First time rat owner

[brooklyn]

Hi there, so I just got my three little guys two days ago and two of them had gotten into a little accident before I picked them up. A little before I picked them I guess two were wrestling inside a metal wheel and they both got a little bit hurt, my boy Kiedis just got the end of one of his toes caught, but the littler boy Atticus actually got a whole toe caught and ripped off and during all the flailing his other foot got scratched. He's still cleaning and eating but today he's had diarrhea and I've had to wipe him up a couple times. I'm worried that it could be the beginning of megacolon as he's just over four weeks, and he's a small blazed rat. But maybe it's just stress of losing a toe and moving to a new cage and having different food and stuff. I dunno, I'm just really worried since I only got them a couple days ago and I already love them so much I dont want to see one getting sick already. :/


Also, I have been cleaning his toes with just warm water and a little soap so he doesn't get too much dirt in it. I've done this twice a day since I got him and the toes look like they are healing.

 

[victoria]

Weaning a rat too early is detrimental to their health and social development. The diarrhea could be caused my many things, including Megacolon. It could also be caused by the stress of changing homes, an intestinal parasite (I know we see that a lot here with rats that come from awful breeders), a change in diet.

How bad is the diarrhea? Is there abdominal swelling? Especially since they're so young, you need to replace electrolytes when there's diarrhea - Pedialyte, young coconut juice, Gatorade, or even a home made rehydration formula if you can't get the others (look in the reference section of the forum) will help replace lost fluids and electrolytes. Unsalted saltine crackers, bananas, plain toast, and/or apple sauce will all help calm his stomach for now. If the diarrhea continues, he will need to see the vet on Monday.

 

[brooklyn]

It's runny but not watery. His abdomen doesn't seem swollen. I'll go get some Gatorade.

 

[victoria]

Pedialyte would be better than Gatorade if you can get it.

 

[brooklyn]

I dont really have the money for pedialyte right this second, I dont get paid until Tuesday. I had five dollars, so I got him organic unsweetened apple sauce and gatorade.

 

[brooklyn]

how much gatorade should i let him have?

 

[jorats]

I'd him drink as much as he wants. It can't hurt him. At his age, I'd also feed him some extra foods with protein like eggs. Make sure their environment is warm.

 

[SQ]

Small bottles of pedialyte or the equivalent, are only a few dollars at a drug store

 

[brooklyn]

http://schwadenfreude.tumblr.com/post/34448295391

Those are the best three photos I could get of him. :/

He drank some gatorade, and I gave him a bit of apple sauce. He curled up on my chest and fell asleep for a little while. I'm so worried that it wont stop

 

[brimmyflax]

Is there nothing that your breeder can help you with? Since the incident happened before you picked them up, I feel that they should be obligated to help you out, and they should have hold of some medication to help them out, plus they can actually examine the little guy in person and give you a professional opinion.

 

[brooklyn]

My breeder said because he has the albino gene he could just be more sensitive to certain foods... She told me to give him a little bit of all bran cereal, which I did. And honestly I dont think she will help me more than that. She lives about an hour away and I dont drive.

 

[brooklyn]

His mother was also a blaze, but his father had no head markings whatsoever, and the other blazed babies in his litter apparently haven't shown any signs of megacolon, and have had no diarrhea and I still dont think he looks or feels bloated. The breeder figures it is just a food sensitivity but if it doesn't stop I'm going to make a vet appointment for Tuesday when I can pay. And also pick up some ensure or pedialyte.

 

[brimmyflax]

It sounds like it could be stress, what with losing his toe and moving house. I agree with feeding him foods to settle his belly, and maybe take away any greens? A quick Google search says that "The simple remedy [...] is to remove them completely and not feed them at all for a few days until he appears to be getting better. Then slowly re-introduce greens by giving them every few days."

