# My young rat can barely walk! What could have happened?!



## safety-pins-are-not-safe (Jan 29, 2014)

I got some new pet rats about a week ago from Feeders Supply. They were intended to be feeders but I said I was getting them as pets. I don't even think they are selling rats as pets anymore right now because they're getting bunnies in.

Anyway
They are from two different litters and two different breeders. The youngest are dumbos and don't look too old past weaned age and the oldest are top ears at least three-four weeks past weaned age.
All of them sneeze. Some of them make odd sounds while breathing but are very active and playful.
One of the top ears (I named him Hiei), seemed fine yesterday but today I noticed something wasn't right. He was just laying but seemed normal. He didn't get up and come running to the cage door though with the others like he usually has done when I open it. I got him out and while I was holding him I noticed he kept his back feet up and close to his body. Kind of like if you scruff a kitten and they pull their back feet close to their body (NOTE: I did not scruff him I am just using scruffing a kitten as an example of what his pose was when I held him). He was calm and just let me gently hold him up. I gave him kisses then put him back into the cage. When he walked it was kind of like his back feet were locked. He wobbled (not much just a tiny bit) as he pulled his way around with his front feet. I put some water and food close to him which he drank and had a bite to eat. I left him alone for about an hour then returned to get him and show him some affection. I let him down on my bed and I noticed he could now move his back feet but just barely. Also I noticed a couple of itty bitty red bubbles coming out of his nose every now and then. They're very faint but it can't be good.

I am scared he will die! I'm already super attached to him and I don't want to lose him!

You all are probably going to be mean to me now when I say that I can't take him to the vet. We just recently had to take two of our cats to the vet and our dog so we can't afford another vet visit this soon. I do start a new job soon at the zoo so if he doesn't worsen b y my first pay check I will make sure the first thing I do is get him to the vet.

I will take a video clip of him once my phone charges and upload it onto YT then link it back here.


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## ratswithfoxandbear (Feb 12, 2014)

Did you name him Hiei after the Yuu Yuu Hakusho character? I hope so.

Anyway, take a video and post it. It will help everyone get an idea of what is going on. We do the best we can for our pets. I know there would be some weeks that if something went wrong, I would not be able to do anything. This is despite the fact I have my yearly-wage job. I get that.

I hope someone can help you out! Provide him water and feed him as often as possible. Do you have a Quarantine tank you could potentially keep him in? Are other rats bothering him or staying close?

Best of luck!


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## safety-pins-are-not-safe (Jan 29, 2014)

Yes. He is named after 'that' Hiei. <3

Anyway, I am uploading the video right now. I will have it up soon!


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## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

He may have fallen and injured himself. Feel him over gently and see if he seems in any pain. If he does children's ibuprifen suspension is a good rat pain killer. He should really go to the vet, if he's fallen and got spinal Injuries then steroids will help him Hall faster with less long term damage, however for now keeping him quiet with pleanty of easily accessible for and water will have to do.


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## safety-pins-are-not-safe (Jan 29, 2014)

The video is only about 45 seconds long but it's been processing on YT for too long it seems. :c I'm not sure how long it's gonna take to process. I tried another site but it says it's gonna take 40+ minutes for processing. D: It only ever does this to me when I try to upload a video I take with my phone. If I make videos on my computer and upload them it only takes a few minutes for even half hour length videos.
It's going to be a while but I will link the video once I get it up and running somewhere.


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## safety-pins-are-not-safe (Jan 29, 2014)

Here's the video; https://vimeo.com/87317857
The password is Hiei (capital H)

He is able to walk now but not so good. It's so sad to see him like this.


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## Maddie (Jan 13, 2014)

Are his feet swollen? They look like they are


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

He looks a lot better than I expected. I think if I saw correctly (I stopped twenty five seconds in) that he just seems to have a leg injury, likely from rough housing, falling, or exposed wire floors/ramps. I hope some one else chimes in but he looks better than a sprain im currently dealing with in Caius.


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## safety-pins-are-not-safe (Jan 29, 2014)

I took a closer look and they do look swollen. I don't know why they are though. Their cage is kept clean, there is only one plastic shelf in it which has a layer of fleece over it to keep it clean (although they somehow find their way underneath the fleece). I took the other two shelves out of the cage because he and his two brothers share it with the two younger dumbo boys for right now. I didn't want the two younger rats to climb high and fall so it's a temporary safety measure. It's a ferret/rat cage. I don't use wheels. The bedding in the bottom of the cage is white printer paper that I shred myself. I don't know why his feet would be bothering him.  Could he have some allergy to the paper? He was kept in a tank with a lot of other rats from the breeder he came from. His brothers and the other boys with him aren't having any problems with their feet. Also, the others aren't picking on him at all. They're all getting along quite well.

Here's the cutie;








& Here's some pictures of his feet I just took;













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## safety-pins-are-not-safe (Jan 29, 2014)

It is a horizontal cage that they do climb up so could it be that he got stuck/fell and fractured his foot? One looks bigger than the other but he seems to wobble on both. :c


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## safety-pins-are-not-safe (Jan 29, 2014)

Also thank you all for trying to help me figure out what might be the cause.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Try to figure out his weight and then use ratguide to give him some children's ibuprofen for swelling and pain. 

Does the printer paper have ink when shredded? Does it feel sharp?


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## Maddie (Jan 13, 2014)

Sorry as far as injury advice I'm still new to the rat owning. I just kinda noticed the swollen foot and that one in particular does look a good but puffier than the other. Hopefully someone with more experience can chime in as to what the cause might be and how to help him.


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## safety-pins-are-not-safe (Jan 29, 2014)

nanashi7 said:


> Try to figure out his weight and then use ratguide to give him some children's ibuprofen for swelling and pain.
> 
> Does the printer paper have ink when shredded? Does it feel sharp?


It's ink-free. Straight out of the package it comes in. It's never felt sharp to me when I grab handfuls of it and put it into the cage BUT I will reclean the cage tomorrow morning and use a different kind of bedding so it's easier on his feet in their condition. I have some extra fleece baby blankets so I will take one and fix it on one side of the bottom of the cage and get some Carefresh to fill the other side of it. I'd stopped using Carefresh earlier last year because I heard so many stories about it possibly containing mites and I wasn't allowed to put the package into the freezer (haha). I don't really know of any other types of bedding I could use besides fabric, the Carefresh stuff our pet stores all carry, or paper you've shredded yourself. I haven't had a problem with my shredded paper before but I guess there's a first time for everything. :c

I'm going to try to make sure he's comfortable and keep an eye on him.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Wood based bedding can carry mites. There are bedding a and cat litters which are recycled paper and safe. But your current method is fine (my vets tech does that); in case there is an injury I thought I should add a saline soak may help.


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## safety-pins-are-not-safe (Jan 29, 2014)

Hiei is doing much better! He is using the injured leg/foot more and back to climbing up the wire cage walls. I'm still keeping an eye on him though. I have a baby fleece blanket inside of the cage but he would rather sleep in his igloo. The other rats love the loose fabric that they can tug around wherever they like.


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