[dguizzy]

So I had to take my female albino to the vet today after finding out two weeks ago she had a mass under her right arm. My vet preformed the surgery today and all was well - although he didn't know if it was a tumor or not. It was a mammary mass but it was producing milk. He removed the tumor and the nipple that it was near. Do tumors produce milk? I can't seem to find anything online about it.

I also have her seperated from my other 3 girls in a cage, but I feel like the cage might be too small for her to recover in. I'll include a picture of the cage at the end of the post. I don't have any shelves in the cage cause I'm afraid she'll reopen her wound. And I am wondering if I should put a dish of water for her as well in the cage, cause the bottle of water is as close to the ground as I can get it. Do you guys recommend buying a different cage for Pearl to recover in? And what are some ways that I can help her recover? My vet said to make sure she gets lots of nutrients.

 

[ilovescience]

According to this website: http://www.ratfanclub.org/tumors.html, mammary tumors can contain pockets of milk..

I used Nutrical as a supplement for Algae, after her simultaneous mammary tumor removal and spay. She's doing great so far (it's been a little over a week). Make sure she's warm.. but not too warm. If you're using an external heater, position it so that she can move if she gets too hot. Make sure she's drinking and eating..

Hope a speedy recovery for Pearl!

 

[dguizzy]

She's been snuggling in a hammock I put close to the ground, and I added extra fleece pieces for her to use as blankets. And she's sleeping under the fleece to keep warm. She's been eating Cheerios no problem, but like in the picture I'm thinking the bottle might be too high. I put her in my critter nation for a bit and she did have a few sips of water then, would a bowl of water be good for her to drink from? Or would that not be sanity?

I'll have to pick up some nutrical tomorrow, what kind do I get? (Never bought it, the nutrical for dogs, etc)?

 

[ilovescience]

Hammocks and fleece are great! Just be sure to change it out daily, to prevent infections. I'm not sure about the bottle (kind of hard to tell from pic).. if you do provide a bowl of water, just wash it out daily for the first couple days.. she should be able to reach the bottle after that.

To be honest, I'm not sure which kind is the best. I know that NutriStat and NutriCal (both for ferrets) are almost the same, except for the iron source. I personally use NutriCal for Ferrets. I know ferrets aren't part of the rodent family, but I just figured rats are closer to ferrets than dogs or cats (but don't quote me on that). NutriCal/NutriStat does have high sugar content, so I wouldn't use it for extended period of time. Just to aid recovery. =]

Also, if ur baby is on antibiotics, my vet prescribed Benebac (probiotics) in addition to antibiotics, to maintain healthy digestive microflora.. =]

 

[dguizzy]

My vet didn't actually recommend any antibiotics or pain meds. Which I was somewhat surprised at. But I'll definitely try the nutrical to help. The sides of the cage is about 7.5inches high. It won't let me upload a picture for some reason but I hope the height helps

 

[ilovescience]

Really? Was it a small tumor? Algae had a spay done at the same time her tumor was removed, and it's standard procedure to prescribe antibiotics and pain meds for a spay. Be even more diligent about cage hygiene, especially for the first 24 - 48 hours. Rats heal amazingly quickly, so after-care isn't too extensive.

 

[dguizzy]

It was about the size of a grape, I didn't let it grow cause being a crazy rat mom I had to have her looked at straight away. I did place her in the critter nation for a few minutes and she tried to climb the bars but was too weak, so I immediately put her back in the other cage. I have tons of fleece to line the cage with so I will definitely be diligent with changing it every day

 

[ilovescience]

Algae's REALLY spunky, but even she didn't do much after her surgery. It was the strangest thing, seeing her so mellow. Generally, it's advised to keep rats in a hospital cage at least for the first 24 hours (24 - 72 hours for a spay), or longer, if you suspect there will be incision-site-picking/grooming, before putting her back with her cagemates. =]

 

[dguizzy]

Pearl always has been very mellow and timid and she's a very squishy fat rat my vet recommended 3 days of her being alone but I'm afraid she will get lonely. I did have one of my girls out on the bed with her and she was very interested in pearls scar, and all 3 of my ratties can tend to be rough with Pearl when they power groom. So I'm kind of at a loss what to do, I'm almost tempted to go buy a bigger wider cage for Pearl but it seems silly somewhat cause that's one more cage I don't really need

 

[ilovescience]

Uh.. to be honest, I kept Algae in a carrier. o_o I'm not proud. Granted, it's a cat carrier (not one of those tiny cloth 'small pet' ones), and she was uncharacteristically lethargic, so I figured it'd be fine for a day or two.

Sometimes you have to buckle down and do what's best for your rat. If your vet recommended 3 days, and you know that Pearl's cagemates are power-groomers, it might be in Pearl's best interest to just wait those 3 days out. You could try putting her hospital cage next to the CN.. and make yummy (healthy, nutritional) treats, like scrambled eggs and stuff to make up for Pearl's isolation if it'll make you feel better ^^