Okay, some of you know I was going to get a new rat that I found on craigslist. Well I have him now, and he is in terrible shape. He is honestly the skinniest animal I have ever seen. He is breathing pretty heavily, but no wheezing, and he has only sneezed a few times. There is a bump on his tummy, I'm not sure if it is an abscess or a tumor. Hopefully just an abscess. I would try to take a closer look but I don't want to stress him out any worse. I actually don't even think it's a boy. >.< I think it's a girl, but I'm not sure. What should I do? The girl who gave him to me said he had recently seen a vet, but I don't know. When I talked to her online, she said he was skinny only because he was a picky eater. I don't really buy that, because he ate for me. I dunno what to do. I can't afford the vet at the moment, which is why I was so happy that she said she had him vet checked before she gave him to me. What should I feed him? I don't want to over do it and make him sick. right now he has some baby cereal and some vegetable baby food. Gir I am so mad! Ahhhh!. How do I tell if his lump is an abscess? It seems like it's only in the skin, and not really internal, if that makes sense. Any advice would be very much appreciated. Thank you. :evil: Oh and by the way, she said her vet told her to give him benadryl (sorry I'm not the best at spelling) for the ride down. Has anyone ever heard of that? I thought you weren't supposed to give rats human medicine under any circumstances.
UPDATE:
So far he seems to be doing a little better. He tore up his cage last night, which means he is doing more then just sitting in the corner. I've thrown some Total into his diet and a tiny tiny bit of chicken. which he loves. I haven't started dealing with the abscess yet, I'm trying to keep things slow with him. he seems interested in me, but very unsure. He has started showing interest of coming out of his cage.
Update: December, 23
Well he hasn't gained any of his weight, and I think he has a dental problem. Does anyone know how much it costs to have the vet trim down their teeth? I read that it's pretty stressful for them, So I'm not sure if it would be best to have to do that every two weeks or have him pts. Oh and I know for sure now that the rattie is a he. His man bits are a little ...small. 0_0. I think he has a URI also. I'm going to try to get him to the vet as soon as I can come up with the money for it.
UPDATE:
So far he seems to be doing a little better. He tore up his cage last night, which means he is doing more then just sitting in the corner. I've thrown some Total into his diet and a tiny tiny bit of chicken. which he loves. I haven't started dealing with the abscess yet, I'm trying to keep things slow with him. he seems interested in me, but very unsure. He has started showing interest of coming out of his cage.
Update: December, 23
Well he hasn't gained any of his weight, and I think he has a dental problem. Does anyone know how much it costs to have the vet trim down their teeth? I read that it's pretty stressful for them, So I'm not sure if it would be best to have to do that every two weeks or have him pts. Oh and I know for sure now that the rattie is a he. His man bits are a little ...small. 0_0. I think he has a URI also. I'm going to try to get him to the vet as soon as I can come up with the money for it.