my rat hurt?

Question
My pet rat has been holding his right foot up close against his body as if it is hurting him what should I do? I can't take him to a vet right now so are there any other alternatives? thank you.

Answer
Hi Donna

In most cases, a vet wont do much more than what I can tell you to do anyhow unless its broken, which I doubt...or he would be fussing terribly and you would be pretty frantic.

He probably twisted it wrong or hit it and caused a bruise; something that has made it tender. Sometimes if they tear a toenail they limp too. Check his foot and see if he has torn out a nail. If he did, there would have been some noticable bleeding but if he didnt break it down to the quick, it wouldnt bleed, it would just hurt.

If he has an injury to his foot such as a sprain, he needs to be immobile as much as possible.  Keep him in a single story cage and remove any ladders or anything high so he wont try to climb and possibly fall and get hurt even worse.  Lower his water bottle and also his food dish should be flat so he doesnt have to lift himself up and put weight on his foot. Pad the cage with some fleece baby blankets so its soft instead of hard and this will absorb the impact of the hard floor.

If you know his weight or even a good guess, let me know and if you want, you can give him childrens motrin for pain and swelling. A general idea is all I need and this will also make him feel better too.

Is he eating and drinking ok, and grooming himself etc?

Hang in there and I will check back soon to see if you wrote a follow up!