HELP!! Frank has a head tilt..**update back from the Vet**

[Waynesbrat]

Hey everyone..
I was feeding all the fur kids today and Frank didnt jump out of his bed for his Oat meal.. So after alot of fuss I got him to come out.. And he has a very bad head tilt.. Im sure it wasnt that way yesterday.. Ive only been owned by Ratties since Dec.. And this is my first major problem with any of them...  Some back ground on Frank.. He is a hairless male that was full grown in Dec when I rescued him..I have no idea how old is... I will call my vet in the AM but in the mean time is there anything I can do for my poor old man?

Also I have some Cefa Drops *my cat had to have them last week*  Should I give him some of that in case its a ear infection?  

Other symptoms are he dont seem to want to eat drink or anything but sleep :0(    
This is so sudden Im praying he will be ok till tomarrow.. As we just had a 210 dollar vet bill last week we cant afford a emergency vet visit this week....

[Marybelle]

He should be fine until morning.  Until then, there's not really a whole lot you can do for him.  Just get him to the vet as soon as possible tomorrow.  I'd hold off on the cefa-drops.  it's almost certainly an infection, but without the correct dosage to give, you could do more harm than good.

[Waynesbrat]

ahhhh I just noticed I put this in the wrong spot...  .....
And thanks Marybelle for responding so fast. Im just soooooo worried  :0(

[Marybelle]

Understandable, on both counts.    You might want to just put him in a single level cage for tonight if you've got one.  Having an ear infection does tend to throw off the equilibrium, and it would suck if he fell...

[toad]

When Stuart suddenly had a head tilt, Debbie D had me try ibuprofen (dosage is in the rat health care booklet).  When it didn't work, I used Prednisone.
Stuart didn't act lethargic though....that worries me.
You have amoxicillin?
Good luck

[menagerie]

Personally, I would start him on the Cefa-drops tonight. The dosage per Debbie D is 0.2 ml/cc per pound twice daily. Ear infections get worse pretty quickly.

This is just what I would do, ultimately the decision is up to you.  

[Waynesbrat]

**UPDATE**

I did give him a dose of the  Cefa-drops lastnight. And I forced some juice down him also... As soon as I put him back in his cage after the meds and the juice he ATE some oat meal... Not alot  but some..  I made him drink some more juice this morning... He hates to be forced :0(    Anyhow we have a Vet apt at 3:30 today... So wish us luck please..... Thanks Gail

[Waynesbrat]

Oh this is what they said.... Being it has came on so fast they believe its a inner ear infection.. So I have a 9 day supply of  Baytril.. My vet said if he wasnt better in 2-3 days to bring him back...... Now I know there was a huge topic about the price of Baytril..
mine was only 8.85 !!! whew I was worried about it because I just paid a huge vet bill last week.... I can rest now. And my Frank dude should be ok..  Ohhhhh One more thing he has lost 50 grams in a week. So The vet had me start him on some baby food today also.  

[Aileen]

Good news

It sounds like you have a good vet there.

Give Frank big scritches  Try him with mashed banana and mashed avocado - usually goes down well with sick ratties

Aileen

[sus]

I just got back from the vet for Kaiser's head tilt.  The new vet was GREAT!  He clearly knows a lot about different kinds of "pocket pets" and doesn't assume that they are all the same.  He has treated many rats before (there were actually two rats in the waiting room when I left) and he handled Kaiser very well.

He gave Kaiser a shot (which made her screech) and then he gave me 3 weeks worth of peanut-butter flavored Baytril -- which cost $21 -- and told me I should separate Kaiser from the other ratties for a few days to 1) make sure she is eating and drinking enough and 2) to make sure the other ratties don't pick on her because her behavior is "wierd".  

Glad to hear that Frank got the same treatment, makes me more confident that the new vet knows what he is doing.  Although he seemed very knowledgable about rats in general and that made me feel good as well.

Did your vet say anything about recovery?  My vet said some rats keep the head tilt for the rest of their lives but that they usually learn to adjust.

Keep us updated.

[Waynesbrat]

Yeah SUS my vet also said that I should keep Frank alone for the next few days to be sure he is eating... However she didnt give him any shots. She did hold him  listen to his heart look in his ears eyes mouth and so on... And petted him the whole time she was talken to me....  I LOVE her.. She will be the only vet I bring my kids to from now on.....
She did question the marks on his back.. As I have said before he was a rescue.. I dont know what happened to him but he looks like he was hacked up with a weedeater or something.. We love him scars and all tho :0).... Im very happy to see that you had a good turn out as well.. Keep me updated on ur fur kid...  Gail

[menagerie]

Glad to hear all went well at the vets. It seems to be a general consensus that antibiotics should be given for at least three weeks or one week after symptoms disappear to be sure that the infection is knocked out.

[Waynesbrat]

hmmmmmm 3 weeks.....  My vet only gave me 9 days worth.....  How do I go about asking her for 3 weeks worth???

[Marybelle]

If it's starting to work after 2-3 days, just call and ask if you can extend it to 3 weeks.  If your vet wants confirmation, you can have him call Debbie D.  She's real good at dealing with vets and letting them know what needs to be done.  

[DebW]

I'd also want him on 3 weeks of meds.  If the Baytril doesn't start working, he may want to add a steroid like prednisone to the treatment.

As a side note.  I've had 2 male rats who recovered from inner ear infections.  Even though the infection cleared up, the mild to moderate head tilt remained.   The really learn to adjust well to it once the infection dissapears.  Bert lived to be well over 2 1/2.  Chester, who had his ear infection this last winter is still doing fine, but retains a mild head tilt.  He'll be 2 in November.

[sus]

OK, so if the head tilt remains after treatment, how do you know the infection is gone?

Thanks everyone for all this input, I have never dealt with head tilt before.

Gail -- how bad is Frank's head tilt?  For the most part, Kaiser seems fine and just looks a little tilty, but when she stands on her back legs she falls over.