Toffee not her self- back legs?

Question
Hi Sandra,
Hope your well? How is your rattie with the lump getting on?

Well Toffee is about 25-26 months now and ive recently noticed one of her back legs slipping as she walks. First it was on the kitchen lino, so i just put it down to being slippery, but then it happened on the carpet too. Its as though she is slipping on ice (seems to be only one back leg!!) When she is let out of the cage though and runs to her favourite hiding spot (i love it when she bounces along like in a gallop) all seems ok. Its just the walking. Could it be HLD? Is there anything i can do for her?
She seems a bit more lethargic than normal too. However i guess she is getting on a little bit and her cage mate Fudge died in Feb having her lump removed. I dont know whether she is depressed and just likes chilling rather than running around.
Last week i was off work ill so she was free ranging my flat for about 5-6 hours. She would just run under my bed and go to sleep. At one point when i went to get her from under the bed she wouldnt move- i thought she had died!! I put her back in the cage and she is pinging around the cage to get out. I let her out and she is straight back to being under my bed, asleep!!

Ive noticed occasionally she gets a bit of poryh around one eye only. Then after a couple of days to a week its gone. Then she will get a bit more and again its gone.
She does sneeze (i wouldnt have said alot but maybe a few times in an hour, again it all depends what she is doing - more when she is washing her face) She also hiccups, but this always seems to be when i am stroking her and she is bruxing. Reading up on fancy-rats website its says hiccuping can be a sign of a resp problem?
For all her life she has been on carefresh in the bottom of the tray and biocatolet in her litter try. I would love to use blankets but she pees everywhere!! Ive ordered some fincard and back2nature of the internet so will try a different substrate.

Do you think its a trip to the vets? I always seem to think though that with resp problems vets dont really know and just issue some baytril as standard

Thanks
Vicky

Answer
Hi Vicky



It wouldnt hurt to see the vets just to be sure, maybe put her on some baytril for 30 days. The reason why the vets in the UK use baytril so much is because they think the only bacteria that causes rats to get sick is mycoplasma, which is not true. However, since they are born with this bacteria, it is more common for it to be the culprit of respiratory infections, ear infections, urinary tract infections and even uterine infections in females that are not spayed.  Baytril is one of the few drugs that destroy myco and one of the strongest that can be used for myco. There so others to be used for urinary infections etc...but they tend to go for baytril and this can cause tolerance to the drug when its really needed.  The UK vets need to brush up on exotics a bit but its not as "big" there as it is here.

As for hind leg paralysis, check out my site on caring for elderly rats. There is a recipe for some type of herbal remedy a reader swears by so I posted it on my website.   

http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/careoftheelderlyrat.htm


As for the hiccups, they really do get them alot, but they also can make a coughing sound that seems like it could be hiccups too and that is what the fancy rats website may be talking about. The hiccups are when the rat stands still and acts robotic in her stance, and will hiccup in a spasmodic type way.  Not sure if that makes sense.

As for my boy with the tumor...my big one eyed boy Santana, he died the day we were getting ready to go on vacation. He had been sick all week off and on and I had a bad feeling...he was coming with us on the trip too and he just went down hill and he had to be put down right before we got on the road for our trip.  I was beyond devastated.

That was in June and after alot of thought, I started over again with three brand new babies. I have all males, they are almost 7 weeks now and I have all of the info and their photos on my website too.  Here is the URL to my site and the page on the new boys and Santanas picture too.

http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/watchmybabiesgrow.htm