Rat can't use his front left leg

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KristinDC

Active Member
Joined
Sep 5, 2013
Messages
29
Location
DC
I'm new to this forum and really hope someone can help with hairless rat, Jean-Luc Picard.

Last night I noticed him limping with his left front leg pulled up after he'd eaten his dinner. I took him out and he let me touch him from the shoulder all the way to his fingers without him flinching or squeaking and he didn't have any signs of an external injury or swelling. He also won't eat with that hand and his fingers stay curled up as he tries to eat with just his right hand so its not as if only putting weight on his leg is the problem. He still has energy, walks around, and has been eating and drinking fine. No other symptoms except when I flipped him over to look for injuries I noticed a lump where his testicles used to be. Something related or a completely different issue? I don't usually flip him over since he's not into belly tickles so I'm not sure how long that has been there or its growth rate. It does move under the skin slightly but he also has loose skin anyhow so I'm not sure what to make of it.

The only time I've heard him squeak is when my other rat Remy crawled over him to curl up in their sleeping corner. I'm not sure if Remy was hurting him since he isn't exactly a soft touch, or if JL was just warning him to stay away from his paw. He is much smaller than Remy (he's not a hairless) and they had rough housing issues when they were about a year old so they were neutered in May and have been much calmer since. Both are under 1.5 years old.

I was out of town all last weekend and the neighbors looked after them. I came back Monday night, played with each of them Tuesday and noticed the limp only on Wednesday night when I got home from work. I'm also worried about this lump on his groin. It's like I took a weekend vacation and came home to my boy broken :cry:

My vet who specializes in small mammals and exotics wasn't in today but I'm dropping JL off in the morning at the office. Has anyone else had this happen to their rats before? I had a rat who slowly lost mobility in his back legs but this is completely different, just the one front paw and he doesn't seem to let it bother him. I'm a wreck today worrying about him, I always fear the worst....
 
I had a rat recently sprain her front leg and not put any weight on it for 3 days. There was no swelling and Metacam did not help but she got better on her own. I've also had a rat get a blood vessel tumour and lose use of her front leg but there was clear swelling. How old is she?
 
I'm no expert, but sounds like he hurt is leg. As for the lump, possible abcess, cyst - don't really know. If you post a pic or two someone maybe able to help you out more. I have a boy with a couple lumps/bumps, but they are basically ingrown hairs so I don't worry about them anymore. Healing vibes to your boy :heart:
 
Thanks for the replies! Any ideas and what he might've done to hurt it? I want to make sure that it doesn't happen again if its a sprain but I'm not sure what could cause that. They're in a wire cage with levels and ramps that are hard plastic. He climbs the sides but he's not a jumper like the other one, and since he was fine when I got back I assume it didn't happen in my neighbors care.

I'll take photos of the lump when I get home from work. Its under the skin layer, around the size of a peanut, no head or scab to it. My boyfriend is scared to death of bothering him so he won't pick him up right now and send a photo :roll: Remy has had a little pea sized cyst under his chin before but it seemed more like a bubble and after I applied a warm wet washcloth it popped and oozed. This lump definitely seems different and it surprises me to find one at his groin after being neutered, is that common? He was born spring of 2012, I'm a little concerned that he's having problems at this age already :(
 
Rats just get sprains from time to time, young rats because they're insane, older males because they're clumsy. It's not a huge cause for concern. He could have just taken a tumble and hurt himself trying to catch himself on the way down.

Rats sometimes get abscesses months post neuter, hopefully that's what this is.
 
I have younger boys that rat ball themselves right off a top shelf to the bottom... so anything could of happened. Of course when they hit the bottom shelf the fight usually breaks up - until 5 minutes later when they do it again!
 
:-(

We're headed there in the morning, hopefully it won't be anything major. Any thoughts? It actually seems to have moved again since I took the photo, is that common for an abcess or tumor??
 
It's very odd... neither tumours nor abscesses tend to move very much. I had a hernia in that area that changed a bit - can you gently push it in?
 
It doesn't seem to do much when pushed, but maybe it seemed to move because he's got such lose skin? I did an image search and one of the photos here looks quite a bit like it: http://www.ratfanclub.org/abscess.html He was pretty bad about reopening the incisions, would something like that cause an abscess?

