# HLD in rats



## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

My gorgeous Merlin has started to struggle with using his back legs  

He has been to see the vet, who has said that all I can do is monitor him. At the moment his quality of life is still good, as he can still get around fairly well and is still eating, though I am worried that he seems to be losing weight.

I've never experienced hld before, so I'm just wondering if there is anything else I can do to make life a bit easier for him? I know there is no 'cure', but I'd like to put off the inevitable for as long as possible, and make sure he is comfortable.

I feel so terrible for him as he's already had a pretty awful life already, it doesn't seem fair that this is happening to him now


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## Fennic (Jan 28, 2011)

Best thing i've found over the years with older rats with their legs failing them is keep the food bowl on the bottom level of your cage, the water bottle too so they don't have to stand to drink, perhaps extra hammocks in case of falls and of course lots of attention and cuddles. :thumbsup: You can also feed him mushy foods with soya milk and wheetabix mushed down in it. I've found that goes down a treat and it's some suppliments for the old. 

Hope the info helps him and you.

Edit: I had a boy live for way over 8 months or more who had HLD (It didn't seem to bother him in the slightest even towards the end) he eventually died of old age directly on his 3rd birthday. So depending on Merlins age, you still may have a long time left with him.


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## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

Thanks for the reply, it was very helpful and you've made me feel a bit better 

They are already scatter-fed on the bottom level of the cage, and I always have to make sure Merlin has a little pile to himself as Smokey is a sod for stealing food from the others! 
I do need to think about changing the cage layout a bit though, as it's mostly designed to give the boys exercise and make them climb.

Unfortunately though, I don't really know how old Merlin is. I was told he was a year old when I got him last august, but he seems older than that to me.


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## ajgibbon (Dec 8, 2009)

One of my boys suffered from hld, he adapted really well to getting about with a few adaptions to his cage. He managed to have a good quailty of life even though his back legs were failing him. Adapting the cage will be important so he can still get about, I lowered levels and put extra ramps in to allow him to get about easier, anything that would make life a little easier.

What I found with having a boy with hld is that you do have to do some of their cleaning for them. Because they use their back feet to clean their ears they might be able to clean them properly once their legs start to deteriorate. I had to give smudge's ears a little clean every weeks or so with a cotton bud. Also had to keep an eye on his nails as well as they weren't getting worn down naturally. if the back legs become almost completely paralysed you might find that they lose bladder control as well so making sure you give their underside a wipe down everyday helps stop their urine from burning them if they have pee'd on themselves. The most unpleasant job I had to do for a rat with HLD was to check for penis plugs. Again if they become unable to clean properly it can lead to build of secretions and blockage of the urethra hence needing checked and cleaned.

When his legs were getting worse the vet did try metacam (an anti-inflammatory) to see if it would help but in smudges case his HLD was due to nerve damage.

Sorry for the long reply but these were a few things I found helped my little rat as his leg paralysis became more severe.

Rat & Mouse Gazette: Medical Corner: Care of Older Paralyzed Rats


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## zany_toon (Jan 30, 2009)

I know my experience isn't with a rat, but Scrambled Egg (my mouse) has a similar issue to HLD although it came on very suddenly. He was running around as normal one day, the next night he couldn't move his back legs at all, the vet still isn't very sure what caused it but this was back in September (at around 14 months old) and he is still here and very happy  

I changed his cage to one that is all on one level, removed climbing toys and gave him low, interesting toys instead (tubes, mazes etc.) He gets his bum wiped and his tail and feet washed. He also can't scratch his ears or clean them so he is now getting them cleaned with a cotton bud and loves to get a really good ear rub and his shoulder blades scratched - all in exchange for my hand being washed :lol: He has some limited movement just now in his back legs but it is getting worse. He has also still been able to use his wheel - albeit I had to get rid of the standard wheel and use a flying saucer instead. 

Your rat can still have a very good life, even with HLD so although he has maybe had a poor life before he came to you, you can still enjoy him and spoil him rotten for some time yet


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

Oh wow never heard of this before! Some great info! Magpie hun am so sorry....though doesn't sound like a sentence like it first might have!!! Bless him! xx


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## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

ajgibbon & zany_toon - thanks very much for the brilliant info there. I've been glumly watching him slowly deteriorate over the last couple of months, but I'm feeling much more positive now 



niki87 said:


> Magpie hun am so sorry....though doesn't sound like a sentence like it first might have!!! Bless him! xx


Thanks hon  
He is such a trooper, he's still managing to climb up the cage bars and has got a great little shuffling-walk going on! :lol:


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

magpie said:


