Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, Some of you may remember me talking about my daughters rat Stella, I'm afraid that something is wrong her stomach is very large, she looks almost too fat, but her spine and hip bones are very visible. Shes maybe 5 months old. We will be taking her to the vet, but has anyone ever had this problem?
I know how inbred rats are and Stella is a hairless which makes it worst. Could it be a tumor or some internal organ enlarged?
My daughter asked that I post to you all, shes worried sick.
Thanks,
Robin
Harm None.

hard to say. Could be a tumor, enlarged organ or huge bought of parasites. Only way to know is to take her to a vet and have her x-rayed to see just what is in her stomach area. It could even be a hernia..which is a tear in the gut lining, allowing the intestines to pool outside the cavity walls (but still inside the mouse). The fact that she is loosing weight, despite the large stomach, indicates something is seriously wrong.

I wish you the best and get her to see a vet asap.
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PHLdyPayne

Parasites was my first thought because of the way you describe how the rat looks but... yeah it could be anything.
Whatever it is it doesn't sound normal.
Let us know what you find out please & good luck!!
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PHRatz

DUH!!! LOL never thought of parasites. We couldn't get into the vets until next Mon. The vet who has rat experience only works twice a wk.
I hope its not a tumor or anything terrible.
Stella is eating and drinking, do think she'll be ok until Mon.?
Thanks to those that replied.
Robin
Harm None.

I had a male awhile back that started having watery stool, a distened abdomen, and I could feel large masses in his belly. I euthanzied him and necropsied him. I necropsy all of my rats that die if I don't know why they died. His intestines were covered in small tumors. Hundreds of small tumors. In my 17 years breeding rats I have never seen anything like it. He was only about 6 months old. The tumors kept his soild feces from exiting. So only the water part of the feces came out. I have pics if anyone would like me to post. They are grafic and kind of blurry. I loved that guy, his name was Curly.

>>I had a male awhile back that started having watery stool, a distened abdomen, and I could feel large masses in his belly. I euthanzied him and necropsied him. I necropsy all of my rats that die if I don't know why they died. His intestines were covered in small tumors. Hundreds of small tumors. In my 17 years breeding rats I have never seen anything like it. He was only about 6 months old. The tumors kept his soild feces from exiting. So only the water part of the feces came out. I have pics if anyone would like me to post. They are grafic and kind of blurry. I loved that guy, his name was Curly.

Heck yeah I'd like to see the pics. I know some people might be grossed out but I hope they can skip looking. I'd love to see.
Same here.. at least nowadays I get them a necrospy if I don't know why they died.
I had a rat once who had a tumor so I took her in to get it removed.. this was before the vet I use now moved here.
She ended up getting 5 removed because under the one were 4 more.
In a couple of months she was covered in tumors.. it was heartbreaking & she had to be put down.
The vet I have now would have found an answer for me, the one I used then didn't get any answers. I would bet though that if she was riddled with tumors on the outside I can only imagine what was going on on the inside.
Seems like the ones I'm always the most crazy about end up dying from something odd. I hope that doesn't happen to my Dolly any time soon.
She's a riot, affectionate beyond most & a living doll.. Dolly was a prophetic name for her!
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PHRatz

I will have to go through my CDs to find the pics so I will try to post them tomorrow.

I forgot the CD with the pics. My note to remind me was under another reminder note. I will try to remember for tomorrow. Sorry.

>>I forgot the CD with the pics. My note to remind me was under another reminder note. I will try to remember for tomorrow. Sorry.

That's ok.. just whenever you get around to it.
No hurry, no pressure
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PHRatz

Here are the pics.

Oh my gosh!! The number of tumors is just unreal!
I wonder what in the world caused that?
Thanks for posting them that's really interesting to see.

Now I'm gonna go look through a bunch of books & see if I can find anything similar!
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PHRatz

I would have teken more pics but all I had was a disposible. There was only about a 1/8" opening in the part of his intestines with all the tumors. I loved that rat. He was so damn cute and sweet.

Well I didn't really find anything in the books, it must have been one of those rare odd cases that defies a known explanation.
It's a shame that happened.
I think most of us have probably had at least one rat that died of something odd & it tears you up when that happens.
Hopefully this won't happen to you again or any one else.
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PHRatz

>>DUH!!! LOL never thought of parasites. We couldn't get into the vets until next Mon. The vet who has rat experience only works twice a wk.
>> I hope its not a tumor or anything terrible.
>> Stella is eating and drinking, do think she'll be ok until Mon.?

It's Wed now.. if it is only parasites I'd bet she will be ok until Mon. If she's not they can get you in on a emergency basis I hope?
Let us know what happens!
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PHRatz

One thing I suggest, is before you take her to the vet, say, Sunday night, clean her cage, and take out any cage mates (or just move her to a smaller cage that you can actually carry her to the vet in) this way, she will have lots of fresh poop samples for the vet to examine. Though if her stomach is hugely extended...most likely the type of parasites (unless they are causing bloating) will be large, such as tape worms and may be visible with an x-ray. But having fresh poop for a fecal is good.
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PHLdyPayne

That's a good suggestion for getting some fresh poop samples.
Every little bit we can do to help the vet find an answer is always a good idea.
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PHRatz

I already thought of the fecal sample, but didn't think about putting her in a smaller cage.
Thanks for the idea.
Robin
Harm None.

hmmm she's really young for it, but I also thought congestive heart failure. I had a rat with it and she got the same look before she ever showed symptoms. Just another thought...if nothing else shows, see if they can ultrasound her belly to check for fluid
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~Meg~
~~(XX)8:> Have you hugged a rat today?

Thanks Meg, I'll keep that in mind. I hoping it just parasites and will be easily taken care of.
Robin
Harm None.

>>Thanks Meg, I'll keep that in mind. I hoping it just parasites and will be easily taken care of.
>> Robin
>> Harm None.

ME TOO!
Rats usually don't get parasites or so I used to think. I think it's more common than we think it is.
Tomorrow is Monday... please be sure to let us know what happens after you've seen the vet.
How's the furbaby doing today??
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PHRatz