help my rat!!

[jhanuschak]

Hi i have a xtra large white rat w/ red eyes named Mincey ( he is slighty blind and at times seems somewhat deaf) and i have had him about 6 months-he was a snake food rat and i rescued him-anyways. over the last week he has lost usuge of his back legs and has been getting around by pulling with his front legs. he is able to move his tail though so i dont think its a spinal injury. his cage mate Ash is walking very close to the ground with his back legs. i took them out of the room my other rats are in. they do not seem to be in any pain and are eating and drinking ok. i did get them from 2 different places. the vets i have called do not take rats and a couple offered putting them to sleep[. please if anyone has any experience with rats or with this type of illness please email me jhanuschak@cox.net. thank you, Jessica

[Ravnos]

I've not seen it specifically in rats, but the only time I've seen something similar is with severe calcium deficiency. Calcium is very important for making muscles work properly, and if blood calcium levels are drastically low, it can cause all sorts of weird things, like not being able to use the back legs, trembling/shaking, and even seizures. Aside from that, I'm not sure what else to suggest - my first instinct would have been some kind of physical injury, but if you rule that out, I'm not sure what else to suggest. Hopefully someone with more direct knowledge of rat illnesses has something more for you.

[TamanduaGirl]

You can't really rule out injury without an xray and not totally then. The spine doesn't have to be totally severed to be a problem. A slipped disk could pinch enough to effect the legs but maybe not the tail.

It could also be a spinal tumor and would effect whatever areas it's touching in the pathway.

another theory is the possibility of rickets. Treatable with cod liver oil and some time in the sun.

[Vanilla_Rat]

Do you know how old he is? Older rats can lose the use of their back legs.It can be quite common in aging rats.