That's a shame about your breeder - mine only lives 2 minutes away so at least I have her near by. Hopefully he'll start getting better soon

 

[brooklyn]

So, I went to clean him up again about an hour ago cause he had dried poop on his tail, and in the container I was wiping him down in he pooped more than he has all day, and I haven't seen anymore diarrhea since, I'm thinking he ate something that didnt agree with him and got a little blocked up, I'm gonna cut greens out for a few days, and I'm gonna give him applesauce and plain toast to settle his stomach. I also fed the three of them some egg (they're all the same age, the other two are just a little bit bigger so I figured extra protein would be good for all of them) and I'm going to continue to let him occasionally snack on a couple all bran buds, as he seems to like them and they're high in fiber which should help harden his poop a little. Poor little fella, the last few days haven't been the easiest for him, he gets his toe ripped off, changes houses, changes food and not to mention is the runt so the other boys are a little rough for him, just cause they're bigger. At least he can cuddle with me though, he's curled up on my chest fast asleep. I hope he feels better in the morning.

 

[jorats]

It could very well be the stress of all the changes as well as diet. I'm glad he's doing better now.

 

[brooklyn]

His poop has been a little squishy today, but coming out in pellets like the other boys, so I think he's alright, I'm still giving him gatorade and a little bit of applesauce, which he seems to love. He's such a sweet boy, I just want him to adjust well.

 

[jorats]

That's good news!

 

[brooklyn]

So my little friend took a turn for the worse with his diarrhea. His poop was getting better and better, he kept eating and drinking and he was active, and then yesterday I went to pick him up out of his cage to check his bum, and theres was blood all down his tail. I immediately called an exotic pet vet in my city and got him an emergency appointment within a half hour. He was such a good boy at the vets, he's such an awesome little guy. At first they thought one of the other boys may have bit his testicles, but after they washed him and looked for any lesions, they found there were none. So, they've concluded that he more than likely has colorectal polyps. Since he's just a little guy, (they weighed him and he's only 49 grams ) he obviously can't have them surgically removed. So they put him on anti-biotics and pain killers, he's still passing feces, so hopefully within a day or two the antibiotics will reduce the swelling in his bum and gut and he'll start to pass proper poops. Last night, he was still eating and drinking after the vets appointment and snuggled with me for an hour or so.

I'm so worried about him, I'm at school currently and I keep thinking of him at home. I really hope he'll be okay.

 

[victoria]

I hope he's going to be ok. He's incredibly small, even for a small four week old rat. Most 5 week old rats weigh at least 100g, if not more.

Which vet did you go to?

I would not feed All Bran cereal to him at all, especially in light of recent events. Excess fibre does help food pass faster but it also makes it expand. I had a rat that was constipated and I fed All Bran but my vet told me it could make things worse. Pumpkin puree or baby food are a lot easier to digest and have a high water content, so they will help lubricate the colon as they make their way through the digestive system. Pumpkin also has digestive enzymes, which may help in this case.

I hope you realize the breeder you purchased your rats from did not have their best interests in mind. They bred rats with a high white gene despite the risks, the weaned the babies too early, and it's pretty likely they have a poor gene pool and are doing nothing to improve it. Breeders in Hamilton (and really in most places in Canada) breed feeders but sell the "prettier" ones as pets. If you had gone to a rescue it's more likely they would have been aware of and disclosed any health issues or even if you had taken rats from someone dumping their pets, you would not have been encouraging someone to continue poor breeding practices.

 

[brooklyn]

I know he's really small. And I just didn't know where else to get them, I just want to do good by them, I want them to be okay. I feel so horrible. I didn't want this to happen. I didn't know when I went to pick them out. I wanted to pick them up when they were 5 weeks, but the breeder kind of pushed me to pick them up a week early. My vet really did sound like she knew what she was talking about though, everything she said to me has matched up with stuff I've read on here, and she has owned rats before as well... I just want him to be okay. I've been crying so much for the last day, I'm so scared for him. When I picked him up the breeder had offered me a different one because his toe was hurt, but I wanted to keep him, because he was the runt, and he was so little and it was so sad he was hurt, I couldn't leave him.

I love them so much and I dont want to say this, but I feel like I shouldn't have gotten them now, they're my little babies, I haven't done anything but spend time with them and take care of them since I got them, but I feel like I've done something wrong. :sad3: