GRRRRR I have had just about enough

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anita1216

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2007
Messages
480
Location
Southeast Michigan
I have lost three rats within six weeks, congestive heart failure with two of them and the other had a large tumor in his colon.

I am just up to my ears at this point. My boy Boo has been diagnosed with congestive heart failure, can you believe it? I am just so aggravated I could scream. He wont be two until February. This is the same rat that had cancer at less than six months old.

This is why I think maybe there are exceptions to pitching the baby with the bathwater so to speak. This kind of thing isnt a fluke, its not a coincidence.....Its poor breeding :wallbang: :rant:

Here I am starting with Lasix twice a day yet again. I am modifying his diet as well.

I dont think this even belongs in this section, so mods feel free to move it if need be
 
I'll be honest, I don't know of any good breeders in Michigan. They're all somehow shady and have bad practices. Even the ones that seem really great, sadly. Breeders from other states won't even touch this area - Danny from TEK calls Michigan the "Badlands." I'll never go the breeder route again. It's hard not to swoon because of "pretty" rats, but I'll take a sweet, vet-checked, spayed/neutered rescue rat over a breeder rat any day. The rats that I've had from breeders have been the WORST health-wise and with aggression. It's obvious what these breeders are focusing on... pretty colors and money.
 
SoA said:
I'll be honest, I don't know of any good breeders in Michigan. They're all somehow shady and have bad practices. Even the ones that seem really great, sadly. Breeders from other states won't even touch this area - Danny from TEK calls Michigan the "Badlands." I'll never go the breeder route again. It's hard not to swoon because of "pretty" rats, but I'll take a sweet, vet-checked, spayed/neutered rescue rat over a breeder rat any day. The rats that I've had from breeders have been the WORST health-wise and with aggression. It's obvious what these breeders are focusing on... pretty colors and money.
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I have had just about as much as I can stand. The vet bills are atrocious to say the least. I will be looking at rescues in the future.

This just sucks and its hard to watch these animals suffer.
 
I'm so sorry about your boy Boo, I can't get over how common CHF is in some areas. My family and I have had well over 200 rats only 2 had a heart condition.
It really is frustrating, especially when it's a "breeder" rat. :(
 
Hope Boo responds well to the heart meds.

CHF is common here in the maritimes ...
I have had several rats develop it, usually when they are around 1.5 years old.

Burrell is almost 16 months old, and definitely a :heart: rattie.
He stared having problems with CHF when he was 9 months old.
The 5 meds he is on are giving him an ok quality of life.
If it wasn't for these meds, Burrell wouldn't have made it to one year.
 
From my experience,
Usually breathing problems that do not respond to the various combos of antibiotics.
The rattie retains fluid in its lungs, making breathing difficult.
An enlarged heart can sometimes be seen on an xray but not all get an enlarged heart.
My vets diagnose CHF when a rattie with this type of breathing problem responds to the medication fortekor. Then other heart meds are added.
 
anita, I am sorry to hear of all your losses and the frustration of seeing so many rats get sick so young. One of my girls (a pet store surprise baby) has developed CHF very young; she was diagnosed at only 15 months. She is doing very well on a combo of meds: benazepril, atenolol, lasix and Baytril. Luckily the benazepril and Atenolol last a long time, because the doses are small. I get those made up at a human pharmacy.

Good luck caring for your sweetie. the meds may not buy you a year's time, but it should buy you a few good months.
 
I'm so sorry about what's happening with your rats. I hope Boo responds well to his meds. I have often wondered why people think rats from breeders are healthier? The only advantage IMO is that their early months aren't spent in a dirty cage, as some pet store rats do, which can of course affect their lungs.

I know what you mean about the vet bills though. I had one rat who had about 10 or more tumours removed and her two sisters had about 4 tumours each removed. On top of that, 2 of them developed PT and the other developed ovarian cancer (this is the rat in my avatar). So for many months I was taking at least one of them to the vets every 2 to 3 weeks. The vet bills were outrageous and we were so heartbroken. Fortunately I haven't had that problem since!!!

:hugs:
 
I know they arent always healthier. Some of the linebreeding they do almost promises health issues. thats why I get a kick out of people spazzing about "inbred" pet store rats. Even the best of breeders will breed father to daughter and so on. Its how you keep the good traits and whatnot.

What I get tired of are the breeders that think pet owners dont have a clue and look down their noses at us. I have went well beyond what many breeders will even do as far as vet car is concerned. Many of the breeders I know just euth females when they get tumors and cant be bothered to even do pathology if a lump is removed.

I know these are my experiences and Im not suggesting all breeders are so lax and uncaring.

I have just had enough and its irks me.

Hopefully Boo will respond to his meds, we'll just have to wait and see where it goes and pray for the best.
 
