My rat

Question
I just recently bought my pet rat Alis (Within 3 months), and have of recent noticed some behavior differences. When I first got her she was very reserved and didn't really like being out of the cage. She is still this way but I have noticed that she is having uncontrollable body movements. When I am sitting with the cage door open playing with my elder rat, she keeps a distance. After a short amount of time she begins to lose her balance and it seems like she cant control herself from leaning and almost falling over. She then begins to do this in each direction as if she is being jerked each direction. Also when I pick her up sometimes she starts rolling in my hand, like an crocodiles death roll. I am wondering whether it is Myoclonic Seizures; or if it could be from a severe lack of eyesight. She is albino (pink eyes) which lowers her eyesight ability in comparison to the already poor eyesight in rats with black eyes. I apologize for the lengthy question, and would like to thank you for taking the time to answer my question.
Sincerely
Joelle

Answer
Sounds like she has an inner (middle) ear infection. This can cause her to be off balance and may also result in head tilt. The inflammation from excessive fluid building up causes pressure on the Vestibular cochlear nerve ,also known as the eighth cranial nerve, which is what regulates balance.  As long as there is pressure on this nerve, the rat will continue to be off balance. Infection needs to be treated with 30 days of baytril and also steroids for the first 5 to 10 days for inflammation. I do not recommend metacam or any NSAID for this condition. Steroids short term will NOT cause a disturbance in the rats immune system like so many vets fear and this is why they avoid using them. A rats fast metabolic rate helps with side effects to many drugs. Also, the rat will be on a strong antibiotic so IF and if is a stretch here, there is a drop in the immune system, secondary infection would be controlled by having antibiotics in the system already. Again, 5 to 7 days on steroids is considered short term and is perfectly safe to use in rats.  I have seen this often in rats, including my own, and they do respond well with treatment.   As for the rats bad eyesight...since they are born with bad vision, they do not have to adjust to it and in fact, rats do not depend on their vision for navigation in the first place. They have an incredible sense of smell and hearing, and their whiskers also play a big role in the way they move, too. Having bad vision would not cause the rat to be off balance, roll (like you have described) etc... I have had blind rats that got around fine as long as I didnt move their cage items around on them.

The bad news is...if its NOT an inner ear infection, it could be a pituitary adenoma. The good news is, she is pretty young and usually these are not seen in rats this age, but more common in intact females closer to 2 years old.  Other signs include lack of use of their forelimbs to grasp objects or hold food along with being severely off balance, spinning, head tilt and as the tumor gets bigger, the rat may even lose the ability to move her jaw properly and may have trouble swallowing.  I do NOT think this is what your little one has, however.  I do believe it is the inner ear infection.  Keep in mind that even with treatment, it may take a bit of time for everything to get back to normal so even if you do not see her improve within the first few days of treatment, just be patient and keep in mind that as long as she isnt getting any worse, thats a good sign.  Do you have a good vet that knows alot about properly treating rats?

On a final note, when rats have seizures, sometimes what you may witness is your rat having a fixed gaze and possibly swatting in the air with her paws, as if she were swatting flies away. Other times it may be more text book and the rat may have jerking movements followed by severe lethargy.