Weak Hind Legs in Younger rats

[JenStar]

Hello,

I am looking for some advice about my male Dumbo rats. They are approximately 18 months old and have both recently started to have trouble with their hind legs. When they walk or run their back end is much lower to the ground than is used to be and they cannot scratch their ears properly anymore, they seem to have lost both strength and flexibility. It is also noticable when they are climbing up the side of their cage. Other than this they are in perfect health and are as active as before. I have heard of this in older rats but I would have thought that at this age it was unusual for both my boys to be having probelms?

Do anyone have any experience of this?

[Ratgirl@RatRitz]

Hi Jen and welcome to Rat Health

There are a number of things which influence the development of hind leg problems in rats. General age is one as you know, but also weight, tendency towards kidney problems, and a genetic predisposition to earlier development of hind leg degeneration are other factors.

In Dumbo rats I have noticed that they tend to become 'hip heavy' as they age. All rats get some kind of 'middle age spread' and so put weight on as they get older. In Dumbos in particular I've noticed that a lot of the time their age related weight gain seems to settle quite noticeably around their back end and hips. If your boys have put some weight on now they are middle aged, this could be influencing their leg functions.

With regard to their age, they are early starters if what you are seeing is hind leg degeneration. I've found that some boys can begin to show signs at this age, but on average, yes, hind leg degeneration does seem to develop later - your boys could just be unlucky and come from a line/s which develops this earlier than average.

It's also possible that they have developed some kidney dysfunction. This can also have an effect on hind leg function and all rats do develop kidney problems at some point. Again this is usually associated with older rats, but again, genetic influences can mean it develops sooner than expected.

There are a number of things you can do to try and slow things down. With regard to their weight a diet will no doubt help ease the pressure on their hind legs, even if they are not overweight to begin with, being a little more lean will help. Support supplements can also help if the problem is hind leg degeneration. A product called Senior Aid can be quite effective. Vitamin B complex, cod liver oil and glucosamine can also help. With regard to kidney function a kidney friendly diet (low protein, low phosphates) will help, and the addition of a supplemental phosphate binder (Ipakitine) is of benefit. Even if the hind leg problem is not kidney function related, giving your boys kidney function support now will not do them any harm. I would recommend it for all rats of your boys age, males in particular.

It may be worth having their urine tested to see if there are any signs of kidney dysfunction. If this is confirmed, then Fortekor (a medication usually given for heart failure) can be used to alleviate symptoms.

Do also check their joints for any swelling. If they seem to be swollen they may have arthritis in those joints. It is quite rare for rats to develop this, but it's not unheard of. Joint function support supplements and pain killing medication will help if they do by any chance have this.

If they are unable to clean their ears properly, then you should try and help them with this. Ear massages will help loosen and expel any ear wax and help keep their ears clean ... plus, they'll really enjoy them too

Hope that helps!

[JenStar]

Thank you very much for your advice RatGirl!- I will definately try the senior aid and also cod liver oil and vitamin suplpements. I have an appointment for them both at the vets tomorrow so hopefully I can get them some help.

JenStar

[OrcaRat]

how did the vets go?

[finland]

Hi Jen and welcome to Rat Health

There are a number of things which influence the development of hind leg problems in rats. General age is one as you know, but also weight, tendency towards kidney problems, and a genetic predisposition to earlier development of hind leg degeneration are other factors.

....

It's also possible that they have developed some kidney dysfunction. This can also have an effect on hind leg function and all rats do develop kidney problems at some point. Again this is usually associated with older rats, but again, genetic influences can mean it develops sooner than expected.

When do most rats begin to develop kidney problems? I suppose you're saying that if they live long enough it will just come as they get older.

[Ratgirl@RatRitz]

When do most rats begin to develop kidney problems?

There are a number of variables that can affect the timing of the development of kidney disease. Age, sex, diet and genetic background are the main ones I would say.

Broadly speaking boys tend to show the first signs at about 18+ months of age, and in girls it's usually a little older than this. Boys are more likely to develop kidney disease earlier than girls. Rats fed a relatively high protein diet as adults will develop kidney disease earlier than rats fed a more balanced diet ... and rats from lines that carry a genetic predisposition to kidney disease will also develop problems earlier than they otherwise would have done.

I suppose you're saying that if they live long enough it will just come as they get older.

In a nutshell yes, any rat that reaches the age of 24 months will have some form of kidney disease, at this age it is only the severity of the disease that differs, and that is dependent on the other factors I've mentioned.