Virgo may be ill! Help?

[lizmo1221]

So the ladies have been home for a week now, and they have been settling in nicely.

Virgo seems to be off though. My little tilty PEW definitely has poryphorin (sp?) of the nose and seems to have some balance issues (but passes the cheerio test), and might also have poryphorin of the right eye, but it might just be eye boogers.

She is still bright eyed, breathing is fine. She is eating well, but not as active. She is the chill one, but right now she is deciding to cuddle in my lap instead of roaming the couch, which is not like her.

I may be reading too much into these symptoms (or lack thereof), as I am still very new to rat ownership. I just don`t want to overlook something serious.

Anyone have any ideas, or know of something else I should look for?

 

[Rachael]

How is her breathing?
Is she eating and drinking all right?

 

[lizmo1221]

Her breathing is non noisy and non labored.

Her eating is fine (watched her munch on a lab block and some spring mix earlier), but her drinking im not sure of. She has never seemed to be big on the bottle. But she usually sleeps most of the time while I am awake, except when she is having her exploring/play time, so she could just be more into drinking at night when she is more active.

 

[Rachael]

Maybe she is just becoming a bit more cuddly with you. If there is nothing obvious wrong I'm afraid you will probably just have to wait and keep your fingers crossed that nothing pops up. Lots of rats have phorphyrin around their eye... Willow, a PEW, constantly had a bit of a leaky/phorphy eye even with nothing wrong.

 

[xxchelle]

Little bits of porph isn't an issue. Especially on PEWs, it seems to stand out more. The balance issues are due to the head tilt, she's likely still learning to cope with it. Perhaps the porph is related to the unease with the head tilt, she hasn't quite learned how to clean all the porph off of herself with the tilt.

 

[lizmo1221]

Thanks, Chelle. I was hoping it all had a logical explaination, and what you suggest totally makes sense. I will keep an eye on her for the next couple of days just in case... Im sure she wont mind more cheerio tests :S

 

[xxchelle]

Somehow they never seem to mind Cheerio tests :giggle:

 

[lilspaz68]

Liz, the cheerio tests are only to test for neurological issues. With a head tilt, your little lass, may have a bit more trouble doing things. The inner ear infection that caused it can cause them not to be able to groom as well as a rat without a head tilt. She was very sweet, and if you are sure there's nothing else going on beyond being more cuddly and a little bit of porphyrin which does show up on the PEW's more often, then just enjoy that she is starting to trust you. New tilty's often take a little longer in the trust department because they are sure you are going to drop them, and they panic and can roll in your hands. Your Virgo was sweet but a bit nervous of things when she was here.

Now, does the porphryin stay all day long or is it mostly after she has woken up and before she's had her first good grooming session?

 

[mamarat]

My tilty boy couldn't drink out of the bottle either but did fine with a low water bowl. Just an idea you could try with your girl.

 

[SQ]

It is possible that she is adjusting as others said, but it is also possible that she isn't feeling well.
I would keep an eye on her.
A water dish in addition to water bottles as suggested by mamarat, is a good idea.

 

[lizmo1221]

I will definately try a small water bowl for her. The only time I saw the porphryin for sure was last night, and I did wake her up for her out time, since she had been sleeping most of the day and it was her only chance before I went to sleep! Lol

Thanks for all the input and suggestions guys, I really appreciate it. I will keep an eye on her but I'm sure I was just making symptoms out to be worse than they were.