I'm worried...again, weak rat?

So, I have been on the rat shack a few times to ask for advice on my lovely little girls, Kiara and Vitani. They had a very bad case of myco and pnemonia((Kiara in particular)) when they were about 1 month old. They were put on meds for awhile, and then they had another flare up shortly after the meds were gone. I suggested to my vet a different med, and it seemed to have worked! *knock on wood* My babies have been so quiet ever since, no wheezing, and hardly any sneezing except for my albino, who has always been stuffy. They are about a year and a half now.

Now on to why I am worried today. Vitani and Kiara both seem perfectly fine, they run, they eat, they climb their cage, they wrestle and act perfectly normal. They are breathing fine, except Kiara breathes a little heavier when she is outside her cage, but acts perfectly normal, not scared. What im noticing though, is that when i pick her up, she goes a little limp, much weaker then she normally was. She also has a bit of a weird walk now, moving her hind legs a lot more outward then normal. I understand rats lose function in their back legs as they age, could this be why?

Also I need to mention a few other things. One, she ate a cheerio just fine, holding it fine and eating it all without any problems, so PT may be out. When i look at her from above, i notice on her left hind leg there is a VERY VERY slight "bump" in her fur. Its not like a pimple or anything, its almost as if her hair is thicker there. When i rub it a bit, she doesnt seem to be in pain, and i cant feel anything but squishy rat sides. I dont feel anything like a swollen lymph node or a tumor bump. Its almost airy, cause there is ultimately no resistance, just squish. Im assuming that this may be just where she is a little fatter on one side then the other.

Also, one other note. I was at work today, i work at a truck stop, and sat down, and noticed a very teeny tiny bug on my leg. It looked a LOT like a flea, im pretty sure it was one. I killed it and when i got home, i searched myself first, then i searched my rats for any sign of fleas(the flea i found was dark, so it didnt show up in either of my girls white fur)). I havent been itchy lately, but my rats to scratch a bit, but never to the point of scabbing. IF my rats DO have fleas, could it maybe be causing kiara to feel weak?

Make note I am setting up a vet appt. ASAP for a check up. Anyone know how much thatll be offhand?

Recap:
Kiara feels a bit weak when i hold her

• Both rats act normally when not held, running around and playing
• Both rats eat well, neither are losing weight
• Both rats are around 1 1/2 years old.
• Both have battled myco, but havent had any flare ups for months+are not showing any symptoms
• I found a single flea on both me, my rats, and all my other animals are medicated for them--and i checked REALLY well. A lot of truck drivers have dogs, so hopefully its was a dog flea.
• Kiara can hold a cheerio just fine and eat it
• The "lump" I found on Kiara's thigh is not painful, and it doesnt feel like a lump, it feels more like squish.

Sorry for making such a long post, like i said im bringing her to the vet ASAP, but was wanting a second opinion. Love you guys! :bow:

18 months is young for a real change of mobility/gait.

You might be getting early signs of HED, or maybe PT but it hasn't progressed enough. Any clubbing, head bumping, excessive bruxxing or dozy eyes?

The squishy thing could be a tumour in its early stages or be nothing. Have you had her in your lap and felt both sides equally with your hands to figure out the differences?

Unless your rats had very visible fleas anemia from fleas is not a factor. The bug could have been from anywhere since you only found it while at work.

Well, ive never really heard her brux, i mean she did when i first got her, a lot, but recently its died down, prolly because she doesnt like to cuddle as much as she gets older, weird right? I THINK she bruxed a little bit when she woke up from a nap earlier, but hasnt done it since. No clubbing, head bumping, and i dunno about her eyes. Yes i felt both sides, i didnt feel any difference, i only saw it. However she is very very squirmy when shes on the ground and it was hard to get her to sit still.

A thing i should also probably mention, she has choked twice in the past two months. She spat up whatever it was she was choking on both times, but its still worth mentioning i think.

CherryChan said:

Well, ive never really heard her brux, i mean she did when i first got her, a lot, but recently its died down, prolly because she doesnt like to cuddle as much as she gets older, weird right? I THINK she bruxed a little bit when she woke up from a nap earlier, but hasnt done it since. No clubbing, head bumping, and i dunno about her eyes. Yes i felt both sides, i didnt feel any difference, i only saw it. However she is very very squirmy when shes on the ground and it was hard to get her to sit still.

A thing i should also probably mention, she has choked twice in the past two months. She spat up whatever it was she was choking on both times, but its still worth mentioning i think.

Click to expand...

I am only seeing mild symptoms and nothing definitive...choking may be a symptom or it may just be a regular choke.

Is she eating, bright eyed, active, pooping and peeing fine?

She is eating normally, she is not as active as she used to be really, unless i take her out to play she normally either eats, wrestles with her cage mate or sleeps. Shes pooping and peeing fine, and bright eyed. Im just a little worried about how weak she feels to me. Before, she would try her darndest to climb my arms when i held her((standing up)) to sit on my shoulder, now she tries a little, but then gives up and just sits in my hands. When i sit down, however, she goes crazy again and wants to run around the bed.

Okay i went to the vet. Surprise Surprise, Kiara got a relatively clean bill of health. The vet said to watch her to make sure that any lump that i may see doesn't grow, because she didnt see one. She also tested some pain meds on her because she thought maybe her weak back legs may be arthritis. I didnt really notice a change, but Kiara is actually jumping now. As for Vitani...She is the sick one. She has a heart murmur brought on by the amount of scar tissue in her lungs. She also has extreme allergies, causing her to be so sniffly all the time and itch. The vet gave me allergy meds to put in her water from now on, and she seems to be doing better. Fingers crossed that my little girls will cheer up!

Hopefully she'll perk up. As for allergy meds in the water, make sure you keep an eye on that, some rats just out right stop drinking water when there's something added to it.

Hey so I said that I went to the vet and we got on meds and such, however I am really worried about Kiara now, and possibly questioning the new vet I went to. She gave Kiara a clean bill of health, but put her on a trial of pain meds just in case she had arthritis. She has perked up a lot, and doesnt seem to be having any problems. She was running around with her cage mate and eating not but 30 seconds prior to these videos. I thought maybe she was choking at first, but she ate something else and now wont come out. She is not making any noises whatsoever. Should i get them back on antibiotics? and what would you recommend if so?

http://vid250.photobucket.com/albums/gg259/horserider_707/IMG_0735_zps6101c284.mp4

http://vid250.photobucket.com/albums/gg259/horserider_707/IMG_0734_zps5afc284c.mp4

And shes alert and eating, but she wont come out of that ball. Just a minute before she was practically begging to come out.