I have had a couple of rats with chf, and they responded well to their meds and it prolonged their life for a number of months. I hope that happens with Boo as well. As for his age, my boys developed it around that same time, it does seem very young but I think that is a common age.
 
I have two brothers from a breeder (well two... co-breeding) in Michigan... I have no idea what SoA is talking about... these boys are perfect health-wise, behavior-wise, and temperment-wise. I've talked to others with rats from their litter and previous litters from the two breeders that did the co-breeding to produce my boys. No issues whatsoever. They are all little dream-rats.

http://www.bvrrats.com/
http://www.thefarstar.net/

I strongly suggest switching to the breeder rat route. I am tired of all my pet store babies coming down with one thing after another... and rescue rats are most likely all from pet stores. Rescuing a rat is wonderful, but a breeder rat will be the most likely way to get a break from the heartbreak of health problems.
 
but a breeder rat will be the most likely way to get a break from the heartbreak of health problems.
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I don't agree with that statement ratlets... my rats live a good long lifespan, Loki a rescue 45, months. Mister a rescue, 38 months, Vincent, a rescue 38 months, Pascal, a rescue 39 months.
I've had 5 breeder rats. Jolie Bleu died at 22 months, sick all her life, Chantelle died at 24 months, Nigel died around 1 year old and his brother Max died at 4 months old of heart failure. My Bijou did live to 41 months from Zen rattery. But as a whole, rescue rats are not more sickly or live shorter lives as compared to breeders.

When I switched from pet store rats to breeder rats, I was extremely disappointed. I expected them to be top health but they weren't in fact Max was aggressive. It's upsetting and frustrating and that's when I decided that ALL rats are equal no matter what. So I rescue and I've had some real gems. My heart rat Ness was from the SPCA. She was the best rat ever.

Basically what I'm saying is that breeder rats are the same as pet store rats and rescue rats. :nod:
 
Everyone has their opinions on whether a breeder or rescue is better than the other. Everyone has their own opinions on which breeder is better than the next, or if any of them is even worth it. As Jo said, they're all equally wonderful, no matter where they come from. There are no 100% guarantees in life, especially with genetics.
 
ratlets said:
I strongly suggest switching to the breeder rat route. I am tired of all my pet store babies coming down with one thing after another... and rescue rats are most likely all from pet stores. Rescuing a rat is wonderful, but a breeder rat will be the most likely way to get a break from the heartbreak of health problems.
Click to expand...

I've had/have three rats live to over 3 years 3 months of age and with very few health problems throughout their life, and all were pet store rats. I've only had one rat die before the age of 2.5 years and all my rats that have passed away have been from pet stores. The idea that breeder rats are generally healthier than pet store or rescue rats is completely false IMO. So from my experiences, the only advantage of adopting from a breeder is for their physical appearance.

Absolutely none of my rats are from a breeder and so far only 5 out of the 26 rats I have or currently am caring for have had frequent health problems and only three have been very shy. The rest have been very affectionate.
 
ratlets said:
I have two brothers from a breeder (well two... co-breeding) in Michigan... I have no idea what SoA is talking about... these boys are perfect health-wise, behavior-wise, and temperment-wise. I've talked to others with rats from their litter and previous litters from the two breeders that did the co-breeding to produce my boys. No issues whatsoever. They are all little dream-rats.

http://www.bvrrats.com/
http://www.thefarstar.net/

I strongly suggest switching to the breeder rat route. I am tired of all my pet store babies coming down with one thing after another... and rescue rats are most likely all from pet stores. Rescuing a rat is wonderful, but a breeder rat will be the most likely way to get a break from the heartbreak of health problems.
Click to expand...

LMAO

My boy with all the issues is from Farstar. Both those breeders you think so much of hide health issues. Im glad you got lucky, but talk to someone with pets from their rats that doesnt care about being friends with them.

You'll have to excuse my bitterness. I have several hundred dollars worth of vet bills compliments of Farstar Boo Berry. Poor baby, so much for a breeder rat being better huh?

Those two ratteries would be the absolute last I would suggest anyone to get a rat from. :redhot:
 
One rat isn't a reflection of the whole program.

And you do not know my sources, so please don't make false assumptions.

I posted my experience to try to help. Every one of my pet store rats thus far has had endless health issues. Breeders breed for HEALTH and temperment. If you believe otherwise, that's your issue, not mine.
 
ratlets said:
One rat isn't a reflection of the whole program.

And you do not know my sources, so please don't make false assumptions.

I posted my experience to try to help. Every one of my pet store rats thus far has had endless health issues. Breeders breed for HEALTH and temperment. If you believe otherwise, that's your issue, not mine.
Click to expand...

Sources? Now there are sources as far as rat breeders go? WHATEVER.
 

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