A good vet.....

Question
On June 6th, I took my 2 rattie girls, littermates, in for removal of mammary tumors. My girl, Penny had her tumor on her left side and seemed not too complicated. Tink, my son's girl, had hers closer into her body, by her urethral area. We are new residents to this area and don't know of any exotic vets. Long story short...Penny went in first, the doctor said she seemed fine and was coming out of her anesthesia, so he took Tink in. After Tink's surgery, he checked on Penny to find her lying on her side and unresponsive. He could not revive her. I lost an angel....Tink had a hard time recovering and picked at her incision, to the point that I had to take her back in that Friday for re-gluing. She is now healing nicely but I am concerned about her weight loss. They are/were about 18 months old. I have had several females that have had to be put down for these tumors and now have decided to go for boys. Like you, my world just isn't the same without a rat in it. I have rescued from Northstar Rescue 3 males that the rescue neutered just prior to my adoption. They were born mid December from a well-known hoarding case. My problem is this: I need a good vet in my area. The vet I used was very apologetic but since Penny passed in his care,I am unsure of his experience. One of his receptionists has many pet rats and she trust him (she has a male that continually gets cysts in his scrotum area, he's neutered) but my fear is still there...and knowing rats...I've had 10 at least in my life. I really need a good, local vet. Could you please research this for me or refer me to someone who can? We live in Dixon, Ca. and UC Davis is too expensive! Thanks!

Answer

How far are you willing to drive and can you tell me the name of the vet you took the rat to see (go private if you feel better) I am not allowed to disclose any information we discuss as long as it is private. I would like to check the vets credentials and make sure its not someone I suggest.  Sometimes though its not the vets fault when a rat passes during or after surgery, but if proper procedure is NOT followed, such as keeping the rat very warm after surgery and of course that means NOT releasing the rat to go home at least 8 hours or longer after surgery, the type of anesthesia used and other very important measures taken to ensure proper surgery is performed, the rat may have had underlying conditions that led to her sad and unexpected death.  Sometimes they bleed out, and losing just a tiny bit of blood can be too much for the rat to take.  Of course, the vet should be prepared with the proper instruments on hand to clamp off even surprise blood vessels that may pop up during surgery and the rat should be kept warm during surgery as well as after in case of blood loss (sometimes they are given extra fluids before surgery to help with blood volume loss)   However, you did say the other one had a hard time recovering from the anesthesia which makes me question a few things, and the fact the picked her incision bothers me too.  Some rats will pick regardless, but there are plenty of vets that do not know how to properly stitch a rat and they WILL pick.  If the vet doesnt hide the stitches and go from inside out (which takes skill but they should know how to do this!!) the rat wont have anything to pick at.  If the vet uses the right materials that the rat wont have an allergic reaction to, which is another reason they pick, buecause it burns and itches, they wont bother it if its not hurting.  Finally, if the vet pulls it too tight, it hurts, the rat picks.  Common sense stuff really.  I would fuss at an incision that burned and hurt, too.  For rats that just wont leave it alone no matter what, staples are usually the way to go. Not the prettiest looking things, making the rat look like she is "franken-rat" but if it keeps them from chewing, its worth the cosmetic imperfection that is temporary anyhow.

Anyhow, as for vets, there are alot of good ones in CA, UC Davis small mammal clinic is one of them.  I am never aware of how pricey they are, however, but its kind of easy to tell who would be pricey.....sometimes, that is.  Sometimes you would expect an all exotic animal hospital to be pricey and they really are not that bad, or the vet will work with you as far as payment plans go etc.....some have financing available like Care credit, which is a great thing to apply for, not the easiest to be approved (they like high credit scoring clients) or at least better than mediocre credit.  I was shocked that I was approved after being turned down a few times over the years but I was, and that helped alot.  Not all vets accept care credit though, of course, just to make it harder on US!

let me know about your current vet and how far you feel comfortable driving ( I drive 45 minutes to my vet, which isnt bad when its for surgery etc....but for emergencies, it is scary having to drive that far with a rat that is gasping or whatever)