I think my baby just had a seizure :(

[LuvRats2]

I cleaned Smokey/Bandit's cage today and had them in a smaller one for a while, petting them and gently picking them up in between cages/for a quick hug.

I put them in their big cage (Rudd 695) 4 hours ago. I came in about half an hour ago and started to gently pet Smokey. Now, Smokey will often times be 'flat' against the cage as if he's staring into space and tense up. So I'll pet a couple of times gently/lay my hand on him, then remove it.

This time, I laid my hand on him briefly, then let go. He looked at me, then got on his haunches and started to clean his stomach/lower area. Suddenly, still on his haunched, he arched his back and had a sudden 'gag' reflex (like when a rat chokes), then suddenly collapsed into a 'ball' (like when rats stay on their haunches and lay with their face forward tucked into a 'ball') and his breathing got VERY shallow and he was unresponsive. He was like that for about 10 minutes while I frantically called my vet, who said there wasn't much I could do at the immediate moment. About 10 seconds after I got on the phone the second time with another rat guru (I wasn't sure if I should do something in the interim), Smokey suddenly 'woke up' and waddled into the igloo and collapsed on his side exhaustedly.
He started to sleep and squeak. Now he's running around and eating normal again.

My gut tells me he has some kind of infection, truly. The smell I smell from him is near his mouth/head - I've been able to pinpoint it a little better. I'm going to call the vet Monday and get him in asap.

He seems more subdued overall than most rats I've had. I wasn't sure at first if it was his personality (or if it still is) but now I'm wondering if he's sick. The vet looked him over 2 weeks ago when I first brought him home and he got a clean bill of health???

What more can I do? What if it happens again in the interim?

LR2

[Rattiemama]

How old is Smokey?

It certainly sounds like he has something going on. I've never seen a seizure quite like that, but it is possible that it was one. If they get severe upper respritory infections it can sometimes penetrate into their brain and cause seizure. That happened with Jiboo. He had an inner ear infection. People here and our vet recomended Chlorpalm, which is an antibiotic that penetrates brain tissue particularly well. It took a lot of TLC, but he's now a happy, healthy, although tilty, rat. He never he ended up having two seizures before the meds took effect, but never had another one.

The choking action you mentioned sounds a lot like something Jiboo was doing because his ears were blocked. He was openeing and closing his mouth. It's the same thing as when your ears are blocked and so you move your jaw to pop them. However it could be something entirely different, so I hope you're vet fit you in soon.

The best thing you can do in the mean time is to keep him as relaxed and comfortable as possible. If you have any single level cages you might want to put him in there. Just in case he does have another spell, he won't fall off anything. Plus that way you can monitor how much he's eating and drinking and how he's pooping.

Good luck! I hope your timid guy is ok!

[LuvRats2]

Thanks Rattiemama - Smokey is only 3/4 months old. I'm feeling a bit at a loss right now because he's still petrified of being picked up and even when I try to pet him, a lot of times he stiffens, closes his eyes and moves his head away. Not all the time, but most times. So if I have to give him meds I don't know how that is going to go, since I haven't really had time to work with him and have him warm up to me. I don't want to have to force feed him meds and have him associate humans with more negative stuff (he wasn't socialized or handled well before I got him).

Obviously his physical health comes first, but I'm scared to exaserbate the situation if stress is playing a part in his seizures.

[angelratgirl]

try picking him up by scooping him from underneath. sometimes certain rats have a fear of being touched on their backs.

it certainly does sound like a seizure. i used to get them all the time myself and i have seen them in rats too. the exhaustion especially makes me think siezures. you may have an epileptic rat.

since he is so young, he may actually grow out of them. human children can. but there are so many things that can cause seizures it don't know what to tell you.

[Rattiemama]

I'm sure you cold find a way to give him his medicine. We put it in a small spoonfull of baby food. Our rats will sit with you and eat it while you pet them, but when we first got Fitzroy, who was very shy, the best way to get the meds in him was to take all the others out of the cage, and give him a little dish of babyfood and meds. He would eat the whole thing every time. They can not resist baby food chicken!

I hope you're getting him into the vet. ARG is right, he could be epileptic, but you said you think he has an infection in his head area, so getting him on some anti-biotics for that might really help him out. It could be nothing more than that.

Good luck!