# HELP: Sudden hind leg weakness in young male rat



## a_rat_called_Badger (Sep 22, 2014)

Anyone else have any similar experiences or advice on my rat before I rush him off to the vet and spend the last of my money on an over-priced consult??? 

He's 7month's old, was castrated about 5 weeks ago, surgical site healed up beautifully and no issues there. About a week ago, I noticed sudden weakness in his hind limbs, maybe stemming from the knee joint area. He seems to not really have much control over his feet, his toes just roll under when he's attempting to walk and there's no sign of pain or distress when I examine him. His breathing is fine, eyes are alert, still eating and drinking and taking treats from my hand. He's still trying to do everything his brothers do, but it's almost as if he doesn't realise his legs don't do as he asks. e.g when he tries to climb up the wires of the cage, his feet just flop along behind him not gripping anything at all and he ends up just using all his upper body strength to get to the top. I rearranged everything in the cage so he had his own bowl, water and bed on the ground level to make things easier for him, but he still insists on climbing up the side of the cage (there's ramps but his brother's think it's more fun to climb the cage, and Bambi just copies everything they do anyway)

I've checked him all over for signs of trauma and found none, I don't think he could have fallen, I have a ridiculous amount of hammocks as safety nets on each level and the cage is not much taller than a meter. He has no sign of a head tilt, and no issues holding food. I'm yet to actually see him poop and I'm thinking of confining him to a separate cage to make sure he is urinating and defecating ok. His stomach doesn't feel bloated or anything though. What I have noticed in the past week is that his muscles are starting to waste away in his legs, I'm thinking this may be due to lack of use? Or could this mean something else? My concern is that he is so young, too young to be having hind leg deterioration that elderly rats can get? I don't know. He's still cuddly and happy, moving around the cage and the free range bedroom in his own little disabled way. I love my rats so much that I would go hungry for a week if this was something that needed urgent medical attention, but I don't want to spend that money to be told what I already know. Like, if it's a case of the fact he's had a stroke and is going to be like this for the rest of his life and with supportive care can still be bright and happy (I mean, that's what I hope) but if this could be something serious that could be assisted with steroids or medications, or worst case scenario if this is a particular condition that only get's worse, I'd rather let him rest peacefully sooner rather than later. 

I don't know, I'm sorry this is long. 

*Have any of you had rats with sudden (as in, no warning signs what so ever) hind leg weakness/paralysis and what did you end up doing and what was the outcome? *

I'm prepared to take him to the vet by all means, but I'd like to try and rule out other things first. 

(p.s. Over the past week of close observation there has been no further deterioration in his mobility, his eating habits and his demeanour, otherwise I'd have taken him much sooner trust me.)


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

When he's not looking pinch his tail. Does he respond? HLD has a progression up the hind end. 

A vet can look for spinal trauma you may not be seeing. Maybe an xray. In the case of stroke or trauma steroids can help. 

Make sure to move his legs for him, just stretch and flex.


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## Lita (Jul 10, 2014)

I would take him to the vet as soon as physically possible. If an animal stops using a limb I would give it 24 hours and if there is no sign of improvment I would take them to the vet. Especially if he is standing and his toes curl under and he doesn't recorrect it. When our rabbit dislocate his elbow that was the first thing my vet did to check feeling and when he didn't move his paw from that position she said it is not a good thing when an animal does that.


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## Voltage (May 15, 2013)

This is kind if out there but he hasn't ingested any bleach has he?
When I worked at an animal shelter we had a few cats who had ingested bleach. We called them Clorox kitties. Bleach can cause neurological damage if ingested. One of the cats named Terrance lost most of the use in his back legs. He would walk around with his backside swaying back and forth and falling over. He was still a very happy cat and didn't let his condition slow him down (much) he didn't seem to notice anything was wrong with him. Unfortunately he didn't live long. At about 7 months old he passed away.

I just wanted to bring this up in case it was a possibility.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

In young rats this is normally one of two things, a spinal injury or tumour or something putting pressure on the spine, it can sometimes be a bladder infection too but not as obvious. I would get him to the very for an xray and have him out on steroids asap, its most likley an injury even if you can't find swelling


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## a_rat_called_Badger (Sep 22, 2014)

Thanks for the replies, just an update on little Bambi. I took him to the vet last week and was given some steroids to help. The vet wasn't able to diagnose anything as I couldn't afford any diagnostic tests and even then she said they may not show much. There was a little improvement in his ability to move around but the past three days he went downhill. A huge lump had appeared under his throat and his breathing was very laboured. It's a public holiday today and I rushed him to the emergency clinic. When I got there his breathing had got much worse and the vet there who was a rat/rabbit/guinea pig specialist diagnosed a rare type of aggressive cancer in the lymph nodes. He said that it most likely started in his pelvic lymph nodes and aggressively travelled throughout his system. He lost half his weight in the past three days despite eating and drinking twice as much as he usually did. Unfortunately I had to have him put to sleep as the vet said even providing him with supportive palliative care he may not make it more than a few more days and he was in so much distress  Poor bub. But I'm glad he's not in pain/distress anymore. They let me sit with him for a while in a quiet room, he was in a little oxygen incubator thing to help him breathe a little easier but the swelling in his lymph glad was putting a lot of pressure on his airway. R.I.P little Bambi <3


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## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

Hugs, this is really rubbish, its the worst thing that could have happened from those symptoms and very rare. You made the right choice, cancer is nasty and painful for the poor rats and can move so fast its scary.


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