Hello! My female rat Sprig is 2.5 years old. Her cage mate passed in December of 2022 so she has been a lone rat for some time. Anyways in the last few months she has developed two mammary tumors. One on her chest (little bigger than an egg) and one under her left hind leg (a little bigger than a shelled peanut.)
Here is what has been happening.
1. Doesn’t have very good balance and falls when walking and grooming. I purchased some small animal grooming wipes. I gave her a bath a few days ago. And I rinse her privates off with warm water once daily because it gets full of pee and she can’t groom it. Her privates also stink.
2. She can’t really eat solid foods. I’ve been feeding her a mix of white rice, cheerios, oxbow rat food, oats, and millet seeds. I then soak the mix in water and give it to her.
3. She is getting pretty skinny and is dehydrated. Not sure how to help this. She won’t drink out of her water bottle or bowl. She can’t eat anything out of a bowl as it is too high and has to use a small plate.
4. Her eyes seem to have a lot of clear discharge when I pick her up.
5. She falls on her side and has trouble getting back up.
If anyone has any idea how to help this, please give me some advice! I don’t want to euthanize her just yet. I’m open to any questions and advice. Thank you for reading and have a great day.
(I use aspen bedding and Sprig is on pain medications to take once daily, prescribed by the vet.)
