ladyofthelake

As some of you may know, my daughter has a rather large, very fat 2.5 year old rat. Yesterday morning I went into her room to wake her up and saw him (Oreo) laying on his back on the bottom of the cage.


No....he wasn't dead, but he was awake and didn't move off his back, which is odd. I looked closer and saw his back foot was extremely swollen, so much so he couldn't walk, and because of his fatness he couldn't move off his back. It looked really bad, I thought maybe even broken, so decided to take him to the vet. He ended up staying all day there and had xrays taken plus meds given. Thankfully there was nothing broken, just soft tissue damage so it will heal. The damage the bill made to my purse on the other hand may take a bit longer to recover....$194!!!!!!!! :curse::curse: The vet tried to soften the blow by saying he didn't charge for the sedatives used or the teeth trim he gave, but it didn't help.
To top it all we have to go and get a new single level cage for him as this is the second time he's injured himself in his multi level cage in the last few weeks. So the old 'man' Oreo is moving into ground floor accommodation.

What with the guinea pig who got dropped last year and smashed all his teeth, needing surgery. These pets cost a bloody fortune don't they?

cybersecretary

bonkers, get a fish.

Lord Lionheart

Obvious case of rat gout, cut down on the rich food

Jerseygirl

Pet rats have a life expectancy of 2 to 3 years don't they? $194....let's hope it breaks the record books.

zargof

I'm dissappointed, I thought you were selling a rat's foot. Pfft....

ukelaine

Check on Craigs List for your area. Someone may be selling one cheap or even giving one away for FREE
Plus, you could put an ad under WANTED for a cage and get one cheaper or Free that way

NC Penguin

Glad to hear that Oreo's better now.

Sorry to hear about Oreo's injury. Could it have been bumblefoot?

See here:
http://exoticpets.about.com/od/careo...bumblefoot.htm

Mr. Oreo probably could do with slimming down which would reduce the risk of health problems in the future. Does he get a lot of treats?

A multi-storey cage per se is not a bad thing for a rat. In fact, rats like to climb so taller cages are good for them. Being overweight could make climbing ramps more stressful for Oreo so that's probably another reason for him to go on a diet.

As for cages, Craigslist is a good idea. If you can find a Martin's brand cage there, that's what you should get. They're amongst the best cages IMHO.

Also, a rat's teeth should naturally be worn down by food it eats. Does Oreo eat lab block or something hard regularly? That'd save on the cost of teeth trims.

Does Oreo have to be given meds post-visit. e.g. an antibiotic?

Tarkak9

I hear a straight swap is popular these days. bear in mind.... location, location, location!! Living room one levels tend to more appealing than bedroom ones because of the open view they have. Regardless, one may pay a premium for a single level these days... typically higher demand than a 2 story because of baby boomers getting on in age etc.... and you know how rats are (worse than rabbits)!!

One should also feng shui the place - placement of the wood shavings is crucial; may be simpler to get a rabbits foot for the rat.

I agree, CL would be a very good place to start and you should come across a great deal.

ladyofthelake

Hi.
Definitely not bumblefoot. Most of the swelling has gone down now, except at the hock joint. A couple of weeks ago he injured his front right foot through the bars, though the swelling was not as bad and was OK by the next day. He seems to be regularly getting caught in the bars these days, so would rather have him in a cage which reduces this risk and let him out to run around more often.
He is only fed lab block, and the occassional treat, so his teeth were probably not necessary and the vet just took the oppurtunity whilst it presented itself. He also gets plenty of exercise running around the house most days, so the only thing we could change is cut down on the treats even more so.
Yes, he is being given antibiotics twice a day, and the vet did ask me to take him back tomorrow, but I really don't think that's needed now. He's using the foot again and it's almost back to normal.

I'll have a look at the Martin's cages, thanks.

ladyofthelake

Got them too!

UK_Tomcat_Fan

Now all you need is a cat!

ladyofthelake

Yeah, but he's part of the family....
My daughter loves him to bits (maybe she gives him more treats than she admits to...hmmm) The mere mention of him dying in the future brings her to tears.

ElaineQ

I once spent $84 having my hamster operated on - they took a photo of him with the oxygen mask on and everything As it happened, he had an inoperable tumour, so we ended up having him put down, the poor little chap.

Yosser

LMAO....that reminds me of my grandma....

do they make "rat zimmer frames" ???

Bob

ouch....but rats, they are considered exotic pets so cost a fortune in treatment...you might be able to find a vet who hasn't worked on a rat that's willing for a huge discount...a friend of mine at work does that, about half the cost.

I did the same with a previous rat, the place hadn't done rats but the vet had previously so wanted extra practice, the snip was around $150, half price...ouch.