Zera Lathergic

[EDK]

I could be over the top, but I know my pets and their personality, and Zera

- 1yr old hairless dumbo, unspayed female

isn't acting herself at all. This morning while cleaning the cage, I took out all my group, but noticed she didn't come when I was offering treats. When I picked her up, she hardly struggled, almost dead weight. Zera is the most energetic of my group, hates to be held for long periods, day time or not she always is a brust of energy. I can tell something is up. I've felt her body and I'm not sure if I'm feeling anything abnormal. If all else I noticed her belly has gotten bigger, not pear shaped, but round. I pressed on her belly and nothing appeared to be a miss other then she's eating well. She did squeak however when I did so. I also listened to her lungs and they seemed normal, but you never fully know.:sad-p:

So at this point... I'm gonna wait and see if she improves tonight and see if her energy comes back. I can say though she's still eating and drinking so thats not an issue. But her going from a ball of energy to being lazy and dead weight is troubling to me... If anyone might know what it could be please reply back when you can. Thank you!

 

[victoria]

Can you take a video? My gut says pneumonia, even if you can't hear anything.

 

[Joanne]

It could be something as simple as just being sleepy and a bit off, to something as serious as pyometra. Is there any way to take a rat's temperature to see if she's running a fever?

 

[SQ]

I would check her hydration to make sure she isn't dehydrated,
keep a close eye on her, and get her checked out by a good vet experienced in treating rats asap

Posting a video as previously suggested is a good idea as we might be able to tell something from her breathing.
If she does have pneumonia, her lungs are fillng with fluid and she would need a vet and meds asap

 

[EDK]

Hey sorry for the late response. I was giving her a few hours and see if she came around. She hasn't, so I went ahead and emailed our vet, hopefully I'll get a response tomrrow for an appointment. But here's a link to a vid I did of her to give ya'll an idea of her behavior. Sorry the quaility isnt' that great, my HD camera ran out of batteries and I had to result to my other camera.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ff0FCEYPbxY&feature=youtu.be

 

[Petunia]

looks like she's circling- does she ever turn and go in the other direction?
thinking maybe neuro, possibly a stroke??? I've never had a rat with a stroke so I don't know if they make circles as wide as she was, but I never saw her walk straight or turn in a different direction.

hope the vet can help her, she's so pretty

 

[Petunia]

try listening to her heart by putting your ear between her front legs, see if her heart sounds different from your other girls.
Peggy told me how to do this and that's how I found out that Norry had a heart issue, I could hear the difference in his heart so much better than from listening to his side, you know?

I was looking for late signs of heart trouble...but early signs can be very subtle and easy to miss.

rats with heart conditions are more prone to strokes, the vet said.

 

[lilspaz68]

How old is she? It looks neurological, PT, or stroke maybe like Petunia said? Inner ear would look a bit different and she looks out of it

 

[crumbilina]

Is it possible that she is older then a year?

I agree with others regarding a neurological issue, not sure which one though. She does look pretty out of it.

 

[EDK]

I did that trick with listening to her heart... and I couldnt' tell if what i was hearing was the heart or her lungs but I clearly heard a clack sound, very firm each time.

Also I noticed she is in fact walking around in a circle, always in the same direction...so does this mean it could be either a stroke, an ear infection or a heart issue...? Oh no my poor baby :tearful:

Edit: Not trying to flip out, I'm already planning to take her to the vet tomrrow, walkin if I have to. But yes she's a little over a year and a half old, her birthday is August 25th.

 

[crumbilina]

Can you take a video of her eating?

ETA: a hard treat like a cheerio or something. One where we can see how she grabs food and how she holds it as she eats.

 

[EDK]

I've given her food and aside from eating slower then normally, she seems to hold it ok. Regardless I am taking her to the vet, not toying with this in the slightest. Plus the vet we go to is a 40yr rat expert.

Wish us luck, I'll be sure to post the findings when we get back

 

[dspch911]

As soon as the video started the first thing I noticed was the tilt and circling to the left. I also noticed when you had her upside down she was using her left foot, but not her right. I don't think its heart related, but would be more likely stroke, but hoping for ear infection of some kind. All of us are sending you healing vibes and will be praying for your baby :getwell:

 

[Petunia]

I've given her food and aside from eating slower then normally, she seems to hold it ok. Regardless I am taking her to the vet, not toying with this in the slightest. Plus the vet we go to is a 40yr rat expert.

Wish us luck, I'll be sure to post the findings when we get back

sending good wishes for you both!

that's great that your vet has been working with rats that long. he/she will know what to do.

 

[mamarat]

Fingers crossed for your sweetie.

 

[EDK]

Hey all, thank you for your prayers, we just got back from the vet, here's what he has to report.

He's ruled out phenmonia, or parasites as he tested her fecal to make sure on that since he's been getting alot of rats with parasites lately, he wanted to make sure on that. Then he listened to her heart and lungs and they sound perfectly healthy. So he suspects its likely an ear infection however it more likely could have been a small stroke, maybe...worse case scenario which he can't treat, be forms of brain neural brain tumors. Taking the ladder though, he gave her a direct shot of antibiotics, and have us some oral baytril. The shot is supposed to help her perk up within a fe hours. So at this point...all we can do is wait.

She still is doing that circle thing, and tends to use her right side more then her left side, I also noticed she attempts to scratch her ear some too, so I'm really hoping its just an ear infection.

 

[mamarat]

Let's hope!! I love her name.

 

[Petunia]

oh I so hope that's all it is! sending healing vibes to your girl

 

[dspch911]

I really hope so - that would be wonderful and sounds like you caught it early. :cuddle:

 

[EDK]

Is it a habit or a trait for a rat to walk in circles when they have an ear infection? She's been doing it quite alot when she's moving up and about, but at least she's eating and drinking.