Introductions (With a special needs rat)

[Ratturtles]

This is my first time introducing rats and so far I think everything is going well but I'm not sure. I originally had two girls and I recently added another to the family. The new rat, Subie, has some neurological issues, she walks off balance and has a head tilt.
I kept Subie away from my residents for about two weeks because she was on medicine for a suspected respiratory infection. She was not used to being alone and she's in my small temporary cage so this definitely took a toll on her.
I started introductions about 4 days ago. No one has shown any signs of aggression. My resident girls keep trying to sniff her butt and Subie does not like it, she squeals like shes in pain when they try, but from what I can tell they're not actually hurting her. My residents are super interested in her and keep trying to play but she seems to have no interest in befriending them.
Sometimes Subie will just sit in the same spot with her eyes half closed for a few minutes, unmoving. She seems to only do this when I have her out with my resident girls. I cannot tell if its because shes having a horrible time or if it has something to do with her neurological issues but it can be rather frightening. After a minute or two she seems to snap out of it and runs around like nothing happened.

Does this sound normal? Am I doing something wrong? I was worried my resident girls were not going to accept her but the exact opposite seems to be happening, she doesn't seem to like them. Any advice?

(I also want to mention that the new girl has already been seen by my veterinarian. She was treated for an ear infection and for the respiratory issues. From what her old owner told me she was born with the neurological issues as the result of bad breeding.)

 

[Dena]

Poor baby! Do you know what meds they treated her with for the ear infection, or how long? Has she had the head tilt her whole life, and walked off balance her whole life? Were you the one who took her to the vet? If not, have you had your own vet take a look at her? How old is she? I don't know if I'd 100% believe all her old owner has said. But I don't know your, or her situation. Take a video of her walking and how she acts alone and with the others, put it on YouTube, and copy and paste the link on here. Someone more experienced will be able to chime on soon I'm sure.

 

[lilspaz68]

Rats are rarely born with neurological issues (unless is hydrocephalus but that is very different), but they can develop inner ear infections/head tilt at a very young age . Inner ear infections need to be treated aggressively and for longer than a regular respiratory infection. What antibiotics did you treat with?
As for the squealing, it's not pain, it's just communication. She's telling them she's nervous and not to touch her. The hunkering down and freezing with eyes still is just enduring the introduction with the new rats, she's scared and just kinda freezes up, waiting for "bad things" to happen. When they don't she "wakes up" and runs around. The introductions sound like they are going pretty well with your residents and your new tilty girl.

 

[Ratturtles]

Poor baby! Do you know what meds they treated her with for the ear infection, or how long? Has she had the head tilt her whole life, and walked off balance her whole life? Were you the one who took her to the vet? If not, have you had your own vet take a look at her? How old is she? I don't know if I'd 100% believe all her old owner has said. But I don't know your, or her situation. Take a video of her walking and how she acts alone and with the others, put it on YouTube, and copy and paste the link on here. Someone more experienced will be able to chime on soon I'm sure.

I was told by her previous owner that she was treated for an ear infection when she was young. She did not remember which medication she had been on.
I took her to my own veterinarian shortly after bringing her home, my vet diagnosed her with an ear infection on her right side and as a result prescribed tresaderm solution to be placed into her right ear every 12 hours for 7 days. I also suspected she had a respiratory infection so at the same time she was on doxycycline and enrofloxacin every 12 hours for 10 days.
She is now done with all the medications listed above and while the respiratory infection seems better, her balance and head tilt is still the same as it was.

I got her off of craigslist and I do not know her old owner personally so it is completely possible that she was lying. With that in mind, I was told that she's been like this since birth. She's about a year and two weeks old.

I will try to get a video at some point and once I do I'll post a link.

 

[Ratturtles]

Rats are rarely born with neurological issues (unless is hydrocephalus but that is very different), but they can develop inner ear infections/head tilt at a very young age . Inner ear infections need to be treated aggressively and for longer than a regular respiratory infection. What antibiotics did you treat with?
As for the squealing, it's not pain, it's just communication. She's telling them she's nervous and not to touch her. The hunkering down and freezing with eyes still is just enduring the introduction with the new rats, she's scared and just kinda freezes up, waiting for "bad things" to happen. When they don't she "wakes up" and runs around. The introductions sound like they are going pretty well with your residents and your new tilty girl.

Antibiotics are listed in my reply above. What would a rat with hydrocephalus act like? Subie walks around like shes drunk and if I put her up on my bed she runs right off of the edge and falls onto the floor. When she drinks water she does it with her head angled sideways. She eats normally and when she's sitting still you cant even tell anything is wrong with her.
As for introductions I'm glad to hear that everything she's doing is normal. How long does it typically take for rats to stop showing these signs of fear?

 

[lilspaz68]

10 days of drops and antibiotics isn't enough to treat any active infection unfortunately. It may suppress it for awhile but it will rise back to life. Once you've cured the infection the tilt often is permanent BUT the rat adapts to her new slightly tilted life. The pain, nausea and dizziness goes once you cure the infection which I'm guessing you may not have.

 

[SQ]

When I have had a rat with an inner ear infection they needed to be on antibiotics for at least 6 weeks - some needed to be on antibiotics for months

the treatment is an antibiotic + an anti-inflammatory such as Metacam or prednisone to help prevent permanent damage
Untreated, rats will get increasingly ill and die
http://ratguide.com/health/auricle_ear/otitis_media_otitis_interna_labyrinthitis.php

 

[Ratturtles]

When I have had a rat with an inner ear infection they needed to be on antibiotics for at least 6 weeks - some needed to be on antibiotics for months the treatment is an antibiotic + an anti-inflammatory such as Metacam or prednisone to help prevent permanent damage
Untreated, rats will get increasingly ill and die
http://ratguide.com/health/auricle_ear/otitis_media_otitis_interna_labyrinthitis.php

What is my next step in that case? Back to the vet? How does one determine length of treatment?

 

[Dena]

Yes. Back to vet. I'd at least treat for 6 weeks to play it safe. As far as with what, that's a Lilspaz or SQ question.

 

[lilspaz68]

Doxy and baytril is fine just has to be a very minimum of 3 weeks treatment possibly longer. Does she still seem unbalanced or dizzy?

 

[Ratturtles]

Okay guys things seem to have taken a turn for the worst She's not being as active as normal and she's making a clicking noise almost constantly. She seems to be breathing heavy and she keeps sitting in the same spot breathing hard for long periods of time. I started noticing this late last night and of course no vets that see rats are open today or tomorrow. I cannot afford to bring her to the emergency vet so for right now I started her back up on the antibiotics she was on. I gave her one dose yesterday and another today, of doxycycline at .25 ml/cc and of enrofloxacin at .25 ml/cc. She seems more active today than she did last night but the clicking seems worse today than it did yesterday. Should the antibiotics help? When should I start seeing improvement in her. Do I need to alter her doseage? What else can I do until I can get her into the vet on Monday or Tuesday??

Attached is a video of her. The first two videos I took when I first got her about three weeks ago, the other videos after the "Now " slide are all from this morning. Does this seem like a respiratory infection or is it more likely related to her ear infection?? Or is it something else entirely??

 

[Ratturtles]

I did start another forum about this too. I wasn't sure if replying here would get me a faster answer or not.