took a couple of videos of Teddy dragging his back end around, he can't really use his back legs at all and lays down to drink and to eat.
here's one of them, the rest are uploading:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/catnapt/8012710103/
he has always had a waddling gait, from when he first came to live with me back last November when he was about 7 mos old.
Then in mid August he just seemed "off"- no obvious signs of illness nor injury but was just not himself, seemed reluctant to move around but would do so, could still climb and run if he felt like it.
Vet said maybe he had some soft tissue damage or something, put him on metacam, it helped and he was mostly ok, just not his usual bubbly self, til just about ten days ago
then he just basically went downhill fast, from occasionally having trouble with his back legs to where he is now, not able to use them at all.
he's been on antibiotic just in case he might have a UTI and he's had pediapred, both without showing any signs of improvement
I just switched him to TMZ cuz he's got what looks like it might be a tiny abscess or area of infection near his anus, just looks oozey and off.
Talked to his vet again, and told her how he'd always walked funny, with quite a bit of a side to side sway, which I thought was a "boy swagger" even though Owen doesn't do it (although truthfully I think of Owen as being gay, LOL hence the name, seems like a good gay name to me LOL)
These two are my first boys, so it never occurred to me that the way Teddy has always walked might be abnormal
Vet said he may have some neuro issue, something possibly pressing on the cerebellum, the balance portion of the brain
Vet said she didn't think it was cancer because rats rarely get cancer? or did she say rats rarely get tumors? either way that seemed like a bizarre thing to say, considering almost all of my girls have had mammary gland tumors and I've had three with PTs. :roll:
are there no other brain tumors a rat can get?
She (vet) said if the pred was going to work it would happen in the first 48 hrs -tried it, no change. I am guessing there's no point in continuing it, but I will call and find out (I did call but I've been out so I don't know if they tried to call back and didn't get me)
so, what do you think? is this what HED usually looks like?
he is not able to sit up at all, from what I have seen.
He has to have his water and food way down low to get to it at all.
I am going to be bathing his belly and underside daily and I already change the fleece in the cage every day and shake it out often to be sure he's not dragging himself around on crumbs etc
he's in a single level cage (top of the CN) and I rotate who I put in with him. He has his best buddy Owen to sleep with and the girls will visit him in groups of 2 to 4 depending on how they behave with him.
any suggestions on how to make him the most comfortable? I feel bad that he can't get into a hammock, I've gonna make a padded mat for him to sleep on.
here's one of them, the rest are uploading:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/catnapt/8012710103/
he has always had a waddling gait, from when he first came to live with me back last November when he was about 7 mos old.
Then in mid August he just seemed "off"- no obvious signs of illness nor injury but was just not himself, seemed reluctant to move around but would do so, could still climb and run if he felt like it.
Vet said maybe he had some soft tissue damage or something, put him on metacam, it helped and he was mostly ok, just not his usual bubbly self, til just about ten days ago
then he just basically went downhill fast, from occasionally having trouble with his back legs to where he is now, not able to use them at all.
he's been on antibiotic just in case he might have a UTI and he's had pediapred, both without showing any signs of improvement
I just switched him to TMZ cuz he's got what looks like it might be a tiny abscess or area of infection near his anus, just looks oozey and off.
Talked to his vet again, and told her how he'd always walked funny, with quite a bit of a side to side sway, which I thought was a "boy swagger" even though Owen doesn't do it (although truthfully I think of Owen as being gay, LOL hence the name, seems like a good gay name to me LOL)
These two are my first boys, so it never occurred to me that the way Teddy has always walked might be abnormal
Vet said he may have some neuro issue, something possibly pressing on the cerebellum, the balance portion of the brain
Vet said she didn't think it was cancer because rats rarely get cancer? or did she say rats rarely get tumors? either way that seemed like a bizarre thing to say, considering almost all of my girls have had mammary gland tumors and I've had three with PTs. :roll:
are there no other brain tumors a rat can get?
She (vet) said if the pred was going to work it would happen in the first 48 hrs -tried it, no change. I am guessing there's no point in continuing it, but I will call and find out (I did call but I've been out so I don't know if they tried to call back and didn't get me)
so, what do you think? is this what HED usually looks like?
he is not able to sit up at all, from what I have seen.
He has to have his water and food way down low to get to it at all.
I am going to be bathing his belly and underside daily and I already change the fleece in the cage every day and shake it out often to be sure he's not dragging himself around on crumbs etc
he's in a single level cage (top of the CN) and I rotate who I put in with him. He has his best buddy Owen to sleep with and the girls will visit him in groups of 2 to 4 depending on how they behave with him.
any suggestions on how to make him the most comfortable? I feel bad that he can't get into a hammock, I've gonna make a padded mat for him to sleep on.
