bobble head rat??

[nancyp1106]

One of our boy that we received today has a very strange behaviour. When he stands still, his head sways from side to side. It almost looks like he is dizzy. His previous owners did not take very good care of them Their cage had cedar chips in it and they were being fed a hamster mix, which was mostly corn and seeds. His brother seems fine though. Does anyone have any idea what may be going on here?? anic:

 

[SQ]

Rats have very poor eye sight. There are 3 types of eyes, some see better then others.
Your boy is trying to focus in order to see better.
This is normal behaviour, nothing to be concerned about.

 

[DadRat]

Does he have ruby eyes?

Dominic, our fawn fuzzball, has ruby eyes and has always swayed a little bit trying to see better.

 

[MomRat]

Huron Valley Rat Rescue had a comment about this recently - they actually rescued some ratties from the back room at a petsmart, they had been there for almost a year! Because some idiot bought them as pets, and the beige one swayed, so they thought it was neurologically damaged and they were put in the back room as free adoptable pets due to being damaged. Stupid Petsmart.

 

[nancyp1106]

Ok I am calmed down now
Spot (the swayer) has black eyes.
Thanks all :cloud9:

 

[handmeafish]

I'm pretty sure one of the dogs I train does the same thing! His owners were so worried, and then I cought her doing it in class, and it totally reminded me of how the rats sway to see better. She was a runt, and i've heard of them having eye issues before.

But yeah, totally normal, I guess it helps them see better, which i don't get.

 

[xxchelle]

What color is Spot?

 

[nancyp1106]

Spot and his brother are both beige hooded

 

[PitLuvs]

Are you sure spot doesn't ha e really dark burgandy colored eyes? Our Shai used to do the sway, one of the girl we just babysat did it too. Both were beige rats. Kinda cute isn't it??

 

[nancyp1106]

Well I was just reading another thread about head swaying and it seems that beige rats never have black eyes. So I looked a little closer and sure enough their eyes are dark ruby :emb:

 

[nancyp1106]

And yes it is cute, he kind of reminds me of Stevie Wonder. In fact since he didn't have a name until today, the kids are now debating renaming him Stevie

 

[lilspaz68]

hahah...I was wondering what this post would be about a bobble head rat...glad it wasn't anything scary and easily "fixed" :laugh4:

 

[xxchelle]

Yep, that's why I was asking about color. Beige rats have ruby eyes, and ruby/pink eyed rats commonly sway, so I figured Spot would be a beige rat.

 

[Cinderwolf]

And yes it is cute, he kind of reminds me of Stevie Wonder. In fact since he didn't have a name until today, the kids are now debating renaming him Stevie

:giggle: The rescue I got my girls from had a sweet little momma names Stevie for that exact reason.