| Achilles Hind End Paralysis - CLICK HERE for the Pet Manual Forum Home Page |
| Vanessa |
I thought I would send a link for a movie I took of Achilles recently
while he was freeranging on the couch. He is over two years old now,
and suffering with hind end paralysis. Just in case there were those
that have never seen a rat with the condition, and wonder what happens.
Achilles is very happy and active still, and gets around with no
problems, even the shelving in his SuperPet cage is only a small
challenge for him.
I have heard comments from people in the past, nobody on this group,
that as soon as their rats show signs of the condition, they are going
to put them to sleep. I find that extemely sad and not necessary at
all. Achilles has been like this for over a month, and I imagine that
he will continue for a long time before it affects his quality of life,
based on how well he is doing now.
You will need to have Flash installed to view this.
http://photobucket.com/albums/v329/...nt=Achilles.flv
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| Joanne |
Vanessa wrote:
> I thought I would send a link for a movie I took of Achilles recently
> while he was freeranging on the couch. He is over two years old now,
> and suffering with hind end paralysis. Just in case there were those
> that have never seen a rat with the condition, and wonder what happens.
> Achilles is very happy and active still, and gets around with no
> problems, even the shelving in his SuperPet cage is only a small
> challenge for him.
> I have heard comments from people in the past, nobody on this group,
> that as soon as their rats show signs of the condition, they are going
> to put them to sleep. I find that extemely sad and not necessary at
> all. Achilles has been like this for over a month, and I imagine that
> he will continue for a long time before it affects his quality of life,
> based on how well he is doing now.
> You will need to have Flash installed to view this.
>
> http://photobucket.com/albums/v329/...nt=Achilles.flv
>
Oh wow!! I've had some with hind leg paralysis, but none as alert as
Achilles. You could see in my guys they didn't want to move around, they
just moved from the food bowl to their sleeping quarters nearby.
I think it's great that Achilles still has that much energy and life to
him. Does he get sores on his legs? the part being dragged? Mine
wouldn't but that's because they didn't really move.
--
Joanne
Owned by 14 rats
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| Vanessa |
I have had rats that are suffering other conditions at the same time,
that haven't done anywhere near as well as Achilles. They were more
like what you have described. They have been older, and some have been
suffering from respiratory issues, so they have been in worse shape
overall. The hind end paralysis has been much more debilitating in
those cases. The paralysis has been less of a concern than the other
health issues that they had. It was just one more thing on top of
everything else for those rats, and I knew that they would eventually
be overcome by the other issues rather than the hind end paralysis.
Sometimes it is just deterioration of the hind end by itself, like with
Achilles. I don't know how long he has, but as long as his health is
good overall, I think he will be fine for some time.
I haven't seen any sore spots or hair loss with him at all. He has
towels on all the levels of his cage, lots of aspen in the bottom, and
soft fleece and towels in his freerange area. He has lost muscle in
that area, and his spine is becoming more pronounced, but his weight is
still good overall. He looks fatter in the video, because his belly is
flattened out, but he is not that chubby anymore.
I will just have to monitor him, like you would do with all rats with
health issues. Take it day by day and assess his quality of life.
Right now he has just as much as everyone else, and I hope that is the
case for some time to come.
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| Mark Gerkey |
I had a rat with that problem and the only thing the vet could think of was
maybe a strok or an injury to the spine. My Magnum was not that active and I
could see the pain as he tried to move about so I had to "let he go" with the
vets kind help.
I would say as long as Achilles is getting around and seam to be happy care for
him, but wtach for any signs that he is having problems. Also I would clean the
cage a bit more often. :-)
On 19 Mar 2006 07:41:43 -0800, "Vanessa" <nessie1@gmail.com> wrote:
>I thought I would send a link for a movie I took of Achilles recently
>while he was freeranging on the couch. He is over two years old now,
>and suffering with hind end paralysis. Just in case there were those
>that have never seen a rat with the condition, and wonder what happens.
> Achilles is very happy and active still, and gets around with no
>problems, even the shelving in his SuperPet cage is only a small
>challenge for him.
>I have heard comments from people in the past, nobody on this group,
>that as soon as their rats show signs of the condition, they are going
>to put them to sleep. I find that extemely sad and not necessary at
>all. Achilles has been like this for over a month, and I imagine that
>he will continue for a long time before it affects his quality of life,
>based on how well he is doing now.
>You will need to have Flash installed to view this.
>
>http://photobucket.com/albums/v329/...nt=Achilles.flv
Mark G.
Of the Royal Estates
and "Pagan God of Food"
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