Permanent Head Tilt

[dapples]

I work in a pet shop and about a month ago we had a rat with a very severe respiratory infection (we didn't think she was going to make it). As a result, her head tilts very far to one side and the vet believes it is permanent. We were going to place her up for adoption to a pet only home, thinking someone would find this trait pretty endearing (it does look awfully cute), but I'm just wondering if this is a good way to live? She seems off balance when she gets picked up, but a friend has a guinea pig who had a head tilt and got used to being handled over time. Just curious as to what the rat experts think her quality of life will be!

[VictorianVanity]

As long as she's no longer ill she will adjust and be a perfectly capable rat, if maybe a little clumsier than most. Our girl Pickle came to us with a head tilt, and while thanks to some antibiotics it's greatly improved she still does have a bit of a tilt. She still gets around just as good as the others, still climbs everywhere. She's happy as can be.

[dapples]

Yeah, she's been on about three different rounds of meds. Took a long time to get her back to health. She could hardly walk when she was first sick. She was blue and stumbling around. Like I said, we were really surprised she pulled through. A little miracle.

[Kiko]

A head Tilt can be a sign of more then just a respiratory infection. It can be a painful inner ear infection, and would need medication.

[Jaguar]

Antibiotic treatment of an inner ear infection is the same as that of a respiratory infection, so depending on what was given, it sounds like it's just permanent. It's not uncommon for the tilt to stay even after it's cleared up. What antibiotics and dosages were given, if you know?

[dapples]

Given 0.1 mL Baytril twice daily for 10 days and then 0.15 mL Baytril twice daily for 10 days and then 0.1 (I think) mL Doxycycline twice daily for 10 days and she was given another medication at the same time as the doxy, but I don't remember what it was.. The head tilt is most likely an inner ear infection, I was more or less using her URI to make the point of how sick she was. She most likely would not have gotten the inner ear infection if she had not been so sick with a respiratory infection.

[ema-leigh]

She needs to be treated for 2 weeks after the last symptom clears up (not including the head tilt.)

It usually doesn't cause them too many problems, at least she wont be in any pain or discomfort after the treatment. I know very severe head tilts can effect balance, but thats about it to my knowledge.

Also give her to a more rat savvy home, and to keep an eye on it that it never comes back (as you wouldn't know since she has a permanent head tilt anyway!)