I think my rat may die :(

Question
Hi... I have a male rat and i'v had him for about a year now.  Just a few weeks ago i thought he was dead because for a week he could barely move and he was having trouble breathing... but i just kept looking after him and! i fed him tylenol... it was the only thing i could think of to do.... well anyway... he recovered from that fully but now... i noticed that his umm... male rattie parts... were big and swolen... also they were weird colors and his pee smelled REALLY REALLY bad.  Also today when i was checking him and cleaning his cage it looked like the thing burst.... theres like a big cut (i never looked very close cus its scary) but hes acting normal, running around, eating, making messes in his cage.  I was just wondering if i should be worried? or is that something that male rats do....

Answer

If you think your rat may die, why dont you allow me to help you find a vet?


I am going to be very honest with you. Feeding your rat tylenol could very well cause the problems he has now. Tylenol is for pain or fever,it doesnt kill bacteria. The testicles are swollen due to probable internal abscesses that can kill him, especially if they do burst like you suspect. The bacteria will enter his blood stream and can cause a blood infection that is fatal,called sepsis.  
No matter how "scary" this cut may look, you need to inspect him further and see how bad it is and what has come out of it. He may have lost alot of blood too. Is there an odor?  You are the caretaker, he depends on you for survival.  You must provide this animal proper medical attention from a qualified Vet that cares for rats in order for him to properly recover.  Without treatment you dont have to think your rat may die, he will die. I have to be totally honest with you so you understand how serious this is. It is absolutely not something that male rats do. It is something that happens to male rats when they have a serious problem.

If you want I can find you a vet and have an appointment set up for you to get him in ASAP or I fear he may really have a major accident, possibly the testicle itself will burst and he can bleed to death from a major blood vessle in that area.  What is your zip code and I will start searching for you right away.

Mean time, check out the area and let me know how bad it looks, if there is an odor and what color any discharge is.