Swollen testicles

The Rat Shack Forum

Help Support The Rat Shack Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Dena

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 12, 2018
Messages
377
Location
Texas
So I just came back from a 5 day trip, and when I inspected my rats, I noticed brother's testicles seem to be swollen. Any ideas what would cause this, and if I need to give him some metacam, how much would I give? He's 1.5 pounds, so I'll calculate to grams. Here's a couple of pics. They don't seem to be tender, but he does seem to not feel good. Still eating, drinking, and pooping and peeing like normal. Just swollen on the jewels.
 

Attachments

  • 677597DB-848F-45C0-93A4-C7ED07EB6DA5.jpeg
    677597DB-848F-45C0-93A4-C7ED07EB6DA5.jpeg
    22.3 KB · Views: 1,179
  • F267279F-622D-491D-A87E-FA8ED7E3A2A8.jpeg
    F267279F-622D-491D-A87E-FA8ED7E3A2A8.jpeg
    23.1 KB · Views: 196
Are you sure it's swelling.? My boys have quite large testicles as well.. Maybe it's just warmer there than normal.? How old is he.?
 
Definitely swelling. I gave some metacam today, but not sure if it was enough to help. He seemed a little more comfortable after, but swelling still hasn't gone down. Hasn't gotten worse either. But I did discover a mammary tumor on my girl Eva, and what feels like a uterine tumor. Surgery isn't an option, since I've had to put two dogs down in the last month, and about to do our bunny..... Maybe I should let her live it out until she seems uncomfortable? Too many animal deaths in too short of a time over here.....:(:(
 
Hmm.. I'll take your word for it, I'm not good with dosages but I'm glad he's feeling a bit better.. As for the other problem I'd say watch her closely and let her live until she's uncomfortable.! I'm sorry for your losses.. Loosing pets is hard and I'm sorry you're going through this..
 
I haven't seen that before. I would keep an eye on him for sure. How old is he? Could there have been a spider bite?
I'm really sorry about Eva. A mammary tumour is not dangerous but the uterine one could be. You will definitely need to keep a very close eye on her for any discomfort and pain.
 
I found brother on the bottom of his cage, barely responsive. He feels kinda cool, and is breathing pretty shallow. I picked him up, and now he is sleeping on my chest (which he NEVER does since he's usually wanting to run and play). I'm stumped at what could be causing this. I gave him some antibiotics just in case it's an infection somewhere. Hoping he responds to them, and can pull through. :(
 
Lilspaz? Sq? I've been trying to get food into him or fluid. He's rejecting both.
 
I'm sort of late to the thread, but I'm sorry about losing two dogs, possibly your bunny, and now two rats with medical issues! Sucks that this all had to happen so close together and in between the biggest holidays of the year :( I ended up losing my Maddox about this time last year.

Are you sure he isn't constipated? How does his tummy feel?
 
His tummy is soft. I've rat phoned him all throughout the day. No sounds of respiratory problems. I'm at a loss. If I wake up and he's still alive and like this tomorrow, I'll take him to be PTS. I'm trying to give pain meds and antibiotics time. But he's almost lifeless now. Kinda cold.....:(:(
 
Awh no.. I'm so sorry he's stopped getting better and is going downhill fast.. I have no idea what could be wrong with him but I'm sure he was/is happy with you..
 
The swollen testicles is probably just a symptom of something else more serious. I'm sorry. A 1.5 lb rat should get a dose of 0.36 ml of Metacam. If you need dosing help fast in emergency just msg me. :(
 
He's alive this morning. Still cold, but alive. I ended up giving him a dose of 0.25 last night. It seemed to help the swelling, as I can now see a line dividing the testicles. The best answer I could come up with was colorectal polyps. I was hoping it would just be something simple.....I think his other symptoms are from really bad pain, and the dose of meds I was giving was insufficient. When I picked him up this morning, his mouth was wet, leading me to believe he drank some water some time during the night. When I last set him down last night, his mouth and nose was dry. If I put drops of water in his mouth, he'd let it drain right out.....
 
Update * I refuse to give up. Sorry. He's now in my lap with oxygen going right in his face, and I have a hot water bottle on him to bring up his temp. I just gave him 6ml of saline subQ. I'm not sure if that's enough, but I don't want to throw him too far out on his electrolytes, that his heart starts to malfunction. His next dose of metacam is in just a couple of hours. Any other suggestions? I have to do this all my own, since we literally just spent almost $1000 on our dogs, and $300 for our bunny. He's also getting cipro in case the stress is trying to cause a secondary respiratory infection.
 
Awh no.. I'm so sorry he passed away.. At least he wasn't alone when he passed..
 
Yes, and at least whatever it was that was going on, won't be messing with him. Still sucks though.....
 
Update * I refuse to give up. Sorry. He's now in my lap with oxygen going right in his face, and I have a hot water bottle on him to bring up his temp. I just gave him 6ml of saline subQ. I'm not sure if that's enough, but I don't want to throw him too far out on his electrolytes, that his heart starts to malfunction. His next dose of metacam is in just a couple of hours. Any other suggestions? I have to do this all my own, since we literally just spent almost $1000 on our dogs, and $300 for our bunny. He's also getting cipro in case the stress is trying to cause a secondary respiratory infection.
I am very sorry for your loss. I am presently going through a very similar experience with my Double Rex "Gollum", who has a severe infection of the preputial glands, which has progressed to several abscesses in that area. He has had 2 procedures while under partial anesthesia to remove exudate and debride some tissue, which was supposed to relieve pressure and allow for healing but instead just closed up and continued to progress at an even faster rate. So then he went in for a second time and the vet (very well known and experienced exotics vet), who I drove over an hour to see, said that his infection was too involved and he'd have to remove his penis to get most of it out, and that the smallest animal he had ever created a new "pee hole" for was a ferret. So basically Gollum was cleaned out again, and was given a sad prognosis. So I took him home to live out his days. But not an easy time for either of us since I had to flush out the cavity as often as twice a day until he became 100% hospice care. Fortunately, Gollum is a big sleeper, lazy as can be, so his quality of life is not impacted that much. He has cost me $1200 in vet bills and an incredible amount of anguish. He is also in some considerable amount of pain, and gets Metacam as often as possible. Since his infection progressed into abscesses, he refused any and all antibiotics, even if hidden well or mixed into something like whipped cream, which he absolutely loves. Anyway, now I am hand feeding, so I have him living with me on my bed. He had his own blanket, hand towels, fleece, and newspaper, all of which he cocoons himself into, which enables him to raise his body temp by heating up hmthe surrounding materials through conduction, and therefore is able to use the heated materials as a means to assist his immune system or whatever into heating himself up even more. So, far to say, he is cooking in there! Lol. Anyway, so far so good, but his abscesses are continuing to develop and he will eventually be in too much pain, or be unable to fight his infection off and will need help crossing the bridge. But until that time, he will be allowed to come over and snuggle next to me and build little cocoons in my blankets. Oh, and he has a pet carrier as his kitchen/bathroom, with the bathroom area in the back and food bowl/water bottle/Ensure bowl in front where I can easily refill them. Prayers and positive thoughts or vibes are encouraged. Thanks.
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_20191215-220209.png
    Screenshot_20191215-220209.png
    245.4 KB · Views: 230
Last edited:
Back
Top