Girls have arrived/spay done/time to meet boys

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hopefloats said:
they wont be squished by anyone. My fattest rats have been pinned and flipped by my smallest rats.
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Even Phantom (RIP), I made Peanut walk around the floor today and do stairs on one of the toys we have. He's getting bumble foot so he must lose weight. I think they are going to go in with the nakies, but I'm not sure.
 
They have an appointment on Wednesday. I have not seen them since they got here, but I hear they are going longer and wider.... Cannot wait to see them... They still don't have names, except the tan hooded is being called by her given name of Paige, but I don't like it. So suggestion would be nice. I've never had girls....
 
I suck at naming. lol I am adopting two new girls from Ottawa pet rat rescue and I'm using the girls' names who are part of the transport and rescue. So I don't have to think too hard on it. lol
 
I'm a theme namer usually. Try to think of a group of characters or bandmates that match the number of ratties.
We have 'Archer' character names, Game of Thrones, our boys are usually named strong regal names (King Odin, Prince Tyrion, Emporer Little Boots etc.) Or because of a physical characteristic or personality trait. I usually don't rename before I get them as sometimes it just doesn't fit. Like Little Boots I was going to call Duke, but he was just too rolly polly for that stern of a name. And then a little guy came along that looked like my girl Duchess so he got Duke and it worked for him on several levels!
 
You'll have to let me know how the appt went. Would love to know what Ness thinks of spays, they looked at me like I had 12 heads when I said all 3 of mine were spayed lol.
 
I'm here now seeing Dr Golan, she has no problem spaying them. In fact, she encourages it. One if the girls already has a tumor and a slight uri. They are currently doing pre op blood work to make sure all organs are functioning properly since they are so tiny and probably malnutritioned. We will need to wait about 3-4 weeks if we want all the girls done at the same time since we need to clear up the uri first. We're guessing they are 9-10 months old the smallest weighed 245g. Do you guys think I should go ahead with the spays or just wait and see if anything happens and just put them with neutered boys? I will have the one spayed when the tumor is removed.
 
That's great that Dr. Golan is comfortable with it! :D
Poor tumor girl. ):
Wow, 245 g what a small one. Is that "Paige"? She looks pretty small in the picture.
Pika, my runt, is 335ish grams currently.
I'm sure you can tub them up in no time. ;P
How much is it for a spay? How much for a tumor removal?

To me, these stats make it worth it to spay girl rats:
49% of unspayed female rats in the study developed benign mammary tumors, 8.2% developed mammary carcinomas, and 66% developed pituitary tumors, while only 4% of spayed female rats developed benign mammary tumors, none developed mammary carcinomas, and 4% developed pituitary tumors.
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I know how you hate PT (who doesn't?) and a spay can drop that chance by 62%.
 
Made mistake on weight smallest is 292g. I forgot about the PT factor that's reason enough for me. I sent the girl a text on how malnurished, under weight, etc. That one has a uri & tumor and that I had to waste money on blood tests because of this. I got back, "poor coconut, I hate tumors". I hate people that get rats and cannot properly care for them!!

This is going to drain the bank!!
 
Got blood results back and the little one has an ALT of 208 which should be 80 or lower. She also has a low white blood cell count. I guess this means she probably has some form of cancer. She is recommending an xray to she if she can see a tumor. If its in her uterus that isn't a problem it can be removed with the spay, BUT we need to know if it has spread already. I wonder if this is why she is so tiny. They all show dehydration, but all organs are functioning properly.

Any suggestions for the little one would be appreciated.
 
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Aww, poor lil munchkin. I hope it's all fixable with the spay and has not spread.
I wonder if it comes from their old diet.
The only thing I could recommend is blueberries. I've always heard they help prevent cancer in rats and the antioxidants are great. I found this too:
A Chinese study published in a 2010 edition of the World Journal of Gastroenterology examined the effects of blueberries on hepatic fibrosis – scarring of liver tissue. Although just an animal study, the researchers found that blueberries could reduce liver indices, serum levels of hyaluronic acid and ALT, and increase levels of superoxide dismutase. Thus, by inhibiting inflammation and preventing liver cell damage, blueberry consumption appears to be beneficial for people with liver disease.
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Not that I think blueberries alone will work miracles, but it might help? :heart:
 
Red grapes are suppose to be good too. They all had one thing come back which could be from dehydration - wth!!! That diet was bad enough, but not enough water either? I just remembered she gave the hubby a bottle of echinecea that she was giving them, but he gave it back to her because it was expired. Something tells me that isn't good for them.

I know it sounds bad, but I'm not attached to them yet - if she's full of cancer I may just let her go. I don't want her suffering.
 
Joanne said:
If there is a tumor in her uterus, would that even show up anywhere in bloodwork? I would think something more serious like liver... :(
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I would imagine it would show up as a shadow like my other boy's chest tumors did. Her liver functions, as well as her other organ functions came back fine.
 
Found this on-line from LabTestsOnline:

"Very high levels of ALT (more than 10 times normal) are usually due to acute hepatitis, sometimes due to a viral infection. In acute hepatitis, ALT levels usually stay high for about 1-2 months but can take as long as 3-6 months to return to normal. Levels of ALT may also be markedly elevated (sometimes over 100 times normal) as a result of exposure to drugs or other substances that are toxic to the liver as well as in conditions that cause decreased blood flow (ischemia) to the liver.

ALT levels are usually not as high in chronic hepatitis, often less than 4 times normal. In this case, ALT levels often vary between normal and slightly increased, so the test may be ordered frequently to see if there is a pattern. Other causes of moderate increases in ALT include obstruction of bile ducts, cirrhosis (usually the result of chronic hepatitis or bile duct obstruction), heart damage, alcohol abuse, and with tumors in the liver."
 
From the Mayo Clinic:

"A low white blood cell count usually is caused by one of the following:

Viral infections that temporarily disrupt bone marrow function
Congenital disorders characterized by diminished bone marrow function
Cancer or other diseases that damage bone marrow
Autoimmune disorders that destroy white blood cells or bone marrow cells
Overwhelming infections that use up white blood cells faster than they can be produced
Drugs that destroy white blood cells or damage bone marrow
Specific causes of low white blood cell count include:

Aplastic anemia
Certain medications, such as antibiotics and diuretics
Chemotherapy
HIV/AIDS
Hypersplenism, a premature destruction of blood cells by the spleen
Infectious diseases
Kostmann's syndrome, a congenital disorder involving low neutrophil production
Leukemia
Lupus
Malnutrition
Myelodysplastic syndromes
Myelokathexis, a congenital disorder involving failure of neutrophils to enter the bloodstream
Other autoimmune disorders
Other congenital disorders
Parasitic diseases
Radiation therapy
Vitamin deficiencies"
 

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