Please help me with my ratty!

Question
QUESTION: Hi, I recently rescued two baby girl rats from Petland's feeder tank. I understand that they are not bred for temperment, nor are they bred for health. I also meant to adopt my rats from a shelter, but my heart almost burst when I saw my two sweethearts being repeatedly hit in the head by a cat litter scooper (the thing they use to take out the rats they intend to feed). Anyway, I'm not in a financially sound situation currently, and there are no exotic vets ANYWHERE in my area (the only dr. who grudgingly agreed to 'possibly' check her said it would cost me $200 for the first exam not including medication). One of my baby (5 wk old) ratties has a severe head tilt. She is breathing fine, eats well, drinks well, is very sociable, has no lumps or bumps, she's a bit smaller but about as active as her sister. I know it's probably an ear infection, but her neck is not stuck that way because when she eats, she straightens out a bit. Her fur is beautiful and she looks great but for the the severe tilt. Is there any way I can treat her myself? Where would I get the materials to treat her? What should I do?! I love my little Jada, I really want to help her. Can she live with the head tilt or is it fatal?

ANSWER: Does she have any nasty smell or is the head tilt becoming more severe, has she lost balance or begun "rolling"? If not, it may not be an ear infection (although I do strongly recommend having her checked anyway!), it may be head trauma that caused a head tilt, which isn't unlikely due to what you've been telling me/how they were treated.

This doesn't mean she's totally in the clear, of course; it could still be an infection (ear or systemic/respiratory); and I still recommend a well-rat check just to be sure.

Good luck.

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

QUESTION: There is no nasty smell coming from her ears. The first two days I had her, the tilt was extremely severe, and she was rolling around. Now, her head straightened out a bit. Thanks so much for your reply.

Answer
It may be that she had a severe head tilt and rolling the first day because she had a pretty nasty head trauma, and now that the swelling has gone down, she's able to straighten. This is something she can live with and it probably won't bother her too badly, however I still do recommend a vet visit.

Best of Luck!