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They look like average sized 6-8 week olds, which is a good thing since dwarfs tend to be more skittish and may be more prone to health issues.

They look pretty young, how old were they when they were split from their mom?

I usually put them back in their regular cage the night of the surgery. Rarely, I will have a girl that will attack the returning rat (one of my girls right now is like that with any compromised rat), in those cases I separate them with a buddy for a day or two but I make sure to let them out...

((hugs)) I'm sorry for your loss. I remember when you got your boys, he had a good long life with you <3

The Rat Shack is a forum, not a rescue. Perhaps they were adopted by someone on the Rat Shack?

That might not be a tumour but a hernia. It's worthwhile going to the vet to have it checked out, it may be easy to repair. If it's a hernia it could get bigger quickly and that would be uncomfortable. In case you don't know, most mammary tumours in rats are benign. It doesn't hurt her right...

I just saw Joanne's responses, for some reason I didn't see them before I posted. I have a few friends that keep male and female GPs in the same area, without issue. In fact, one of them has more trouble bonding females than males. At the shelter, we do run into issues with males fighting and...

Sometimes trios of males do fight as they get older but an adequate cage should be enough for a herd of 3 males to stay intact. (A 5x2 or 6x2 C&C would be ideal for 3 males.) It is often difficult to form a trio of males but often they are ok if they're together as babies. If they do fight, you...

I've had rats that do that before. They were sick. If you let it go long enough, they'll do it all the time or worse.

It's really sad how scarce exotic vets are all over, particularly outside of North America and parts of Europe. Rats often get kidney disease from excess protein in their diet, not antibiotic use. Many of us have had rats on antibiotics for many months without effects to the kidneys, they're...

I wouldn't worry too much if it was just once. The oral LD50 dose (the dose that was lethal to 50% of the test population) for rats is 2000 mg/kg, which is 20 times the recommended total daily dose. http://www.pfizer.com/files/products/material_safety_data/254.pdf

There really are no useful tests for rats with pituitary tumours... you could do an MRI or a CT scan but they require anesthesia, which would make the symptoms so much worse. Ditto for any sort of blood work. For the Baytril, pretty much any drug you give can affect the kidneys. I would just...

I know kidney disease can cause neuro symptoms but that rat really looks like he has a pituitary tumour. Maybe he has kidney disease too or the PT is throwing off his urinalysis. How rat savvy is your vet? You can try steroids with or without a dopamine agonist (bromocriptine or cabergoline) and...

Sounds like you should put her into a nursing cage. You should remove the grill off the top of the litter box for now as it's a hazard for babies.

We'd have to see the bottom of her belly to get a better idea but the photos do make me think she is pregnant. Do you have a scale to start weighing her daily? You're probably only a few short days away from birth if she is pregnant...

Are you only giving one antibiotic at a time?

There really aren't a lot of suitable cages on Kijiji here, let alone ones reasonably priced, so that's probably a waste of time. If it's only for a few weeks, 8 females will be fine in a single CN. This is my set up for my fosters (2 moms + 2 litters), it's overcrowded (by a lot) but I made...

Where do you live? If you can find a way to put two cages side by side, I can help with transport if you pay the gas. (It wouldn't be too much for the cage in CDN, not sure about the one in Trois Rivieres though.) PM me if you want to discuss transport further.

Have you tried looking for a used single CN to connect to your own side by side? I saw one on sale for $90 in Trois Rivieres this week and I know there was one in CDN for $115 a little while ago I can ask about. If any of these rats are from a rescue, you should contact them about rehoming...

An important point to keep in mind is the bacteria is sensitive to antibiotics (including Doxy) and many domestic rats have been treated with abs at one point or another. I highly doubt all or even many carry the bacteria though, I've had well over a hundred rats come through my home and neither...