Rat not keen on eating post surgery

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Courtney Cheesman

Courtney Cheesman

Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2018
Messages
18
Location
Australia
Hi, I have a 2 year 2 month old girl who had surgery to remove a lump in her groin 2 days ago. She was picking at the sutures and being a bit difficult when I bought her home the same day...so I took her back to the vets the following day (yesterday) so they could monitor her wounds and administer the necessary meds. She seems to be doing well and the wound is okay...except they are reporting back to me that she doesn't appear to be eating well on her own... is this normal??

We came to the conclusion that I should pick her up tomorrow and bring her home as maybe shes just a bit stressed being away from home and with strangers and she's feeling down. When I bought her home the same day, she was eating a few of the treats I gave her. So I'm not sure what to think or expect.
 
lilspaz68 said:
Did they send you home with oral pain meds like Metacam/meloxicam?

Inadequate pain relief often causes picking and lack of appetite.
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Yes they did send me home with meloxicam...but when I tried to give it to her both Wednesday night and Thursday Morning with yoghurt on a spoon (which she normally devours when I do that with her antibiotics), she refused. She must have tasted it. I couldn't even smell it!! But I was so persistent and was getting so stressed but she wouldn't have a bar of it. I even ended up trying to force the syringe in her mouth and it was not working!! 😖 Hence why I took her to the vet so they could inject her with the pain relief at least for a few days. She still there now. I think I'm going to go and get her today and just try offer her treats. Anything is better than nothing
 
Metacam smells pleasant but it's got such a nasty after taste that rats will.wipe their mouth and feet before licking it off. If she still needs pain in relief we will give you some tips to syringe it into her. Bring your girly home. :)
 
lilspaz68 said:
Metacam smells pleasant but it's got such a nasty after taste that rats will.wipe their mouth and feet before licking it off. If she still needs pain in relief we will give you some tips to syringe it into her. Bring your girly home. :)
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I've bought her home, She seems keen to be quite active and she's looking better and loving the custard I'm giving her! I was able to mix in her doxy and give it with the custard (although I know it's not ideal as you're not meant to give it with dairy? Is this correct or not?). How do you syringe meds into your rats?
 
lilspaz68 said:
If she takes her antibiotics in custard that's great :)

Don't worry about the dairy, it only changes the effectiveness of the probiotic not the antibiotic.
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Perfect. I have her home now and she's very active, eating and drinking heaps, maintaining her weight and happy to be home 😁
Although....I have noticed her itching & scratching her sides (not the incision site), and she has scabs on her back. She hasn't really had this happen before. I had some puppy/kitten revolution handy so I've given it to both my girls tonight and I've got all their hammocks soaking....
Not sure if maybe it was something the vet used that irritated her skin? Or maybe she picked up mites from the vets? Or maybe she already had them and the stress of the surgery sort of brought them out?
 
Here's a photo of part of the scabby area. I noticed that that little bald patch to the left was there when I picked her up from surgery like they had shaved her there for some reason. Maybe they used a cream that irritated the skin? I'm not sure. But if it's mites or something then hopefully the revolution I put on her neck will help.
 

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Yeah I have her on doxy and baytril. Yeah I do have Metacam left over but I'm sorta hesitant to go near that one cause last time I tried to give it (mixed in with her fav yoghurt) she took one taste and rejected it and also rejected having her normal antibiotics in the yoghurt for a day after that...hence why I took her back to the vets so they could give her what she needed. I've got her to trust me again with the antibiotics...I don't wanna put her off by trying Metacam. I'll call my vets today and see what they say.
She doesn't have the scabs all over. Its just in a patch. A small portion of one side. The other side of her is completely fine.
 
Okay sounds good! Yes I am home today. She seems to have loads of energy and is running around super happy. Ill monitor her over the next cpl days and take it from there I think! Thankyou so much for your help & advice!!
 

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