Rats legs are paralized
We have a rat, Wendy, that has slowly been loosing control of her hind legs. For that past week or so her left hind leg has been increasingly clumsy and unusable. Ths morning I found her with no controll over her left leg, and now the right hind leg is getting clumsy. I think it would most likely be degenerative myelopathy but what advice can anyone give that has actually gone through this?
Answers:How old is Wendy?
Degenerative myelopathy is a condition of old rats, and far more common in the aging male then the aging female.
http://search.yahoo.com/search?search=de...
If this is what it is, you can be sure that Wendy is in no pain, unless her muscles are vibrating over her hindquarters? Vibrating muscles means that she still has feeling below her waist, in which case it could be something else other then Hind-end Paralysis.
Please add details, and I will edit and add more information for you. Everyone has jumped to the same conclusion, but without knowing her age I can't give you any more advice then this. There are other causes of a weakening hind-end including injury resulting from a fall, tumor pressing against the spine, Vitamin E definciancy, stroke, heart disease, kidney disease, pituitary tumor, etc.
In any case Wendy is going to have to have some cage changes that will provide her with easy access to her food and water, and less climbing for her own safety.
http://www.rmca.org/articles/paralysis.h...