my rat is hurt

Question
I recently had my sister take my adult male rat home with
her and after a night in her cage , she noticed he is not
putting weight on his front right leg and he has the red
discharge dried around his eyes. I am very worried about
him as I am almost positive he fell from one level to the
next.Is it likely he broke his leg and needs vet care asap
or could he have just hurt it and is stressed over it and
his move?Should I hurry and have it looked at or should I
wait to see how he does? It is to late to go to a vet here
but I can in the morning but I thought I would ask another
rat lover now.Thanks in advance for any help.

Answer

Is his leg swollen, red, purple or bluish (poor circulation if there is a fracture)  

The porphyrin discharge is often seen from stress, which I would think is from the change in his environment.  

As for his front leg, I doubt he broke it our he would  be more than limping.  He would be squeaking alot, even moaning in their own way, a whimper so to speak, from pain.  You would see a bulge or protrusion and swelling too.  If you do, that of course would mean a good skilled vet would have to operate and put a pin in the front limb but again, I doubt its broken from what you describe.

All the vet will do for a sprain, strain or twist would be to give him metacam for moderate pain and swelling and to tell you to put him in a single story cage to rest, making sure there is nothing he will climb on. If he rests, it will heal faster. However, I have studied rat behavior extensively and his limping and drawing his forelimb up to him and not using it is his way of nursing his front paw.  Its mother natures way of making sure he doesnt use it by making it a bit uncomfortable to use so he is limping.  

If you know his weight, I can tell you how much childrens liquid ibuprofen to use on him for discomfort.   Something tells me that he will be ok though by at least tonight or Tuesday. If you do need a good vet for now or future use please allow me to help you and find one for you, no obligation of course. All I need to know is your location, city and state and I can give you some names.