Critter City
By Sandra Todd of Allexperts.com
Help! My rat is holding his head to the side and walking in circles!!
Classic head tilt in young rat.
It happens to many rats. One day they are fine, the next day, they are walking with their head tilted to one side, possibly seeming a bit more clumsy than normal, perhaps walking in circles or spinning.
So what is wrong with your rat?
The first thing the vet will do is prescribe the rat with antibiotics and something for inflammation. The reason the rat is holding her head sideways and possibly walking off balance is because she has an inner ear infection. The inflammation from excessive fluid building up causes pressure on the eighth cranial nerve which is what regulates balance. As long as there is pressure on this nerve, the rat will continue to be off balance.
There are no home remedies or over the counter medications that will cure this and the rat must be seen by a vet that is well versed in rat care.
Lack of treatment will eventually cause death in the rat since the bacteria will travel to the brain.
As long as the rat is able to use their front paws and does not show weakness in the limbs, its a good bet it is head tilt. However, there are neurological problems that can also cause these problems such as a tumor on the brain, but in those cases, you will see weakness in the front paws first, and later, weakness in the back limbs as well and the rat will not respond at all to antibiotic therapy.
More rats suffer from otitis media (inner ear infection) than they do brain tumors, so this is encouraging news.
Here are some photos of animals with head tilt. Rabbits and other animals, including dogs, can suffer from it as well.
The rattie still smiles despite his handicap!
Bunny with severe head tilt