Limping Rat

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Good Karma

Good Karma

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2007
Messages
353
Location
Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Hi All,

My dear little Gobo is limping. He has some how hurt one of his back feet. It is a little swollen, there is some heat but no discolouration. He is having a hard time walking, he won't put any pressure on it.

What should i do? Lots of rest and no going out of the cage? Please advise.

Tara
 
Yes, one level cage if possible (tie up a ramp so he can't get up?), restrict his activity, but you can take him out on the couch or bed with you, just watch to see he doesn't overdo it. It sounds like a typical sprain and should heal in a few days. :)
 
:yeah:

If the swelling gets any worse, you can give him a dose of Infant Ibuprofen or metacam if you have it. It will help decrease the swelling some and help with any pain he might be feeling. You want to keep the dosage low enough that he can still feel *some* discomfort, so that he doesn't unknowingly overdo it.
 
I used to advise putting the rat in a single level cage, but I don't do that anymore unless the "sprain" is severe. I've noticed taking the rat out is more stressful than dealing with a sore foot.
I don't recommend pain meds either simply because if he feels pain, he'll stay quiet, if he feels good, he'll use it. And right now the best thing for him is keep him stress free, warm, fed and resting.
 
I guess I should have reiterated...if there's a way to make his present cage one level I would do it, but if not, since it doesn't sound like a bad sprain, I would leave him alone to heal ramps and all.

I bet he's a ton better tomorrow. :)

I don't like doing hospital cages unless completely necessary, the rat is usually soo unhappy without their companions. :(
 
Hey Tara--I had this happen to my evil Walden a few months back, and I was so scared that he had broken it because he put absolutely no pressure on it. By the next day he was using it again, and the day after that he was completely back to normal. If your little guy isn't doing better in two days I would give a call to your vet.
 
Thanks for the advice.
I did get freaked out because i had a mouse break his leg once when i was little and i had to put him down because of it. :cry:
Gobo is resting now and hopefully by tomorrow he will be at least a bit better!
 
jorats said:
I don't recommend pain meds either simply because if he feels pain, he'll stay quiet, if he feels good, he'll use it.
Click to expand...

That is old school vet thinking. :) It has been shown that pain meds can make the animal feel better, which helps them recover faster. The pain meds just dull the pain, but it still hurts when a threshold is surpassed... and that threshold is far earlier than them doing any further damage to an injury. An animal with no pain meds on board takes longer to heal and recover.

That being said, rats seem to have very high pain tolerances and will continue eating and drinking normally even when in pain... many other animals won't.

Here's hoping it was just a little sprain and Gobo will be good as new soon! Hugs to Gobo.
 
Good Karma said:
I was just at that site myself. Is this for the regular adult, pill form or for a liquid kind?
Click to expand...

I usually use the children's liquid form. If you look at the bottle of meds, there should be a spot somewhere that lists the amount of meds per milligrams (mg) or grams (g) per each dose. I don't know offhand the amount of the drug in the childrens stuff as I am at work, but there should definitely be an amount listed on there somewhere. Maybe under the active ingredients part of the bottle?
 
It takes some practice and a bit of dedication to figure it all out.

I always suggest the Infant Motrin, not the Children's. The dosages are generally much smaller and easier to get into them.

For Children's suspension he would get .23cc
Infants would be .11cc

That's using the 10mg/kg dosaging. he doesn't need a whole lot. Since he's not in a whole lot of pain or very swollen, I would give it to him every 6hrs or so and see how he does. Think of it like taking some advil for a mild headache.
 

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