# Erratic behavior



## JessLoveless (Dec 2, 2013)

Help! 
My fancy rat (currently and always is in a clean cage by himself) is acting very strange. He is a rescue and was previously a pet of someone else, though I have no idea how old he is. He used to have a cage mate, but the other rat became too aggressive and they now have their own territories. upon separation (I believe from the stress being bullied by his friend) he had excessive leaking of porphyrin from his left eye. This has continued (for about 6 months) until now, usually only if he is in stressful situations. He is usually a very calm rat, though a little shy. One week ago I found him spinning in his cage, spinning in circles. I stuck my hand in the cage to stop him and make sure he was ok, he immediately stopped and just flopped in my hand. very alarming! I removed him from the cage to see what was going on, he started acting normal, but I could feel his heart pounding and he seemed stressed, so I placed him back in the cage where he is most comfortable. Ever sense he is acting like he has no idea who I am. He seems healthy, eating, drinking normal amounts, very healthy attitude toward treats and comes when called still. Strangely though he is acting more stressed than ever the leaking porphyrin seems to have completely stopped. He is not wheezing or acting lethargic but when I observe from a distance it seems either his heart is pounding harder or he is breathing heavier than normal as i can see his back moving. when I pick him up he acts terribly erratic like he doesn't know who i am or where he is. running back and fourth in my arms, acting as if he wants to jump off of me. when i try to pet him or hold him more securely to comfort him it gets worse. My first guess was that he had gone blind in one or both of his eyes (i was leaning towards the left eye due to previously stated problem) however he seems to be getting around fine, and blinks when i move toward either eye. It seems as he is acting only on instincts: to be afraid of everything except food. I fear he may have some brain damage. please help me make my rat more comfortable.




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## JudeWriley (Aug 1, 2007)

Well, two things come to mind. You hit on one, there may be some neurological issue presenting itself. So I'd take him to the vet as soon as you can.

The other thing is he could be depressed or developing some emotional issues after being so long by himself. Rats are social creatures and they need the daily interaction of other rat companions. If you had to separate then it should have been only temporary until you could have resolved the issue with his cagemate or until you could get him introduced to a new cagemate. It sounds like he didn't take the initial separation very well either (isn't six months way too long for porphyrin leakage?). Perhaps what you thought was aggression was merely playtime and rough-housing? 

(What sort of cage set up do you have. Does he have toys and other sort of stimulation? Does he get any free range time?)


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## JessLoveless (Dec 2, 2013)

Great ideas thank you. I'm searching for a trustworthy vet in my area. The city I moved to is full if vets that usually only treat cats and dogs :/. Last time I took him to a vet like that they acted like they had no idea what they were doing  
As to the cage mate issue. Both rats have tons of toys and hiding places in their cages. The reason they are no longer back together is this: they were separated not from roughy playing (which is what it started as) but Boris bit Joel, enough to need stitches. I reintroduce them nearly every day some days it's ok and they ignore each other, other days Joel is screaming in terror. I let them play rough a little bit but Norris gets aggressive very fast . Joel seems to want to be a loner sense the day I got him. He prefers to be in a corner grooming or on my shoulder no mater what playmate I try him with (I worked at a pet store with access to many calm rats for him to play with... He was never interested ) The day his eye started leaking was the day they got in the big fight and the vet said that it wasn't anything to be worried about, that some rats can't regain control of its production after a rough incident. 
Hope the extra info helps.
Searching for a reputable vet more today. 



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