im worried my rat is sick because hes acting strange and i dont know whats wrong

Question
my rat is about a year and a half old and has never had any health problems before though his brother died of an illness not to long ago. now my rat beethoven is acting almost drunk, at first i thought he might have hurt his head falling off the platforms in his cage so i removed them. but i am worried it could be something else and although i have a vet, he doesn't know much at all about rats. what could it be?

Answer
Hi Nikki

Does he act like he is off balance?

Is he walking kind of "sloppy" like he is dizzy?

Is he walking in circles?

Does he seem to "roll" when he tries to walk?

Does he fall over when he walks?

Can he move his back legs or is he dragging them?

Are his eyes the same size and in their sockets and not bulging out at all?

Is his head tilting to one side?

Is he eating or drinking?  

Is he sleeping alot and acting lethargic?

When did these signs all start and how long as he been acting strange like this?


Good that you took the platforms out for now. Keep him on one level. What did your other rat die from?

Let me know about the things I asked above...I am pretty sure I know what the problem is and but since I cant see him in person I need you to let me know these few things first.

Next thing I want to cover is the vet. Its a waste of money to see a vet that doesnt know about rats of course, and it wont help your rat any and in fact can cause more harm than good. If you tell me your zip code I have access to a list of vets that care for rats and other exotics and are no more expensive than a regular vet.

He will need one for this condition he has because he will need a few different medications to get well.  Anyhow I will wait for your reply. Hang in there and in the mean time, its important you try to make sure he is getting fluids in him. You can use a dropper and let him suck sugar water from it or even use koolaid or crushed watermelon and the juice from the melon.

Hang in there!

Sandy