Blind Rat? What Do I Do?

Question

I got three male rats about a week ago. After a while I noticed that one of them was blind. I started to watch him and noticed that he was shacking his head as though he was trying to see? Today I was holding him and he wouldn't stop moving and doing the head thing( like he was trying to make out the place he was). It makes me sad because I don't want him to suffer( I don't even know if he is suffering, but it concerns me). I would like to know if there is anything that might help his sight. Also I would like to know if he could ever go into a multi level cage? Will The other rats beet him up?

Thanks for your time!!!

Answer 1

Take him to vet.

Don't let him have contact with the other rats it might not b safe. at least untill u get him to the vet.

Hes doing the head thing to sense around with his whiskers. Its fine. Hes moving so much becuz he doesn't know where he is cuz he cant c.

Answer 2

bring it to the nearest vet

they know what to do

meanwhile, separate the blind one from the other rats

so that it wouldn't be beaten up

try to make it feel love from you

that way it won't be scared

Answer 3

If he came with the other rats he should be fine. If you can take him to the vet do so, but a blind rat can still live a long and happy life. Just make sure there's no shelves he can fall off in his cage. If his cage has levels but not shelves, that's fine, he can get around. Also make sure he knows you're around when you're about to touch him, especially if you have other animals in the house you touch (like dogs, make sure you wash your hands first before touching him). Make sure he knows where his food and water is, as long you don't mind giving him a little extra care, he can be totally fine. Just don't give up on him, he's lucky to have someone who's researching what to do.

Answer 4

Your rat is not blind. Rats will head sway to gain or try to gain depth perception. Like was said above you see this alot in pink eyed rats. Relax your boy is fine.

Answer 5

well the other rats will either pick on him or help him. they will help him by making him warm, and bringing him food. if they pick on him move him to another one story cage, and let him know hes still loved even though hes blind

Answer 6

You rat is not blind. All rats have very poor eyesight. They rely on other senses and seeing is their least used sensory perception. White rats with red eyes in particular are prone to very poor eyesight, and they do move their head side to side in order to enhance  depth perception. If he were actually blind he would not do this. There is no need to worry - he will be just fine.

There is no need to bring him to a vet. There is no treatment for this as it is perfectly normal for rats. There is also no need to separate him from the other rats or change your cage layout. Even if he were actually impaired (which is is not), rats are gregarious animals. They will help a sick or injured pack mate. Unless you see signs of fighting or territoriality, just leave them together.

If you are interested, I have included a site reference that will give you lots of info about rat health. This is the passage about the head weaving you are observing:

"There are a few rat behaviors that are sometimes mistaken for health problems. One of these is when a rat stares into space, swaying or weaving his head back and forth. This behavior is most common in pink-eyed rats and means the rat has poor eyesight. Moving their head back and forth helps their depth perception through a phenomenon called parallax. As they sway back and forth, closer objects seem to move more than objects farther away."

http://www.petrats.org/infoforvetsetc.ht...