Bumble Bee's Head Tilt/Could This Be Permanent?

[Petitepuppet]

My poor lil Bee has a head tilt so we were off to the vets first thing this morning. The vet said it is most likely an ear infection so has put her on baytril. 0.1 twice a day for a week. If she shows no improvement within a week then the vet said it would be something else like a parasite. So fingers crossed she makes a speedy recovery.

Just wondering if anyone else has had experience with ear infections and has any info?

Thanks Chelcie x

 

[jorats]

Heat tilts are so common in our rats and most are an ear infection, some can be the start of PT in aged rats.
Usually the tilt remains but the rat recovers well and is healthy again.

 

[lilspaz68]

Can I ask about the baytril? It really is .01 cc's twice a day? What concentration is your baytril? (mg/ml) and approx what weight is Bumble Bee?

 

[Petitepuppet]

Sorry it is 0.1ml twice a day.

I have no idea what she weighs as I dont have scales and she didnt get weighed at the vets.

She is 3 months old.

 

[lilspaz68]

Sorry it is 0.1ml twice a day.

I have no idea what she weighs as I dont have scales and she didnt get weighed at the vets.

She is 3 months old.

That sounds better...*whew*.. I was just worried about underdosing

 

[Petitepuppet]

Sorry about that, I really should look at what I have typed before clicking submit.

I will update this in a weeks time and let you know how she got on.

 

[Maple]

Hoping Bumble Bee is on the road to recovery.

 

[Petitepuppet]

Thank you Maple.

She has been a really good girl and is taking her meds with no problem so hopefully she will be back to normal next week :thumbup: .

 

[SQ]

It is likely that she will need to be on the meds longer then 1 week to recover from the inner ear infection.
(Likely 2 or 3 weeks at least, in my experience.)

If the baytril isn't effective, she may need baytril + clavamox together or chloremphenicol.
Often rats are also given an anti inflamatory to reduce swelling in order to prevent permanent damange.

Hope she is soon feeling better and makes a quick recovery.

btw, to my knowlege, the causes of head tilt in rats are inner ear infections, pituitary tumor, or stroke and all 3 causes require the same treatment.

 

[Petitepuppet]

If the baytril isn't effective, she may need baytril + clavamox together or chloremphenicol.

.

What are they? Antibiotics?

 

[Petitepuppet]

So Bee has been on her baytril for nearly a week now with no sign of improvement so she has been given another weeks worth which is bad news for her as she is getting fed up with it. She gets a slice of banana afterwards to help get rid of the taste. Anyhoo thought I would share a couple of photos of her with everyone. Isnt she stunning?

 

[rat.charmer]

She is such a cutie. I hope she feels better soon

 

[mamarat]

She's such a pretty girl. Hope she gets better soon.

 

[Petitepuppet]

Bee has been on baytil for nearly 2 weeks now but is showing no sighs of losing her tilt. She is still her normal self but now I cant help but think that she might always be like this. Could the tilt be permanent?

 

[mamarat]

Yes the tilt could remain but as long as you clear the infection she will adapt to the tilt.

 

[Petitepuppet]

How will I know that the infection has cleared up? When she was at the vets he just looked at her and said propably a ear infection. He never looked in her ear or anything.

 

[Godmother]

I have a rat whose head tilt did not go away, even though she is otherwise very healthy. With your girl, you might want to ask the vet about adding Clavamox because it is supposed to penetrate tissues well. If you have done antibiotics for at least three weeks (some vets suggest 6 weeks for ear infection) and your ratty is otherwise doing OK, then you will know that the infection is probably gone.

If it is not gone, she'll get worse after you stop antibiotics. My vet advised me to taper the antibiotics slowly, so you might want to ask yours for suggestions in that regard.

The vet wouldn't have looked in her ear because I don't think that inner ear infections are visible from the outside.

I am sad that my Julia will probably always have her tilt. It's a bad one, and her balance is still not normal. My first head tilt ratty had a near-miraculous cure.

 

[Petitepuppet]

Ok thanks. I will get her back to the vets on wednesday and see about getting another weeks worth of antibiotics.

Sorry for all the questions but its the first time I have had a rat with a head tilt and I want to make sure I do the right thing for her. Thanks for all the help everyone x