Poop stuck on bottom. Update.

[Smittenkittens]

My girl Sesame (who is probably close to a year now) has poop all over her bottom. It's normal color as far as I noticed, it's just matted in her fur, almost like she had diarrhea. I've never noticed this before. Could this be the sign of an illness of sorts?

(Also, my apology for the "grossness" :sick2

 

[Petunia]

has she been eating a lot of fruit lately? that can give them soft poops.

Did she just leave the poop on her without trying to clean it off?
that would be more disturbing, to me, because rats are so clean, I think if she wasn't trying to groom it off herself (definitely you want to clean that off for her of course, as I'm sure you have already) but if she made no attempt to clean herself, that to me would be a red flag that she doesn't feel well

of course it could just be that she has a tummy ache, and it will pass as soon as whatever gave her the upset tummy is out of her system

I'm sure folks with more experience will be by with better info, but those are my first impressions

 

[Smittenkittens]

has she been eating a lot of fruit lately? that can give them soft poops.

Did she just leave the poop on her without trying to clean it off?
that would be more disturbing, to me, because rats are so clean, I think if she wasn't trying to groom it off herself (definitely you want to clean that off for her of course, as I'm sure you have already) but if she made no attempt to clean herself, that to me would be a red flag that she doesn't feel well

of course it could just be that she has a tummy ache, and it will pass as soon as whatever gave her the upset tummy is out of her system

I'm sure folks with more experience will be by with better info, but those are my first impressions

They have been getting yogurt lately, which I'm going to stop. But I also just noticed that she's leaving little black/really dark green puddles of diarrhea.
I'm not sure. She didn't seem like she was trying to clean it off very much. I cleaned it off with a wet paper towel. She put up a fight, but I'm not sure if it's as much of a fight as she would normally put up with me. (She's not very friendly, and doesn't really like me).
I also found a little piece of paper that was yellow with pee but looked like it might have had some reddish blood mixed in. :sad3:

 

[Petunia]

ok that sounds bad, I'd take her to the vet, rats can get dehydrated quickly

is she drinking?

 

[ZoeHale]

That does sound bad.
I'd say it's vet time.

 

[smilez_n_hugs]

Yup definitely vet time and in the meantime keep her warm and hydrated.

 

[Smittenkittens]

My mom has been giving them banana everyday for like a week.. could that be the reason? Also, she was running on her wheel yesterday and today. A couple days ago she was on the bed with my mom and she was acting perfectly fine. Oh, also, she has been drinking.

 

[victoria]

Make sure she stays hydrated, especially in this weather. Give her some Pedialyte or Gatorade or a homemade rehydration solution a few times a day, with a syringe if she won't take it on her own.

You can put her on the BART diet (bananas, apple sauce, rice, toast) or give her some unsalted saltines to help with the diarrhea but if she doesn't get better in a day or two, she needs a vet - it could be some sort of infection or parasite causing the diarrhea. Does she have any other symptoms of illness?

In the immediate future though, severe dehydration is the biggest threat, so I can't stress enough the need to keep her dehydrated.

 

[Petunia]

But I also just noticed that she's leaving little black/really dark green puddles of diarrhea.

I also found a little piece of paper that was yellow with pee but looked like it might have had some reddish blood mixed in. :sad3:

with the puddles of diarrhea and the possibility that she's bleeding as well, at this point I don't think I'd spend much more time right NOW on trying to figure out what the cause is, but just call a vet and get her seen.

rats hide their illnesses very well, her running on the wheel is a good sign, overall but with the other symptoms I really think she needs to see the vet as soon as you can get her in.

I am not sure if there are any home treatments for diarrhea, but the vet may be able to tell you what you can do for her in the meantime, before you take her in

ok?

EDIT nevermind, Victoria has it all covered, thanks Victoria!

 

[smilez_n_hugs]

My mom has been giving them banana everyday for like a week.. could that be the reason? Also, she was running on her wheel yesterday and today. A couple days ago she was on the bed with my mom and she was acting perfectly fine. Oh, also, she has been drinking.

