Rats poor leg

Question
My rat is a female (Queen Elizabeth) and I just recently 2 days ago took her to the vet for a bum leg...shes a babe and since I don't have much in her cage right now I believe she hurt her leg in or on top of her house which was made of straw (bought at the pet store). I believe she might've got her foot stuck and freaked out. Anyway she had an Xray, nothing broken but a severe pull in her muscle (back left leg). I didn't receive any medication though she did get a painreliever shot afterwards. Is she in pain? Should I take her back? its been 48 hours since she came from the vet, still not putting pressure on it...worried.

Answer
For starters, is your vet an exotic vet?  Shots are not usually used in rats due to poor muscle mass and its not absorbed well.  She should have been given oral medication for inflammation such as metacam.


The xray taken only shows hard materials such as bone. The vet is only guessing that it is a pulled muscle since soft tissue injuries do NOT show up on a simple xray.  The vet could have saved some money and should have been able to tell if there was a fracture simply by feeling the area.  Usually you can tell if it was broken because it would swell up beyond belief and also bruise horribly.

I would isolate her in a single story cage so she cannot climb up on anything and has no choice but to remain calm and quiet.  

If she is not improving in another day I suggest asking the vet for metacam and if the vet is clueless about it, please let me find you a good vet that knows alot about treating rats.