Mollys tilted head...

Question
QUESTION: Hi Sandra.  We brought home two wonderful "rat girls", Molly and Maisey, in December 2010 when they were juveniles.  They are absolutely wonderful, and my kids, ages 7 and 5, absolutely adore them.  Both are very tame and love to play with us, and greet us every morning looking for a treat.  About a week ago, when I went to check on the girls I noticed that Molly was tilting her neck significantly to the right, and that her left eye was somewhat "bugged" out.  Additionally, she was walking pretty wobbly.  When I get her out of her cage to run around, she is unsure of her footing, but still runs as fast as she can, stopping to investigate along the way, although very wobbly and with her head cocked to the side.  Her appetite is very good, and she is drinking her water with no problem.  I have noticed that she and Maisey are fighting a bit, though, usually over food, since Molly is having some difficulty getting to the door as fast as Maisey.  

Do you have any idea what might be going on with Molly, and what I should do about it?

Thanks,
Ellen

ANSWER: She more than likely had head tilt from an inner ear infection.  She needs to see a vet RIGHT AWAY for medication and something for inflammation.  This will throw her off balance as well. Please use my site, sandyscrittercity.com and check up on rat ailments for more info.  Your vet also needs to know what he is doing too.  Many clueless vets will look in the ear and say they see nothing so they dont have an ear infection  (heavy sigh) so they dont want to treat it as one. You CANT see deep into the inner ear so there is no way to know other than knowing about rat health care.

Let me know your location if you need a vet.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Sandy,

Just a quick follow-up.  I was able to find a terrific vet here in town after searching for resources on the internet.  Molly saw Dr. Orzel this morning and she says that it is one of two things: inner ear infection or a tumor.  We're treating her with Baytril and Prednisolone and hoping that it is the ear infection and that she'll respond.  I've separated her temporarily from her "sister" Maisey so that she doesn't get picked on, and she seems to be settling in to her temporary cage pretty well.

Thanks for your help!
Ellen

Answer
I am so sorry for not getting back to you sooner.  I did not get a notice you sent me another message till just now!  Sounds like the vet is treating her well.  Let me ask, was she getting picked on by her cagemate?  If not, I would not stress her out by keeping her apart from her but if she was picking on her, of course I could see the need to keep them apart.  

If she is able to still use her front paws to grasp and hold food, thats a good sign its NOT a pituitary tumor and is indeed an inner ear infection.  
Sounds like you found a vet that HAS a clue!  YIPPIE!  :)