Poorly old rat

Question
We are looking after a friend's rat for a week. She says it is old but happy. We have been shocked to see that it is paralyzed in the hind quarters and drags itself around by the front legs. In addition, it is blind in one eye, and its tail is half black, shrivelled and hard. We are concerned that the rat may be suffering and needs to be euthanased but she apparently hasn't even taken it to see a vet! Do you think the rat needs medical care? What should we do?

Answer
Hi Catherine

Are you a rat owner yourself? If not, I will explain a few things about rats so you can understand better.

Rats are really super tough and can overcome alot of things, adjusting to just about anything. They enjoy life and love life.
I have a rat that is blind in both eyes but he still gets around beautifully in his single story cage as long as I dont change things around.  He bruxes (grinds his teeth which is like a cat purring)eats all his food, even uses his litter pan. He grooms himself and is so happy when he sleeps he lays there, spread eagle in his little house, happy as can be.  I have another rat that is missing an eye. The vet had to take it because of severe infection.  The eye is sewn shut and you can hardly notice its missing because he has a jet black face. He has NO IDEA he has a so called handicap, always the first one to get into something he shouldnt get into, runs fast, beats up the other rats through the bars of the cage (the rats he doesnt live with, he doesnt like them and lets them know it!) even smacking our huge lab through the cage bars if the dog happens to get in the rat room (the door is always closed and the rats live in cages but get playtime out of the cage daily)
So long story short, rats can live with many physical handicaps. As for this rat, he has what is called hind leg paralysis. THis happens in older rats, especially males.  IT is caused by degenrative changes in the spine and there is alot of nerve root compression. Over time they lose the use of their back legs and their back feet and sometimes their feet even curl up and stay that way. THey pivot around the cage just fine and dont seem  to mind.  There is no pain invovled since there is no feeling in that area. Of course, I suggest steroid therapy in these cases because often this can rid the area of some inflammation and the rat may gain back some mobility. For the most part though, they adjust just fine.  The only thing is, the rat needs to be comfortable and kept clean. He cannot clean himself well and may lay in his own waste, which means the owner should always keep some unscented baby wipes handy and wipe him off daily.  His water should be low so he can reach it and same for his food. He should be on a lower protein diet, not the lousy seed mixes pet stores sell. His teeth may be a bit funky and his gums may be sore so he may appreciate his rat blocks to be wet down so they are soft for him. The bottom of his cage should have soft fleece such a a baby blanket laying flat with a little house for him to hide and snuggle in. I usually lay layers of paper towels in the house so it absorbs urine if they wet to bed. If you simply take an old box, cut a hole for a door and put bedding in it (never pine or cedar or corn cob, only aspen or care fresh)the old man would probabl scoot in the litter box and go to the bathroom rather than go all over the place and have litter all over for him to have to drag around in. Keeping him clean is important.  What does his eye look like?  Is it infected?  
His tail....now with nerve root compression, they tail may also become paralyzed, but if its black, that worries me.  It sounds like he has some necrotic tissue. Is the tail long or does it look like it has been broken off?  Sometimes a rat can have an injury called DEGLOVING and this is when the skin sheers off the tail. The rats tail is part of their extended spinal cord so this is very very painful for them when it occurs.  Sometimes if it is not treated, the tail will get rotted, even infected.  If this happened a long time ago, I would not worry, but if this is fresh, yes, he does need a vet so infection doesnt set in.

I want to make sure he doesnt have an eye infection though and rule out cateracts which older rats can also have.

So all in all, if the rat is kept clean and properly cared for and respected as an older, wonderful senior rat, they usually are very happy despite their handicaps, but if they are not cared for properly, this can be a concern since they cannot do much on their own like they used to do.

Do you know if she has a vet for him at all? Poor old rattie :(


Also, check out my website, Critter city. The first URL I am giving you will take you to the page about health care. Scroll down half way to EYE INFECTIONS. I have a photo of my boy, Santana, with his active eye infection that cost him his sight.  Let me know if the old rats eye looks like that.

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

ALso, check out "How to care for an elderly rat" and see if what I suggest is the same care his owner is providing for him.  If not, she needs to know what she is doing is cruel and unfair.


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

I wont jump the gun and will wait till I hear from you first before making decisions if you should take him to the vet or not.

thanks for caring!


Sandy