Post-seizure

Question
QUESTION: Midget is 2 1/2 years old. Yesterday morning she was her bouncy, silly self. After a long play she climbed up into her cage for a nap. She sleeps deep after such extended play but this time what I thought was a deep sleep ended up finding her limp, her tongue hanging out, with shallow breathing and a slow pulse. We rushed her to the ER vet. Without real knowledge of what happened we picked her up this afternoon. She's eating, drinking water, finally closing her eyes (she wouldn't at the the vet), and is moving her front paws to clean her face, her back legs when I call her name, whistle and click my tongue, as I do when I get home or bring them (she has a pal, Ruby.) Plus Rubes went and laid down next to her for a while. I think she knows she's home and finally can sleep.

Her head lists to the right and she is obviously uncomfortable if I lay her on that side (the vet said to move her so she didn't develop sores.) She tries to roll over. Does this sound like anyway she may recover enough to have a reasonable life or is she about as good as she's going to be, if this was indeed caused by a stroke?

ANSWER: Hi Tim

I am glad she was able to respond to treatment at the vet. It seems she may have had a stroke, I doubt she had a seizure but if she did, it would be related to her current condition, obviously. I do believe you found in her unconscious though, possibly after she had a stroke.  

When you say her head leans the right, do you mean its tilted to the right and does not straighten it back to the normal position?

I am wondering also if she doesnt have something more going on other than a stroke, possibly a pituitary adenoma.  Is she using her front paws to hold food?   Be sure to please assist in her recovery by feeding her.  Let her lick baby foods from a small dish or from your finger.  Mash up watermelon, let her drink the juices from a syringe.

Let me know about the head tilting  This may make a huge difference in her diagnosis.

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

QUESTION: Sandra,

Thank you for your prompt response. Yes her head tilts to the right and does not straighten back up, even with gentle manipulation.

I am feeding and giving her water through a syringe. I have tried to let her hold her own food yet. I'll try it later when we get home. She got to come to work today.

Thank you.

ANSWER: She has head tilt. There are a few reasons why she has this, but I am leaning more toward something neurological rather than it being an inner ear infection. Somethings meningitis can act like this too. Head tilt isnt really associated with stroke so this can be confusing.

Please see my website and the photos of rats and other animals with head tilt and read the little bit of info I have along with it so you can better understand what is going on.

http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/offbalanceheadtilt.htm

At this point she needs to be put on antibiotics and something for inflammation, such as a steroid like prednisone.  However, unless the vet is a serious exotic vet and is well versed on the mechanics of a rats entire system, including knowing the rat has a super fast metabolic rate which in turn means they will burn through almost every medication they are given. This means that any nasty side effect that can occur with long term use are less likely to occur.  Most regular DVMS confuse the dog and cat system with that of the rat and refuse to use many meds thinking it will hurt the rat so this is why its important our vets that care for our rats educate themselves about rodent health care and the correct way to treat their illnesses.


Also, please let me know if she can use her front limbs. This is important so we can figure out what is going on and the loss of the use of her front paws and weakness of her front paws can be the key symptom we are looking for.

If possible  I would put her back with her cagemates. Stree hinders recovery and she is probably terribly lonely without her cagemates. They cannot catch anything from her, so dont worry about that.

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

QUESTION: Sandra, she's able to climb to all fours for seconds at a time. She's crawling and moving her head! Still a long way from where she was prior to this episode but the way she was Sunday and where she is tonight is so surprising to me.

Midget will go to see her vet tomorrow.

Answer
I am hoping its not a pituitary tumor. It sounds more like stroke or infection such as meningitis.  I hope I am wrong about all three though.  Nothing wrong with being incorrect when none of it is positive. That is when I like being wrong!

Please let me know what the vet says.