Rufus has a head tilt

[rhapsody]

Argh, I was gone for several days, and the hubby was supposed to keep an eye on the fuzzbutts for me, and I come back to find Rufus with a head tilt. CRAP!

I'm assuming that its probably an inner ear infection - he's around 1 year old. He was completely fine when I left on Friday (and now its Tuesday). My vet isn't in on Wednesdays, so is there anything I can do in the meantime?

I've got Amoxicillin and Doxycyclin on hand - would either of those help? When I bring Rufus in, is there any medication I should insist on?

THANKS!

Edit: Just read that ear infections are sometimes linked with respiratory issues. Did the "rat phone" and his lungs sound normal. BUT he sounds a bit odd when he sniffs in my ear - maybe some issues in his nose? No porph anywhere. He's also acting panicky.

 

[jorats]

Amoxi might be good enough. How is he doing now?
We usually just do Baytril for ear infections. Clavamox would be a good one too.

 

[rhapsody]

I got Rufus started on the Amoxy last night - he's only had two doses so far, so I haven't seen any improvement. Right now I'm trying to figure out how to transport Rufus (and a buddy) to my rescue so that they can continue to medicate him when I leave for Texas on Friday. They've got a ton of Baytril there too in case the Amoxy isn't working. I'm only gone several days, but technically this head tilt could have been going on untreated (and unnoticed) for at least four days and I want to get him on the road to recovery as soon as possible.

I'm not too happy with the hubby right now since he has the car and is stuck several cities away for the next couple of days. And there is no way he'll be able to do the medicating either - he didn't even notice the head tilt. :wallbang:

Hmm, as for all the earlier nose noises, they went away, so maybe he was just excited to see me?

 

[fenshae]

If the tilt is very persistent, I believe an initial dose of prednisone might also help.

 

[jorats]

I always wait a couple of days of nose noise before getting worried, you never know what could have gotten it wet, simple debris could do it.
Hopefully the amoxi will do the trick.

 

[rhapsody]

YAY! The hubby brought back the car last night, so I was able to drop Rufus (and Millie) at the rescue. They have prednisone and will give him several doses to see if that will help in addition to amoxy.

Thankfully, the rescue lady said that the head tilt wasn't that bad, and that she's seen rats recover from worse.

 

[rhapsody]

UPDATE:

Merg, Rufus' head tilt really hasn't improved at all. The rescue had him on prednisone and amoxy during his stay with them (5 days worth of doses). They got their hands on some Baytril the day I picked him up, so I've been giving him that plus the amoxy. I stopped the prednisone because the rescue warned that it can have some nasty effects on the liver for long term usage, but now I'm wondering if I should have continued with it ...

In any case, Rufus' appetite is great and he's being his usual energetic self. He does seem to get a bit disoriented though - he's having a heck of a time getting in and out of hammocks (he somersaulted out of one last night). Also, his head tilt gets waaaay more pronounced when stands on his hind legs - his head twists nearly perpendicular if that makes any sense.

I'm starting to worry that I didn't catch this in time, and this condition will become permanent.

 

[jorats]

It might very well be permanent but not it doesn't mean that he's not healthy. I've had a head tilty fella, he was 6 months when he became tilty and lived to 29 months old.

 

[rhapsody]

How long should I keep giving him meds then if there's no obvious improvement?

 

[mamarat]

My vet had Tails on meds for 3 months for a head tilt. It never did go away but is not as noticeable now. Good luck with your sweetie.

 

[rhapsody]

Yikes! I'm assuming that its okay to give Baytril for that long, but should I add Pred to the mix?

 

[jorats]

You could definitely try the pred.