He's eating like a champ right now which makes me feel a little relief. Time for bed and then off to the vet first thing before work, I'll post what I find out. Thank you all for your input, I really appreciate you calming me down about his paw! I was a wreck of a rat mommy :)
 
The thing about your lump is that it doesn't look very uniform. Most abscesses I have had have been uniform. I don't think they tend to move around too much either. I wouldn't wait two weeks like Debbie D recommends. Actually, I wouldn't follow any of her recommendations. Don't use Neosporin or peroxide on an abscess. A warm compress with saline can help bring the abscess to a head and then you can open it and flush it with saline. Antibiotics would clear it up as well.
 
Ugh, not great news. The vet just called and said there is definitely swelling in the arm and it might be connected to the lump that might be a tumor that has spread, so they're going to do an x-ray. And to add to that, I decided to take Remy in because his wheezing seemed more labored this morning not like his usual come and go sinus issues. Turns out he probably has pneumonia instead. So once the x-rays are done on both of them I should get a call here shortly and I'll leave to hopefully pick them up and take them home on a road to health.
I feel like the worst rat mom ever, if I hadn't been out of town maybe I would've noticed these things earlier. And I'm supposed to leave in less than a week for my cousin's wedding :sad3:
 
JL seems to have an infection and some inflammation so the little lump may be some infection that came from his arm. He got some an anti-inflammatory and antibiotics from the vet and is slowly starting to use his arm more, he also seems to enjoy shoulder rubs. The vet is hoping the meds will help the swelling go down because he doesn't want to drain the lump when its in such a delicate area. But he said it didn't seem really solid and it was moving around so hopefully its just a pocket of fluid. I'm sort of a natural remedy kind of person and I was wondering if anyone knows of anything that might help with the inflammation? I know for humans that turmeric is a wonderful anti-inflammatory and can kill cancer cells but would put some on his food do anything? I did a lot of research about anti-cancer foods and the inflammation- cancer link when my grandma was diagnosed and some of the results were astounding. Sadly they were using mice in experiments with tumors but there were some food concoctions that did reduce their tumors. I wonder if that could be applied to rats as treatments. My boys already eat fresh veggies for dinner and a mix of seeds, kashi, nuts, and dried fruit for breakfast, not a foolproof plan I guess.
Remy also got some antibiotics, his lungs were a little cloudy on x-ray and by late afternoon his breathing was definitely labored. Poor guy wasn't eating or drinking so I've gotten him all kinds of baby foods, yogurts, and ice pops to try so I don't have to force feed him. He was having a hard time this morning and just wanted to nestle in my arm. I took him for a steam in the bathroom and that actually seemed to help a lot. He sort of horked something up in a sneeze or a cough and all the sudden he could breathe so much easier and quieter. I could tell it made him feel better because he got a little bit of energy after that and even though I took out the levels in their cage he wants to climb the sides and stare at me to take him out. Has anyone tried anything with a vaporizer that might help him more? I'm thinking something like Vicks might be too harsh, maybe lemon juice? Another remedy I have is some honey and crushed garlic every couple hours as an expectorant but I don't know how different a rat's respiratory system is.
I'm glad its the weekend so I can dote on my boys, if anyone has any recommendations I'll take what you've got!
 
I think steaming Remy with plain water or an isotonic solution is all you should try for now, as some things are more irritating than soothing.
He may have had a big hunk of mucus blocking an area of his lungs. If he responded to steaming positively the first time, I would repeat it until he starts to show clear signs of improvement.
I'm somewhat skeptical about JL's diagnosis just because I haven't heard of anything like that. I will be curious to follow along and see how he responds to treatment.
 
:heart: :cuddle: Healing vibes to your babies :cuddle: :heart: I have some boys on antibiotics and one that is not doing to well with kidney issues, but the point I want to make is I was informed by the people on this site (that know a whole lot more than me) not to give my boys yogurt or baby food within 2 hours of the antibiotics because of the probiotics in them - I think they weakness the meds or something. Just tossing that out there. Hope your ratties feel better soon :hugs:
 
This was Ginger the day she stopped using her front leg:
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file-2.jpg


The lump was clearly visible. If there's some swelling but it's not very evident, it's possible it's a sprain/muscle injury and not a tumour or infection. It may be the lump and the arm are unrelated. You can ask the vet to aspirate the lump on his abdomen to see if it's an abscess or something else.
 

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