The banana shouldn't do it and rats can hide illness extremely well. It's the "puddles" that worry me because that isn't just soft poops. Another thing to keep in mind is that it's Friday afternoon so if she doesn't see a vet today then there's a possibility Monday might be too late. I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Edit: Petunia beat me to it so basically what she said :giggle:

 

[victoria]

But I also just noticed that she's leaving little black/really dark green puddles of diarrhea.

I also found a little piece of paper that was yellow with pee but looked like it might have had some reddish blood mixed in. :sad3:

with the puddles of diarrhea and the possibility that she's bleeding as well, at this point I don't think I'd waste much more time right NOW on trying to figure out what the cause is, but just call a vet and get her seen.

rats hide their illnesses very well, her running on the wheel is a good sign, overall but with the other symptoms I really think she needs to see the vet as soon as you can get her in.

I am not sure if there are any home treatments for diarrhea, but the vet may be able to tell you what you can do for her in the meantime, before you take her in

ok?

I missed the part about blood. If you think there's blood you should go to the vet ASAP. Try your best to keep her hydrated before you get there.

 

[Smittenkittens]

I know I should have taken her, but I just couldn't. We barely have the money to pay our bills. Hopefully she will get better on her own.

 

[SQ]

She needs to see a vet experienced at treating rats asap.
If she has blood in her urine, it is very serious and she likely needs antibiotics at the very least.
Rats get sick and die fast.

 

[Smittenkittens]

She needs to see a vet experienced at treating rats asap.
If she has blood in her urine, it is very serious and she likely needs antibiotics at the very least.
Rats get sick and die fast.

I want to take her, so bad, I just can't. I really can't afford it, at all.

 

[hopefloats]

You can apply for Care credit, call vets and ask if they accept payments. Ideally it is good to have a backup plan. For girls especially. It can take them away from you fast. Email vets explain your situation some may surprise you and let you make a payment arrangement.

if not is there a rescue near you that could take her in and offer her vet care?

I know that is a hard call but suffering on her part isn't fair either.

 

[Petunia]

is there anything you have that you can sell, either on Craigslist or Ebay or maybe have a yard sale? anyone you can borrow money from?

when you have animals, you really need to have some sort of fund set aside for things like this. It's not fair to the animals if you can't get them necessary vet care, they will suffer needlessly.

Everyone is struggling these days, I understand that completely, but often times we can scrounge up the money for a vet visit with some creativity and some effort

There's an entire thread on ways to come up with money for vet bills, you can check that out for more ideas.

I hope that this little girl is feeling better. Please ask around to see if anyone can help you get her taken in to be seen and treated. If you have other animal lovers in the family or as friends, they may surprise you and want to help you out.
tell them you'll do some favor for them, babysit or dog sit, or clean house or mow their lawn, etc etc, whatever you can think of that you can do to repay them.

Hopefully she gets better on her own.
but with four rats, I think you said you have? you'll need to find ways for future vet bills anyways so it's a good idea to look over that thread and think about what you might be able to give up or what sorts of odd jobs you might get etc to raise funds. sadly rats are not inexpensive pets to care for.

 

[Smittenkittens]

Update. Took Sesame to the emergency vet. I felt so sick because I was worried that she wasn't going to survive. They ran $300 dollars worth of tests trying to find the problem, and they couldn't find anything wrong. They told me it was probably just from all the junk she was eating, and to give her lots of water. So.. One sold xbox later, she's fine, and just seemed to be having diarrhea from all the stuff I was feeding her. My mom told me that she was just feeling ill from all the stuff.. I wish I would have listened.

 

[Joanne]

I am so impressed that you sold your Xbox to take care of her! Kudos to you! I'm so glad you put a little life ahead of a possession. :urock:

 

[jorats]

I agree... You are awesome for putting your rat's needs ahead of anything else.

 

[mamarat]

That's fantastic. Glad your sweetie is doing better.