Rat meds

Question
QUESTION: Sandra, I have a large number of pet rats, (24 and counting) and I have one that is really aggressive. She recently developed a respiratory illness and my vet prescribed an oral suspension. She is really hard to handle, but loves yogurt and I have been mixing the meds in with cherry flavored yogurt which she is completely consuming. My question is, does mixing her meds with the yogurt affect the effectiveness of the medication? I appreciate any input you can give me on this issue. Thanks, Dot

ANSWER: Hi Dorothy

I hope not, because I mix my rats meds with yogurt,too! :)

The truth is, unless its tetracycline (doxycycline is ok) dairy products are fine to use and in fact, believe it or not, we encourage the use of probiotics during antibiotic treatment since antibiotics kill off both the good(gut bacteria) and bad bacteria. Probiotics are found naturally in fermented foods like yogurt so this is a good way to replace what may be lost.

Oh the days when I had that many rats....12 cages spread around one 12 X 12 room. Biters to the left (rescued lab rats) solo males with ego problems to on top of the biters cages) you name it, I had it!

Oy Vey!

Now I have 3 senior boys (not from the original 24 rats however, since that was long ago)  I found myself trying to save the rat population in every pet store that sold feeders, bringing in pregnant does (I had no idea they were pregnant, although I should have known better) having some Does giving birth the same day. Oh so were the days with huge medical bills and what seemed to be round the clock cage cleanings until I swiftly learned it was simple to litter box train rats which made my life alot easier after that! Thanks for the trip down memory lane!  :p

Hope this helps!

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

QUESTION: Sandra, this info was very helpful. I do, however, have another question (sorry), and it concerns tilt-head. I work for a large pet chain outlet that sells feeders (which is why I have so many, like you, I am trying to save them all.) I currently have five rats that I have brought home with tilt-head to various degrees. I have three that have mild symptoms, one that has moderate symptoms, and one little female with severe symptoms. I know that tilt-head is not curable, but is there a diet that I can put her on to ease the symptoms? Thanks for your input on this.

Answer
Hi Dorothy!

Head tilt is actually able to be cured.  It is caused by pressure on the vestibular-cochlear Nerve, also called the 8th cranial nerve. This nerve regulates balance/equilibrium.Sometimes the rat may even walk in circles or be off balance and act dizzy/drunk. This is a result in most cases from infection in the inner ear.  In some cases, if the rat does not react to various antibiotic treatments and steroids, begins to show weakness in the front and back limbs, cannot grasp and hold food with the front paws, starts to decline in health showing lethargy, acting very dizzy, loses weight etc...it can mean the rat has an adenoma on the pituitary gland which is often seen in intact females over the age of 18 months but it can also strike either sex and any age although it is not as common.

On my website there is also a page about it:

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


Antibiotics and something for inflammation is the correct way to treat it. The bad news is, the longer treatment is withheld, the harder it is to get rid of the tilt. It may ease up a great deal, but the rat may always have a slight tilt.

Have they been treated and if so, for how long and also what meds were used?  I ask this only because sometimes only certain meds work and the steroids may take long to work making us think that they are not going to work so we stop using them.  It can be a confusing  thing sometimes when head tilt is involved.

Hang in there!