Fracture

Question
My daughter got a young adult pet rat for Christmas. Today the dog snuck in while it was out of cage and snapped at it.  It isn't showing any outward signs of distress.  It is still eating and drinking well.  A single very tiny drop of blood was seen at one naris.  It refuses to bear weight on the right front limb, and keeps it flexed.

I am a people doc.  I am in a small town 100 miles from nowhere, and it is a blizzard.  Between the storm and the holidays, I think it will be several days until we can get to a vet.  I can set bones and splint people, though I am guessing it will nibble off anything I put on the front leg.  What can I do to keep it comfortable and reduce the chance it will chew off its leg until we can get to a vet?

Answer
Hi David

Happy Holidays. I wont brag and tell you that here in Charlotte, NC we are in the 60s.  No, I wont tell you that at all. I am jealous though, being originally from Ohio, I do miss a white Christmas.  That said, I do hope your keeping warm and out of the snow and off the roads. That part I do NOT miss!

As for the rat, for starters, what you probably saw on the rats nose wasnt blood. Rats produce porphyrins from an excretory gland behind their eyes. The harderian gland. The purpose of this gland is said to be to lubricate the rats nictating membrane but they also produce excessive amounts of porphyrin when stressed, from illness to simply anxiety due to a new home and coming face to face with the family dog!
The sight of porphyrin in new rat owners usually scare people into a vet visit and often they assume they are bleeding from the nose or eyes or both.  Here is a photo and more info on it here on my website:

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

As for her forelimb...is it swollen? You would notice if the limb was fractured. Its pretty common for them to nurse a limb that was hit,twisted etc...Rats are pretty smart when it comes to stuff like that. What you can do is keep her in a smaller cage if possible, and keep her from climbing up on things for a day or so. She will know when its ok to use it and in fact she may be using it as of this writing.

Usually we give rats metacam for mild pain and inflammation, keep them in a small area with food and water at their reach, and keep them quiet for a day or two until they begin to use it again.  It some cases if there is a compound fracture, the vet will insert a tiny pin  since, like you said, casting it is worthless as you guessed, since the rat will probably chew on it.

As for gnawing his own limb off tonight, unless yo tell me that the rat is doing this now, I highly doubt she will resort to this type of behavior anyhow. Its not real common for rats to self mutilate unless its really extreme.

You can give the rat childrens motrin  (liquid form) if your interested. I just need to know the rats weight so I can suggest a safe and effective dose.

Hope things are going ok since you last wrote and please let me know the current situation now. I am hoping things have improved already!