Muscle conrol

Question
QUESTION: My hairless rat Peanut is 1 year and 7 months old. This weekend she started to drag her tail, Sat and Sunday AM seemed to be getting better, but by Sunday night, she seemed to be having difficulty with muscle control in her back end. She is eating fine, and moving OK when on all fours, but when she tries to stand on her hind legs, she is having trouble. She does not seem to be in pain. Can you give me any ideas what might be going on? Thank You, Wendy
P.S. we live in Massachusetts if you think we might need a vet, can you suggest one? Thanks

ANSWER: Hi


Usually when there is trouble with the spine, the tail is not held erect like it used to be. She may lose the use of her back legs or at least she will not walk properly. which is common with older rats. She isnt real old, but is she on the chubby side, by chance?  

Sounds like she could have the start of degenerative arthritis that causes compression of the nerves in the spinal cord and causes weakness and sometimes paralysis of the back limbs.  Its nothing that you have to put your rat to sleep over and they do adjust to this condition but you will need to make some changes to her living quarters to meet her needs.  She should not be in a cage with other levels or she may fall and get seriously hurt.  Remove anything she may want to climb, lower water bottle so she can reach it easily etc...

As for vet care, the vet can of course examine her to make sure there is no tumor growing on the spine that could be causing pressure etc...and he or she can also give medication for comfort such as steroids for the inflammation or metacam instead.  I doubt she is in pain though. She may be stiff but usually they do not feel much discomfort like we would think they would feel (or like we would feel, that is!)  

I can give you some names of Vets in your area. either for now or the future, its good to have an established relationship with a vet before problems arise so you dont have to scramble to find one, wasting precious time.
I need to know your city, however, so I can find someone near to you as possible.

There are 28 vets that are exotic vets or have a strong interest in exotics and are registered with the exotic vet association.  Since I dont know where your located, I will start by giving you one name of a place in Boston and have two board certified avian/exotic specialists for your rat to see.

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Avian and Exotic Medicine Angell Animal Medical Center    
350 S. Huntington Avenue
Boston MA 02130
Phone:    617-522-7282
Website: mspca.org
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---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for your quick response, after reading your website and many others, I think I assumed that was going on, she is indeed a little onthe chubby side. My family can not resist giving her treats unfortunately, also being hairless during a New England winter gives us a "good" excuse to keep an extra layer on her. This seems to have come on suddenly, just over the weekend, but as I said, she is eating and appears to be in no real pain. We will modify cage arrangements for her, and keep a close eye on her. We live in Marshfield, MA, is there a vet on the south shore? I believe I have seen ones listed in Duxbury and Kingston, but not really sure if they are "specialists".Thanks you so much for your time and help. Wendy

ANSWER: THe nearest exotic specialist is the one in Boston, but if you want names of vets that have a strong interest in exotics, have gone to workshops and conferences etc...but are not board certified, I can give you names of thse vets that are at least 20 minutes from you.  The best you can get though would be the place in Boston.

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QUESTION: Thanks Sandra, she was just actually running on her wheel and seemed ok, it almost seems sporadic... She does have a red spot on her tail, and I sonder if she got it caught somehow, if that could be the problem as well. I would definately like some alternative vets more local, as it sould be tough to get to boston if need be. Thank you so much for all your help and advice! Wendy

Answer

Got someone for you, although they are not exotic specialists, they have a strong interest in exotics at this clinic.  


South Coastal Animal Health Clinic    
1597 Main Street
Weymouth MA 02190
Phone:    781-340-0800
Website: www.southcoastalanimalhealth.com

As for the red spot on the tail....its hard to say....my rats have scabs, holes, scratches, bumps and lumps that come and go all the time on their tail that I try not to even worry about it unless its something that doesnt heal.