Hello, I'm new here, and I really hope someone can help me with some advice. I have 4 rats in a double CN. 2 boys are 1 year old and the other 2 are 5 month. About a month ago, I came home to find one of my 1 year old limping and curling his foot. I thought he may have broken it due to how badly it swelled up and became purple. After a quick trip to the vet he got metacam and an x-ray, and no break, just a bad sprain. As per doctors orders he was isolated in a one level cage for 2 weeks while healing. And he seemed to be doing better, walking on it and the swelling had gone down. And so I decided to put him back in the main cage with the others. And in the morning he was limping heavily again. So I separated him again, and back to the vet we went. He got more metacam. And told to be kept in a separate cage again for two weeks. It has now been 3 weeks since and he has not gotten better, he still curls his foot up and doesn't use it when he walks. The foot seems fine except maybe still a little bit swollen.
All the boys get 2 hour free to every evening and I've noticed during free roam my other 1 year old boy has been bitting the whiskers and fit of his brother (the one with the hurt leg).
I know that it isn't great to keep them separate for long period of time, but I'm not sure that he is ready to go back on the main cage as his foot is still not great and now he is being bullied during free roam. How do I reintroduce them to each other to avoid him being hurt once he is back in the cage? And how long would it take for his foot to heal properly so he can go back in the cage? Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I'm at my wits end on what to do! Thank you!
All the boys get 2 hour free to every evening and I've noticed during free roam my other 1 year old boy has been bitting the whiskers and fit of his brother (the one with the hurt leg).
I know that it isn't great to keep them separate for long period of time, but I'm not sure that he is ready to go back on the main cage as his foot is still not great and now he is being bullied during free roam. How do I reintroduce them to each other to avoid him being hurt once he is back in the cage? And how long would it take for his foot to heal properly so he can go back in the cage? Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I'm at my wits end on what to do! Thank you!
