# Head Swaying...



## mainstreet (Aug 28, 2006)

Hey guys, this is my first post!

Well, I am looking to both of my girl rats to the vet this weekend, but I thought that I would stop by here and see if I could get any feedback.

My older girl rat, I don't know, maybe a month or 2 old??? Well, it looks as though she sways back and forth to music that isn't playing. I don't mean the head bob, I know that is normal. It is a very lazy and dreamy swaying motion from left to right and she looks like a vegetable when she is doing it. I think it is a mental retardation.. What do you guys think?

She does this sometimes when she is in her cage on her little perch. I don't think I have seen her do it outside of her cage. Also very weird, I think being in her cage makes her unhappy... like, super depressed. I'm very concerned.


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## Squishy (Aug 3, 2006)

Head swaying often means they either have narrow vision or very poor eyesight, they do it to try picking up movement, if they sway from side to side they can pick things up a little easier. Get her eyes tested if you can, is she red eye'd? its most comment in them.there's not much to worry about I dont think. I have had a few rat who did that. They lived healthy normal lives appart from the swaying, i also had a REW rabbit who did it.


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## mainstreet (Aug 28, 2006)

crazy. the dazed and absent look she has while doing it still boggles me. and that is the weird thing, she has black eyes, while my other baby has red eyes, and she doesnt do that! yeah, like i said, my plan is to take a trip to the vet this weekend. i hope that the eye checking is included in the exam.


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## Squishy (Aug 3, 2006)

Well i hope everything goes well at the vets


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## ratwings (Sep 3, 2006)

That swaing means they are very poor sighted and are zeroing in on a certain thing...seeing the distance between things, etc. My pink eyed white hairless girl Ema used to do that when she got older. It means she is loosing her sight and you cant do anything about it. We even do that! It dosnt hurt the rat but you have to be careful and not let them leap from tall places.


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## mainstreet (Aug 28, 2006)

ok, well i went to the vet. i told them that she would sneeze a lot and he listened to her breathing and told me that she was perfectly fine. 

ugh! im so dumb! i forget to tell the doctor what had just started happening, she started.... coughing? very strange noise in her throat. i was unsure of what it was, but my boyfriend said it was her coughing. i forgot to tell him and i guess i'll go back in 2 wks and let him know. it is supposed to be free...


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## Squishy (Aug 3, 2006)

Coughing? Are you sure it doesnt sound like a grunting noise?
I had one rat who would make a grunting noise every so often, sometimes she didnt and her chest was fine but it turns out she had asthma. 
If thats it then its not much to worry about they live fine with it. 

What are you bedding your rats on? 
If its sawdust/woodshavings then they're bad for the rats breathing, it could also cause the sneezing/coughing.


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## mainstreet (Aug 28, 2006)

that is one thing i do know! NOT to use cedar or pine bedding. I have bought only the best *cough* and most expensive! the carefree bedding. i think that's what it's called, it is wood pulp something something. so, yeah, i know not to use the woodshavings. 

but i don't think it is a grunting noise! its more of a raspy, dry squeak?... or maybe you would call it a grunt. one time she did it for like, one whole minute! and it woke me up! i was scared for her. :roll:


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## lilnuttbutt (Sep 28, 2006)

The swaying is very common. Two of my rats are doing it, they have poor sight, and it makes them a bit skitish. My one rat, now two, is visibly completely blind in one eye. Its covered in whitness. He has black eyes, and has always swayed. My other rat, ironicaly, only sways to music. Hes a funny character. 

As for the coughing, its sad, but happens sometimes. Rats are prone to lung diseases. They are naturally born with it. Some express it if they are over exposed to cedar bedding, if their cage isnt cleaned enough or other things that may interfere with the breathing. If you take them to a vet, they will give you pink medicine for them, which stops it from getting worse, but will not cure it. Its like the pink bubble gum medicine we all got as kids for almost anything. As long as it doesnt get worse, thats all that matters. My lab rat i brought home a couple years ago didnt have enough of a immune system to fight it off, and caught it, but was fine after he got his medicine, and lived very happy and healthy for 2 more years.


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## WalkingAGH (Dec 7, 2006)

I had some rats that coughed alot when I was a teenager. After one died I tried to start medicating them. I used minocycline from my acne medication (it was a pill with a yellow powder in it). I just put a little in their water (like 5mg per bottle) and let them drink it over a week or so. Then they were fine. No more coughing!


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