rat ear infection?

Question
i have a almost 2 year old rat named Gekko (she can and will climb anything) and she has recently aquired a head tilt, when playing if she runs or jumps off of somehting she slides on to her left side and stops.  I think that it is an ear infection, but if it helps her sister (bubbles) died suddenly at the age of 1 1/2 I cleaned all of their toys and cage and Gekko never seemed to get what bubbles had, it happend suddenly and out of no where, they had enough food, water, and bedding also she acted normal and there were no lumps or anything else out of the ordinary, could this be somthing to do with gekko? also is there anything i could treat her with at home or is a vet neccisary

Answer
Hi Anne

Sounds like an ear infection for sure. The tilted head is a clear indication that there is pressure on the 8th cranial nerve which controls balance. They tilt their head in an attempt to steady themselves but sometimes they walk in circles or spin, too.

As for Bubbles dying suddenly, sudden death is often a result of heart attack, stroke or aneurysm. If she fell ill and was sick for just a few hours, often it is a result of a bacterial infection such as strep pneumonia that can kill in as little as 8 hours or less. Treatment is aggressive and often fails.
In Gekkos case, she will need a vet that deals in rats for proper treatment in order to recover.
She needs baytril and either streroids or an anti-inflammatory such as metacam in order to get the pressure off of the nerves so she can get her balance back and her head tilt can ease. It takes some time for this to occur and sometimes if the tilt was severe it may never go totally away but will ease up considerably.  Failure to treat an ear infection results in the infection traveling to the next organ, which would be the brain. This results in death usually from infection cauing abscesses or lesions on the brain. A simple ear infection can be deadly, even in humans when not treated. Its a good thing our rats have outward signs of illness like you were able to recognize her head tilt and knew it was ear infection (usually it is but sometimes it means other neurological ailments but she doesnt have other signs of those so its probably ear infection) Our rats cant talk so it takes people like you that know your rat and her behavior and are able to know when something is off.

Do you need names of vets that treat rats or do you have one? If you need someone let me know where your located and I can find a few names of vets that are good with rats.  A general vet isnt always the best person to take rats to because they are not familiar with their ailments and do not usually have the correct medication for them etc...


Also I am sorry for the delay in the response. If this was sent directly to me I would have answered you right off but instead it was floating in limbo in "the question pool" which is where questions end up if not addressed to a specific expert and sometimes they dont get answered for weeks this way. I am glad I checked today and found this!


Let me know how things are.....


Sandra Todd