SFoot

Question
Hello Sandra.
It's Teagan again, I always used to ask abou Lily, she had horrible breathing problems, well now my four year old boy Rufus has a swolen foot and he is limping a lot. I'm not sure if he got it caught in his cage bars or if it arthritis or a paralysis, it's reminding me of my past rat, Squirt, the same thing happened to her and then her other leg went and she was just dragging herself, then she started urinating on herself and couldn't clean herself so she got mites.
Rufus is also getting little scabbies all up his spine and is losing fur all around his head. It could just be his age..but i was just wondering if you knew anything about what this could be?
Thanks
Teagan

Answer
Hi Teagan

Thanks for writing!  I always like to hear from you and you take such good care of your critters and are so in tune with them. It makes me happy to know so many people care about these little furballs.

Now about Rufus. My gosh, a four year old boy! I thought I was the only one with a four year old rat, and in fact my Holly was still shy of her fourth birthday when I lost her!  You must really be doing something good to raise rats to be into their fourth year of life!
That said, I have a few things to ask about his foot.
Is there any break in the skin as far as cuts or sores?
Is the foot or leg discolored, such as being red or even blue or purplish?
Is the foot HOT or COLD to the touch or just normal?

With Squirt, she may have had hind leg paralaysis due to nerve root compression. This is seen in older rats as degenerative or arthritic changes in the spine take place. Sometimes the rat loses the use of both back legs and they propel around the cage on their bellies using their front paws to get them what they need. It may look sad and sound even worse, but they do seem to adjust rather well to this and they dont let it stop them.

So lets just say that he twisted his foot. I would bank on that more than it being nerve root compression because swelling is not really a symptom of it. If you can keep him calm for a bit and hold some heat on his leg, a heating pad on low or a warm rice bag are two good things to use. The heating pad is tricky since you have to be sure he doesnt try to take a chomp from it and also it needs to be warmish, not real hot or it can burn his deliicate foot. The rice bag is easier and safer to use, however. Just get a sock, fill it with rice and nuke in in the microwave for a few seconds to get it nice and warm.
Lay it on the rats foot, and try to keep him still by petting him or even  allowing him to lick a popcicle or something to occupy him! Keep him in a single story cage with nothing to climb on. If he has no choice but to remain immobile with a limited area to walk, he will heal faster if indeed it is a sprain.

Let me know about the swelling and the color of his skin and also if it feels warm or cold to the touch.