Newly spayed and newly adopted: why is she moving like this?

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Joined
Nov 10, 2020
Messages
12
Location
Louisville, KY
Hey team,

Walnut just got home today after I picked her up from my vet. My vet said she's tired of having to remove tumors from my girls and the few other lady rat patients she has, so she asked if I had room for another if she adopted one to confirm she could successfully complete a spay procedure. It seemed like a success at first, but now I'm wondering if something is wrong.
 
Heres my guess on how shes moving. Twisting, sucking in her gut, possibly dragging her hind legs behind her while twisting? Did the vet send you home with oral pain meds like Metacam (meloxicam)?

Shes in a lot of pain, its called an owwie stretch. :(
 
Oh wow. You hit the nail on the head. Sorry I couldn't get video or pics to upload, but that's exactly what's happening. It's looks like she's straight up dislocating herself, so I was a bit worried. The doc gave her some pain meds before I picked her up, but she usually sends me home with a pretty big supply. Luckily (well, "luckily"), my oldest girl just had a tumor removed and has one of those big supplies. Do you think it's cool if I share with Walnut? Odyssey is probably in pain, but she never seems like it for as much meds as they give me. There's plenty for both of them.
 
Absolutely!
I assume its Metacam and i can work out a dose for yiu but need her weight and the concentration (1.5 mg/ml or 0.5 mg/ml)?

Can you get me a pic of the incision too? So i can see her whole belly, how long it is not so much a closeup of it.

The vet hasnt done many rat spays I take it?
 
So my vet has been my vet for 14 years. She cares very deeply for my rats and is one of the only vets in the city that will see them. She has done all sorts of rodent spays, but only one rat spay on a cadaver. This was her first live spay and she's only doing it because my Odyssey had two very dangerously placed tumors and got two more shortly after her first surgery. She and I made a deal that she would adopt a rat, do the spay so she would know for sure she was comfortable with it, then we could spay my mischief, as needed. Only problem was that she didn't have room to house a rat in her home, so I told her I could take her. I don't fault her for being a novice at this. I admire her for caring this much.

Anywho, the medicine they gave me for Oddysey is buprenorphine in pre-measured syringes at 0.1cc. I have extra syringes though, so if the dosage is off, I can deal with that. Concentration is 0.3mg/mL. Her weight is 10.7 oz (as still as I could get her, she's still not used to me and in pain) and I've attached a pic of her incision.

Thank you for helping me and her!!!
 

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I've been keeping an eye on her to make sure she's not chewing. She hasn't been, even though it looks a bit like it. I believe that's from her struggle while I was trying to weigh her. She's wrapped in a blanket on my chest now, calming down and being so good.
 
The incision is a bit funny but not bad at all. I have seen some monstrous ones that cause different problems but yours is fine. Buprenorphine isnt usually a first choice for pain relief as it has to be given every 8 hours, injecting it works much better than giving it orally, plus its only good for pain. Metacam is used for pain and swelling and is given once a day. Ask for it (meloxicam) next time. Another potential issue with buprenorphine is it can cause pica in some rats (trying to chew/eat inedible things including fabric, stitches and the invisions themselves).

Its been 3 days now since her spay? You can probably stop now lol.
 
Yeah, when I took her out to weigh her and hold her for awhile so we could do a lil bonding, she wasn't acting like she was in pain at all. But now I know what to ask for when we go to the vet.

It seems like, with every new rat, I learn so much more. I LOVE IT! Thank you 😊
 
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