> Thanks hon
> He is such a trooper, he's still managing to climb up the cage bars and has got a great little shuffling-walk going on! :lol:


Haha you will have to rename him Pingu


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## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

Now he's started dragging one of his legs behind him, and he's going to the toilet during free-range time like he can't hold it til he gets back to the cage 

It's so sad seeing him like this, I've had to put loads more hammocks up as he keeps slipping off things, and he just looks so confused every time he falls :crying:


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

magpie said:


> Now he's started dragging one of his legs behind him, and he's going to the toilet during free-range time like he can't hold it til he gets back to the cage
> 
> It's so sad seeing him like this, I've had to put loads more hammocks up as he keeps slipping off things, and he just looks so confused every time he falls :crying:


I read somewhere that someone with a hld rat put a hammock on the side of the cage and folded it back on itself so he had a little cave to crawl into instead of trying to get into the hammocks. Im so sorry hes got this terrible illness, give him a little head scritch from me and (hugs) to you.


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## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

Thanks hon, the hammock-cave is a good idea 
He's sitting with me at the moment, having a nice snuggle while the other boys squabble over broccoli in the cage


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## owieprone (Nov 6, 2008)

as per all the previous replies.. don't despair, he'll get used to it and bimble on as normal no problems!

keep an eye on him for 'carpet-burns' and keep things down on his level as much as possible and he'll be fine. it'll may take a while for him to get it into his head he can't climb any more so make sure there's lots of bedding to fall into and lots of hammocks (no long drops if possible) and nothing he can fall on and damage himself.. 

we have a round igloo house that our disabled rats have fallen on to with no problems (eejits), and i put a shelf over the bog-tray to make sure whoever was incapacitated couldn't fall onto the lip.

i'm sure he'll be fine  give him a yoggie drop and ear scritch from me


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## spoiled_rat (Mar 24, 2008)

Out of curiousity what is he fed on?? Have you tried Ipakitine also?


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## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

I get the boys food from ratRations.com, Rat food, base mixes and herbs, and they have flakes & grains no3 (geriatric & kidney support plus) mixed with dried veg, mixed puffs and some human cereals. They also get fresh veg several times a week, and both a calcium supplement and vitamins in their water.
Merlin has been on this diet since I got him last August, however his previous owner did feed him on hamster food, which no doubt hasn't done him any favours.

I've never even heard of Ipakitine before, is it something that works well for rats then? I'll give anything a try if there's a chance it could help! How would you normally dose it?



owieprone said:


> give him a yoggie drop and ear scritch from me


Will do


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## 1kilgannonem (1 mo ago)

ajgibbon said:


> One of my boys suffered from hld, he adapted really well to getting about with a few adaptions to his cage. He managed to have a good quailty of life even though his back legs were failing him. Adapting the cage will be important so he can still get about, I lowered levels and put extra ramps in to allow him to get about easier, anything that would make life a little easier. What I found with having a boy with hld is that you do have to do some of their cleaning for them. Because they use their back feet to clean their ears they might be able to clean them properly once their legs start to deteriorate. I had to give smudge's ears a little clean every weeks or so with a cotton bud. Also had to keep an eye on his nails as well as they weren't getting worn down naturally. if the back legs become almost completely paralysed you might find that they lose bladder control as well so making sure you give their underside a wipe down everyday helps stop their urine from burning them if they have pee'd on themselves. The most unpleasant job I had to do for a rat with HLD was to check for penis plugs. Again if they become unable to clean properly it can lead to build of secretions and blockage of the urethra hence needing checked and cleaned. When his legs were getting worse the vet did try metacam (an anti-inflammatory) to see if it would help but in smudges case his HLD was due to nerve damage. Sorry for the long reply but these were a few things I found helped my little rat as his leg paralysis became more severe. Rat & Mouse Gazette: Medical Corner: Care of Older Paralyzed Rats


 Hey, my experience is a bit similar to yours. My female rat is 2 1/2 years and she’s the last rat I have (so living by herself). She’s started having HLD problems about a month ago, and it accelerated very quickly. She drags one leg completely and only uses the other sometimes, while I can also feel she’s quite bones in the back and she’s lost 40g within two weeks. My vet gave us metacam to help with any pain she may be feeling, but generally she’s very happy, still eating, and still always eager to play. So I’m just trying to understand from someone who has been through it, how do I know when it’s time to euthanize her? I want to make sure she isn’t in pain of course. I just guess I don’t really know what to expect, as the HLD is getting worse quickly, and I’m kind of wondering if it will stay the way it is now or continue to get worse until it starts causing her other problems? Any advice would be helpful.


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