I think somethings wrong with him, please help

[rodent_girl_1985]

I swear i am havgin the worst day, and if something else goes wrong i will have a nervous breakdown.
I went into the rat room about 40 mins. ago to check on Buffy who went to the vet today (Ihave another thread about her that I will update after this). She was fine, so I descided to give everyone a yogie. The first thing i noticed was that Teddy was not with the girls trying to get his share (he's usually a bully about getting his treats, so this was unusual). I looked and saw him laying in the hammock, saw he was awake, so I held a yogie up to him. He was just sort of staring into space and didn't seem to even notice the yogie, even though it was touching his face. I quickly picked him up, and noticed that he didn't struggle like he always does when someone picks him up. He felt almost limp. I put him on the floor to see what he would do and he just sat there still staring into space. I held him again for a minute, talking to him, and he seemed to start coming to because he started nibbling my lip very gently. I again put him on the floor, but had a hold of his tail. All of a sudden he just freaked out and tried to run. I got a hold of him and calmed him down. I put him back in the cage and he started walking around very normaly. The girls were acting very strange around him. They kept going up to him and sniffing him, like something was wrong. He then went after my girl Lenore, not in a real aggressive manner, but forced her on her back and stood over her. She got away and he did the same to Mina. Scarlett, who is always with him, was acting very nervous when he came near her. Mina and Lenore both ran up to the hammock, but he follewed them. Once he got in the hammock he calmed down again, but again seemed to be almost spaced out, but not quite like before. I have them in a double FN, so I've sectioned off the bottom and separated him from the others.
Does anyone know what could be wrong with him?

[Dearpie]

I wonder if he had just had a seizure.  Definitely keep a very close eye on him.  Seizures won't kill him, but it can be inconvenient for him.   I'd also reduce the amount of sugar in his/their diet.  They don't need it anyways.  This includes yoggies.

[rodent_girl_1985]

I wonder if he had just had a seizure.  Definitely keep a very close eye on him.  Seizures won't kill him, but it can be inconvenient for him.   I'd also reduce the amount of sugar in his/their diet.  They don't need it anyways.  This includes yoggies.

I was wondering if it was a seizure as well. Is there a medicine that the vet can give to him if it is? Also, I thought when a rat has seizures that they really flail about?
I've cut way back on anything with sugar. One thing I forgot to mention. After the first spell, where he freaked out and then calmed down, before he went after the girls, I gave him a treat to see how he would respond and he gobbled it down like he hadn't eaten in days. Could this also be a sign of a seizure?

[PetHuman]

There are many different forms of seizures out there.  My little girl is epileptic and there are varying levels of seizures Ive seen in her, though of course she doesnt exhibit all the forms that seizures can take.  The first odd behavior I noticed was when I saw her in her cage huddled against the wall, she doesn't seem to recognize me and will sometimes lash out at my hand if I try to touch her.  the next level is when she will tear off running blindly in terror and run into anything in her way.  If I am holding her when this happens and can keep her from getting away from me I can usually prevent the next (and worst) part, but if she gets away or is in her cage then she will run into the wall or any objects several times before falling on to her side and spasming up.  Ive never seen her thrash about though.  It took me a while to recognize her behavior as a seizure since the first signs were just her seeming randomly frightened, I assumed there was simply some smell or sound that was bothering her. 

If your rat is having a seizure, it sounds pretty mild to me.  I have Valium from a vet on hand for my little girl but I only use it if she has a massive attack.  Cutting down on sugars is good, and take him to the vet.  I am currently looking into a more serious medication for my girl, but there doesnt seem to be much out there.  If I do find out anything about a more effective treatment I'll let you know.  Luckily though, from what Ive heard, seizures dont normally affect their life span.  Its very sad to watch, and they can hurt themselves, but it's not life threatening.  Good luck with Teddy, and give him lots of love.

[rodent_girl_1985]

Thanks so much for the advice. He seems better now, I even put him back with his girls and their all acting normal.
It really scared me when i first saw him like that, but holding him real close did seem to comfort him.

[KoalaLou2]

My SIL's rat had a pituitary tumor and we think he began having seizures.  The vet said he's probably been having seizures for some time (since the beginning of the tumor) but that most are completely undetectable to humans.  He would stare off into space for periods of time and not respond to anything.  I would say that that is likely the type of seizure your boy has.  The behavior afterward was probably because he was frightened.  Seizures are a very scary thing and when he came to he didn't know what happened and decided he needed to make sure he was still in charge.  I'd take him to a vet to see if there is anything you can put him on, and to confirm that it was a seizure.  I'm not sure there is that much you can do, but it'd be best to get a diagnosis just in case it could be something else.  If he's not hurting your girls, I wouldn't separate them.  His seizures will not hurt them and the girls may be able to comfort him.  Best of luck to him!

[scout]

It's also possible he was just deeply asleep. I've had rats that slept so soundly (yes, even with their eyes open) I could pick them up without them waking. He may have waked up when you put him on the floor and been startled and disoriented, even afraid. If he doesn't show any other symptoms or it doesn't happen again, I'd bet that's what it is. If it happens again, you might gently rock or jiggle his hammock to see if he "wakes" up.

[rodent_girl_1985]

It's also possible he was just deeply asleep. I've had rats that slept so soundly (yes, even with their eyes open) I could pick them up without them waking. He may have waked up when you put him on the floor and been startled and disoriented, even afraid. If he doesn't show any other symptoms or it doesn't happen again, I'd bet that's what it is. If it happens again, you might gently rock or jiggle his hammock to see if he "wakes" up.

He does seem to be much better tonght, I haven't seen another spell. It would be wonderful if he was only sleeping.