girls. I've put more blankets in the cage (they have the double CN) so if she takes a tumble, it'll be a soft landing. I'm talking to her before I touch her because I accidentally startled her once and don't want to repeat that. Does anyone else have any suggestions for helping her adapt?

 

[Dazzle87]

It's probably an obvious one, but keep the cage layout the same. In addition to the blankets, I'd add extra flat hammocks to the cage if possible.

I find it a little odd that she'd fall over while grooming because she is blind. Perhaps someone else can tell you if this is typical.

 

[fenshae]

Rats really don't rely on their vision very much. Even when their eyes work like normal, they still see pretty poorly, double that for rats with pink-eyes...they mostly see their world in big blurry patches of light and dark (sort of like me when I take off my glasses, LOL). I've met several rats with double cataracts, or even those missing eyes, and they adjusted pretty well. They've still got excellent ears/noses/whisker sense!

The fact that it was sudden-onset and that her coordination seems affected is worrying. It makes me wonder if she may have something going on in her head, like a tumor, that's affecting several parts of her brain (including the optic nerve). I'd keep an eye on her behavior for sure and see if she starts exhibiting other PT-type signs -- inability to hold food, confusion, circling, uncoordinated walking, etc.

 

[jorats]

Mmm...I wouldn't think her being blind would cause her to lose her balance. Like it was already pointed out, rats really don't rely on their sense of sight. It's so poorly to begin with.
I'd keep an eye on her, for more symptoms like not able to grasp food or confusion. How old is she?

 

[missusjess]

The balance has been better but she definitely can't see at all. She is 25 months. She's sleeping a lot more today and seems even less herself. I have a really bad feeling about this. :-(

 

[lilspaz68]

The confusion you see with the onset of PT makes them seem blind but they really aren't. Its a tumour behind their brain that presses on it and causes a lot of different symptoms. Can you off her a cheerio and see if she's able to grasp it with her front paws equally? Or if she ends up stiff-legged and confused while trying to eat the cheerio? This is a test rat owners use to determine if their rat has Pituitary Tumor or not.