Possible Blindness in Rats

Question
Hello Sandra,
 We recently (within the last month) got three young female rats for our son.  The other morning, one of the rats was acting very strangely.  She was falling off of the upper levels of the cage and behaving very frantically.  I was a veterinary tech for several years, but have had no experience with rats.  She holds her head really far back and falls much of the time.  It almost seem to me that she may have gone blind.  Do you think this is possible.  She is eating a drinking, although I have had to help her a bit with the water.  Her bowel movements are normal and she is urinating.  Any advice?

Answer
Hi Deanna

Sounds EXACTLY like what my boy, Smudge does and has been like this since January! I call him my little drunken rattie!!  

Does she basically have her nose straight up in the air and her head back and it makes her tip over?  Is she walking in circles and spinning in circles?  Is she tilted to one side?

Here is the deal as to what is occuring:

Alot of this is neurological and usually brought on by an infection in the inner ear. What happens is there is alot of inflammation from the infection and possible fluid built up just like when humans have this condition. The excessive fluid is causing inflammation on the eighth cranial nerve which in turn, causes her to lose her balance and feel dizzy etc...

Treatment consists of oral antibitoics and also steroids to help with the inflammation.  Do you have a vet for her that is experienced with rats?  If not, I can help you find a vet if you simply tell me your zipcode.

Meanwhile, its important you keep her from getting hurt so she should be moved to a single story cage for now and also monitor her food and water intake too.    She will need to see the vet in order to recover since this condition warrants antibiotics to improve.

I will tell you this though and this doesnt mean it applies to your rat,but my boy never stopped acting this way despite treatment. He did improve alot where he stopped the peculiar spinning when he would walk and he stopped falling over but he still puts his nose straight up in the air and his head wobbles madly. He seems confused outside his cage but inside he is fine. He had to be moved to a smaller one story cage and he now lives alone although he interacts with his brothers sometimes during playtime.  He is blind and we think possibly he has some hearing loss as well. We are thinking that during the ear infection he may have had possibly some brain damage from the bacteria.  These are things that will not be known for sure unfortunately until after he passes and a necropsy is performed.  He was treated right away when symptoms started but sometimes the bacteria can travel fast despite prompt treatment.  This all occurred in January and here it is, May, and he still acts like a little drunken rattie.  Like I said, he has improved nearly 75 percent but his entire lifestyle has changed. He is happy though and content and again, he does well in his own element.  This may or may not be the same with your rat but we will know more after she starts treatment.

If you need the names of good rat vets let me know and I can help! All I need is your zip code or location.
Hang in there!

Sandra