Inner Ear Infection (Rat)

Question
Hey there; I have just adopted 2 female hooded rats (appox 1 year of age) from a woman whose child could not take care of the rats and give them the attention they deserved. One of them however has a head tilt which i believe is due to an inner ear infection and pressure on the 8th cranial nerve which causes her to be quite unbalanced. (I dont believe it to be a stroke or pituitary tumor) The woman whom i recieved her from said that the rat had been treated quite a while ago and 'is now fine' however due to her constant running in circles, poor balance and severe head tilt i believe that either the treatment given did not work or worse; she never was treated. I know that in some cases a rats head may remain tilted even after treatment however her balance is still off and she constanly runs in circles. I need to know if even after sucsessful treatment a rat would still have balance problems. Also what treatment (and dosages) would you recomend for such an issue? Thank you

Answer
Hi Brittney


Sounds like no treatment has been given, or she would at least stop running in circles. In order to recover fully from otitis media with  Vestibular-cochlear Nerve involvement, she should be treated at first sign of problems with equilibrium.  The longer treatment is withheld, the more difficult full recovery from torticollis will be. The key to recovery is not only in the antibiotics but also the choice of medications used for inflammation of the vestibular cochlear nerve in order to restore balance and coordination.  Steroids are the best way to go and the fastest, if not the safest route. So many vets steer clear of steroids for fear that the immune system will be challenged, but NSAIDS such as metacam are also very taxing and even a bit toxic for our rats delicate kidneys. Having a broad spectrum antibiotic to back up the use of steroids and to conquer any secondary infection that may occur is the way to go in order to dissolve any reservations the vet may have about using steroids.  Also, steroid use will be short term, so there should not be any problem at all using them.

Some vets assume that after a week of antibiotic therapy if there is no improvement, the rat must have a pituitary tumor. Dont let anyone let you believe this to be true unless you yourself have seen signs of PT involvement.  This would include the loss of use of her front limbs (and sometimes back limbs as well) difficulty chewing and using her jaw and also difficulty swallowing. Despite PROPER treatment, her condition will only worsen as time goes but the rat must be on the proper medications first before assuming it is a PT rather than otitis media.  Even so, this doesnt mean the decision to euthanize is mandatory, either.  Only after the rat has lost her quality of life and inability to eat, swallow and drink, would this decision have to be faced.  I dont believe in putting rats to sleep unless they truly have no quality of life and are indeed suffering in pain and misery, and only the rat owner herself will know this to be so, nobody else can make this decision.  Its not something found in a text book and in fact, a good vet has learned to think outside the text book and realize not everything is in black and white, not everything is by the book.

Anyhow, that said, with proper treatment she should recover. I cant promise it will be a full recovery since I do not know how long she has had the head tilt, but she should regain alot of her coordination back. This may also take time but she should recover.  She can also live with head tilt as long as she is able to drink and eat ok, even if you need to assist her sometimes.

The proper treatment for otitis media with torticollis is as follows:


You can use both antibiotics simutaneously, or just use one, namely baytril, since often the organism that causes otitis media is mycoplasmosis since it is found in the nasal passages which also lead into the ear canal.  

Antibiotic:
BAYTRIL 2.27% = taken twice a day by mouth: .20cc/lb for 30 days

AMOXIL: .20cc/lb =twice a day by mouth for 14 days.

For inflammation:
Prednisone: Comes is a tasty pediatric oral solution. 25cc/lb

Metacam:0.5 mg/kg ,orally once daily.


Hope this helps, and feel free to write any time you want and ask anything you want.  People always apologize for writing, but are forgetting that this is what I am here to do; help with rat care to the best of my ability.