Older rat becoming very skittish overnight

[julian]

My oldest rat (1y7m) has become very skittish and will not leave the cage overnight and she never used to be like this.
She will squirm and flinch when I touch her or try to pet her and she hardly will come to my hand to take food which has never happened before. She was even less scared when I first got her.
She has a lot of porphyrin around her eyes and she doesn’t seem to be grooming it off and her left eye is bulging quite a bit (her right eye is full of porphyrin but not her left) although it doesn’t seem to be causing much discomfort. I haven’t noticed any changes in appetite but i’m keeping a close eye on her - her breathing seems very loud though, it sounds just like when my rat Mina first got a respiratory infection and passed from it Also judging by her body language she doesn’t seem to be in pain but I’m thinking otherwise seeing as she is flinching when i touch her and not coming out of the cage. I’m just quite shocked it’s happened so quickly, the other day I could pet her and she would run around freely out of the cage and come up to me for food with zero issues?!
I’m worried and a bit scared, if anyone could help that’d be great!

 

[Kye]

Is her head tilted at all ? And is she walking in circles/falling over at all ? If you could get a video of her breathing and possibly moving around then send it here(post somewhere like YouTube and link it here) it could help us determine what's going on

 

[julian]

Is her head tilted at all ? And is she walking in circles/falling over at all ? If you could get a video of her breathing and possibly moving around then send it here(post somewhere like YouTube and link it here) it could help us determine what's going on

Thank you for replying
I did question if PT was onsetting and I considered those symptoms, but she does not seem to be tilting her head or falling over. I'm watching her behaviour closely though. She also seems to be eating and using her hands/legs fine. Her muffled and noisy breathing has gone, but it tends to come and go so I'm not sure if I should still be as concerned. She does seem to be a bit more slow and confused compared to my younger rats but it may be an age thing seeing as she has been going more slowly recently anyways and my babies are only 4/5 months old, but it may explain her suddenly becoming scared and her sniffing and wandering around the cage cluelessly, but it doesn't seem particularly out of the blue for her, it's just her being petrified of everything all of a sudden that I find quite concerning. She isn't moving much as she isn't really leaving the cage although the doors are wide open so she is free to leave when she likes, and I've noticed her head swaying slightly as she walks but it's hard to get a video of. If she leaves the cage I will definitely try and get a video though.

 

[julian]

Thank you for replying
I did question if PT was onsetting and I considered those symptoms, but she does not seem to be tilting her head or falling over. I'm watching her behaviour closely though. She also seems to be eating and using her hands/legs fine. Her muffled and noisy breathing has gone, but it tends to come and go so I'm not sure if I should still be as concerned. She does seem to be a bit more slow and confused compared to my younger rats but it may be an age thing seeing as she has been going more slowly recently anyways and my babies are only 4/5 months old, but it may explain her suddenly becoming scared and her sniffing and wandering around the cage cluelessly, but it doesn't seem particularly out of the blue for her, it's just her being petrified of everything all of a sudden that I find quite concerning. She isn't moving much as she isn't really leaving the cage although the doors are wide open so she is free to leave when she likes, and I've noticed her head swaying slightly as she walks but it's hard to get a video of. If she leaves the cage I will definitely try and get a video though.

Just recently (for the past couple of minutes) she's been dropping all her food through the bars from a higher floor on the cage and not being able to eat it... I don't know if this was just her accident but it happened 3 times in a row and every little thing is making me worried :/

 

[Dena]

With the eye bulging, food dropping, and behavior change, I'm leaning towards PT. You can message lilspaz, and ask her to look at this post, and she can give you a better idea. I'd make her cage as fall friendly as possible. Lots of low hammocks, as few levels as possible, soft things to land on if she falls. As far as food, you can make a mush from her rat blocks, by soaking them in cool water. They will be easier for her to eat. Feed her lots of soft things she can lick up. I feed my PT girl some baby formula mixed with baby cereal, to keep a little weight on her, and help her fill her tummy. Also I give her lots of soft fruits and veggies she doesn't have to hold to eat, and things like baby food, along with her blocks....

 

[Kye]

I agree with everything Dena said, the best person for this case is definitely lilspaz in case it is a PT and 100% make sure she has soft food in case

 

[julian]

With the eye bulging, food dropping, and behavior change, I'm leaning towards PT. You can message lilspaz, and ask her to look at this post, and she can give you a better idea. I'd make her cage as fall friendly as possible. Lots of low hammocks, as few levels as possible, soft things to land on if she falls. As far as food, you can make a mush from her rat blocks, by soaking them in cool water. They will be easier for her to eat. Feed her lots of soft things she can lick up. I feed my PT girl some baby formula mixed with baby cereal, to keep a little weight on her, and help her fill her tummy. Also I give her lots of soft fruits and veggies she doesn't have to hold to eat, and things like baby food, along with her blocks....

Thank you! I have contacted them.

I appreciate the advice, I have adjusted the cage and I'll definitely start doing what you suggested with her food.

 

[Rattie]

I hope she's not in pain and those changes can still be reversed.

 

[Dena]

How is your rattie doing? I just had to put my girl down Tuesday....