Rat fits

Question
I've a year old dumbo rex, but i didn't have him from birth. I've had him for three months. Lately, I'd say once a week, he seems to be having some kind of fit or seizure. He scratches the air really quickly, and sits up on his back legs. The other morning i watched him having one of these episodes and it looked to me as if he was having a nightmare!! He ran about the cage frantically, and when he was done, he didn't seem to know what had happened or where he was!!!! Is this possible he was dreaming??

Answer

Your rat his having seizures. He may have an underlying problem such as diabetes, brain tumor or epilepsy.  He needs to see a vet that is familiar with pet rats and they can treat his seizures with medications to the point he should be able to live a happy normal life.  I would keep him in a single story cage until you have his seizures under control. Sometimes they dont go away completely so its a wise idea to limit high spots he can fall from and injure himself.

Its not uncommon for this to occur with rats so hopefully there is a vet there that will know what to do.  He can be given either liquid phenobarbital or liquid valium to control his seizures.