Urgent HELP needed!!! Rat is in a bad way...

[MSD Reptiles]

Gday folks,

I have two pet rats (male and female) which i recently bred. The breeding pair are our pets so im a little attached to them. This was my females first litter, and i was advised to house the male seperately as they can eat the babies. So i did that...

The problem i noticed today is that the female has a large hole in her side. Its around the size of a 5c peice. Is this her doing it or the babies?? She laid about 2 weeks ago. So they are fuzzies/pups. I dont know what to do. Attached is a poorish picture, but hopefully you get the idea.

Anyone experienced this? Any advice please?!?!?

 

[hypochondroac]

I've had two males that tried to eat their parents though i was about five when it happened.

 

[MSD Reptiles]

I've had two males that tried to eat their parents.

Yeah?! I wouldnt have thought the female would put up with it. Shes a very dominating female. How can you try and prevent it? I want to grow them to sub adults for my Diamond, but they arent weaned yet.

 

[snakeynewbie]

No way 2 week old fuzzies did that. I'd be more lookig at whether she injured herself on the cage or whether it's located near a nipple(maybe a burst mastitis abscess or similiar) Otherwise where are they kept? Is it possible that a wild rat may have climbed on the cage and bit her when she went to say hello.

 

[MSD Reptiles]

No way 2 week old fuzzies did that. I'd be more lookig at whether she injured herself on the cage or whether it's located near a nipple(maybe a burst mastitis abscess or similiar) Otherwise where are they kept? Is it possible that a wild rat may have climbed on the cage and bit her when she went to say hello.

No chance of a wild rat or cage injury. The cage is kept inside and its free from any thing sharp etc.

Im reluctant to try and handle her at the moment, but id say its close to where a nipple would be. If that is the case, whats the course of action?

P.S. thanks for the reply!!!

 

[Wild~Touch]

It looks like a burst tumor to me

Female rats are prone to tumors, how old is she ?

 

[snakeynewbie]

Course of action for me(as someone with basic vet nursing training) would depend on the depth and severity of the injury. Best advice is probably a vet visit for some antibiotics and potentially a stitch if required. If you aren't inclined to vet visits for rats(hey I realise some people aren't) and you don't believe it requires stitching you could try aome avicycline in her water bottle, it's a broad spectrum tetracycline antibiotics marketed for birds, you can get it at the pet shop. I wouldn't call that the ideal option though

 

[Raddy318]

my female dog had a litter of 18 pups early this year, about 2-3 weeks after she had the pups she developed what the vet called a 'cist', it was like the size of a tennis ball & you could see straight inside her stomach (not saying this is the same thing buts its possible) the vet said there was no antibiotics to cure it, we just had to take the pups away from her so they didnt make it worse, we just had to clean it 2 times a day with stuff. was the biggest pain in the a** bu shes all good nos & you cant even tell that it was there. hope this helps!

 

[MSD Reptiles]

Many thanks for the info guys and girls. I appreciate being pointed in the right direction. Im guessing shes around 12-14 weeks old at a guess.

I do like the rat, but im not sure i want to foot a vet bill for it. Im not that attached.

I might try the cleaning methods suggested and hope for the best. I might call the vet and see if they can give an idea of cost for a stitch or two.

Thanks again!!!!

 

[kat2005dodi]

I would put some antibiotic powder on it, you can puff it from a distance, keep her clean and dry!

 

[Tassie97]

it could be breast cancer. when they did testing on it with rodents it got into the pet population so that may be the answer (i saw this on bondi vet)

 

[saximus]

I think suggestions about keeping it clean and dry are good and either take the pups away and freeze them or just hope they will wean even at this age. I've had them recover from wounds that size before. So as long as it isn't indicative of something worse she should be fine. Just make sure you don't put her back with the male until it's fully healed. He my get a sniff of the blood and go for her. I've come home to find previously weak/injured adults that no longer have any insides because they've been eaten.

 

[miss2]

12-14 weeks old and having bubs already

 

[vinny86]

rats can get preganant from 5 weeks of age..... 14 weeks and having pups isnt uncommon

 

[miss2]

i know that can,same as mice.

 

[benjaffa]

initiallt clean the wound with betadine to kill any nasties only do this once though as betadine can destroy new tissue growth flush the wound with salinethen put solosite ( from Chemist ) on the wound it is a healing gel do this every second day. make sure the cage is very clean during this time. you may have to sacrifice the pups so mum gets better or leave them and the pups and mum die i did this with a mouse the had a burst cist it took a little while to heal but she got better and bred lots more times hope it helps.

 

[-Katana-]

I'd put her down and start again with another female. Time to cut your losses and put the girl (and pups) out of their misery.

 

[saximus]

Akwendi I haven't seen you around for ages! Haha take the hard line I like it . It sounds like the OP is a little attached to this girl though...

 

[-Katana-]

I've been pretty ill, Sax, and I'm still a cold eyed pragmatist

 

[MSD Reptiles]

Im attached, but not to the point of not being able to destroy if its the best thing to do.

I really appreciate the feeback everyone!!!!! I freaked out when i saw it initially. THis is the first time ive kept rats, so wasnt really aware of the issues that can arise.