EMERGENCY

Question
Help, My pet rat has just had an operation to remove a tumor and she is going for her stitches. I have had rats before and been through the same thing which was a nightmare. Should I just leave her to it? I am taking her back to the vets first thing in the morning but is there anything I can try to stop her chewing her stitches while I'm asleep?

Answer
Is she on pain medication other than crappy metacam? Often if the vet makes the stitches too tight the rat will pick at them and if she is in pain she will go for the source of pain and remove the stitches.  Your vet obvously doesnt stitch from under the skin which is a newer and much better technique. This way, there is nothing for them to pick at.

How big is the incision?  She wont bleed to death should she get them out since mammary tumors (I assume they are mammary tumors) are subcutaneous in nature and are not deep down. If she opens it, you will see muscle or tissue but not internal organs etc...so dont worry about that. It just takes longer to heal when they pull them out and the risk of infection is really minimal since the rat should be on oral antibiotics as well as narcotic pain medication.