odd penile issue in young male rat

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Camarilla

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Jul 11, 2016
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I noticed about an hour ago blood on a food dish for my young male rats. Well I go look a couple of times and saw my youngest was leaking pure blood from his penile area. I did get a decent look at the spot and removed what looks like a blood clot from the underside of his penis. It's still bleeding but at the same slow pace. I finished trying to give it another look and what little I saw was swollen and red. He has five cage mates but they all get along plus he's only 6.75 weeks old. I'm unable to get another look at the problem area as he flails and squeaks out in pain, I don't want to get bit or cause him more distress. He's active and acting normally. Anyone have a clue what this is?
 
he could have got bitten or scratched and that's a very sensitive spot. If you have metacam or infant liquid ibuprofen you could give him some to see if it helps with the discomfort. Then wait and see how he is. If he continues to have blood coming from his urethra then you might be dealing with urinary tract infection instead (UTI) and will need antibiotics.
 
I don't have either meds. I'm hoping he just scratched it or one of his buddies got over enthusiastic about helping him groom the area. If it's a uti then I'm afraid he'll have to be stuck with it until August as I barely have enough left to get their veggies this month. It's only blood, no mix of urine and it was only showing fresh blood once every few minutes with the amount lessening over time.

Later I get to enjoy cleaning blood smears off the wooden huts and dry food dish.
 
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Stuck with it?! Can you really live with that? That's really cold. I feel so sorry for your rat. If he's sick it's your responsibility to take him to the vet and get him checked. I'm hoping it's just a cut but if it's not, it's bloody cruel to let an animal suffer with an infection of that nature for weeks on end. A UTI gets progressively worse, not better. How would you feel of every time you had to urinate it felt like pissing razor blades?! Have some compassion.

I'm sorry but if it's a UTI that you can't afford to get treated do the right thing and give him to a shelter or let someone else home him that has the funds to get him the treatment that he needs. Letting an animal suffer like that is not acceptable.

I'd be really upset that my baby was bleeding and injured rather than complaining about the inconvenience of cleaning a bit of blood up. Have a heart and do right by this rat. It's not his fault he's injured.
 
I am sorry that he may be ill.
Rats can be expensive pets so rat owners are encouraged to save several hundred dollars in an account for rat medical bills, or get a credit card for this purpose.
Rats are prey animals and when you notice they are ill, they need to see a good rat vet immediately. They can not wait.

If he is ill, you will need to find the money some how as he can not wait.
As your vet gets to know you, they may be willing to allow you to make payments. Most vets do not do this with new patients because they have been ripped off by people, but you can always try.

good luck
 
Take it as being cold if you want. I've had to turn off my emotions at times when I've had to cull my mouse and rat populations due to some accidental pregnancies in the rats and breeding the mice so my mini cat has food she can keep down.

I've had a bladder infection before but it was more scary seeing blood than it was painful to me. This is coming from someone with a type of nerve issue that causes pain 24/7..for the rest of my life. I felt bad as I know pain and get to know all my pets intuitively.

Y'all will be happy to know when I checked him at dinner that he's stopped bleeding so guess it was a penile injury.
 
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SQ, I'll take your word for it. So far my rats and mice have cost me much less than my cats for their health care. This boy rat was the first ever real issue any of my rodents have had. Minor constipation was an easy fix. That one happens now and then to my ratlings when switching from milk to solid food.
 
First a reality check. All of your pet rats came from breeding, accidental or otherwise. If you can prove yours poofed into existence or appeared out of thin air I'd be happy to hear about it.

If I knew this was some elitist forum I would never have wasted my time registering here. I guess only people who have their pets through rescues are welcome and people who bought their pets aren't worth crap. I came for advice just like any other but..whatever.

The rat pregnancies were accidental.

Fine, sorry I wasted my time here. Animals eat other animals and you can't change that. Don't bother replying as I won't see any of it.
 
Camarilla said:
First a reality check. All of your pet rats came from breeding, accidental or otherwise. If you can prove yours poofed into existence or appeared out of thin air I'd be happy to hear about it.

If I knew this was some elitist forum I would never have wasted my time registering here. I guess only people who have their pets through rescues are welcome and people who bought their pets aren't worth crap. I came for advice just like any other but..whatever.

The rat pregnancies were accidental.

Fine, sorry I wasted my time here. Animals eat other animals and you can't change that. Don't bother replying as I won't see any of it.
Click to expand...

Well, I'm going to reply anyway. I don't really care if you don't see it. First off, there is no need to get so dramatic and defensive. This site is one the most welcoming rat forums and least elitist places that I've seen. Not one single person said anything that could be deemed as a personal attack towards you. You are the only person talking about adopting vs buying.

Most people are pro-rescue in this day in age because we as a society are far more educated on the domestic animal overpopulation problem. Each year 2.7 MILLION animals are euthanized. That is just dogs and cats by the way.

Even though I strive to rescue/adopt and recommend others do the same, I do not condemn people for buying animals and I know I'm not the only one who doesn't. We are only human. Sometimes someone might see a rat in the store that pulls at their heart and they just can't leave it. Someone might want a specific type of rat and go to a reputable breeder. People providing a good home is far more important to me at the end of the day.

Since the rat pregnancies were accidental you have even less reason to be so defensive.

Yes, animals do eat other animals. That is irrelevant though. This is a pet rat forum. It's pretty easy to see why the topic of breeding them for food is not allowed and frowned upon.

Also, just let point out that I'm pretty poor. I live on a fixed income from social security right now. Most of the money I get goes to making sure my rescued animals have the best life I can provide. They live better than I do. I just spent $225 on two new rescues. Almost half of the money I received this month because I got less than usual. I have savings and care credit should someone need to see a vet and I don't have the funds. I guess what I'm trying to say is, where there is a will there is a way. You don't have to be well off to have pets, but you do need to plan ahead and be willing to make sacrifices. There is really no excuse for denying vet care.

There was no reason for you to go. This forum is great for talking about ratties and has a lot of helpful information. There was no elitism in the responses and everyone was being very civil towards you. It's really a shame that you couldn't get past your defensive attitude and see that.
 
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I know if folks around here were anti-buying I certainly wouldn't have posted about my pregnant tatter! But from lurking here for ages I knew that this place is very accepting of all comers. I wish I knew why Camarilla got so defensive, but my cynical heart tells me that there may have been something that they weren't admitting to. *shrugs*
 
Camarilla said:
First a reality check. All of your pet rats came from breeding, accidental or otherwise. If you can prove yours poofed into existence or appeared out of thin air I'd be happy to hear about it.

If I knew this was some elitist forum I would never have wasted my time registering here. I guess only people who have their pets through rescues are welcome and people who bought their pets aren't worth crap. I came for advice just like any other but..whatever.

The rat pregnancies were accidental.

Fine, sorry I wasted my time here. Animals eat other animals and you can't change that. Don't bother replying as I won't see any of it.
Click to expand...

This is a RESCUE forum. We did try to help you but your defensive attitude prevented you from seeing that. SQ showed you our long standing rules as a heads up.
I do hope you do what is best for your rat, regardless of his fate in your household. Animals like humans feel pain, have emotions, have hopes to live a full and comfortable life. It is your responsibility to provide him that.
 

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