My rats volva is bleeding. Please help

Question
My rat Daisy has been acting normal but then all of a sudden yesterday around 5:oo. we brought her to the emergency vet and  they said she could have a really bad urinary track infection or a tumor in her uterus. the doctor said that the bleeding was coming from her volva. the doctor said she could know what fosure is wrong with her if we got her x rays and then a operation but that would be 600.00. so now were just giving her antibiotics. my question is: is there a way to for sure know if she has a urinary track infection and if so will the antibiotics get ride of it. i have been reading other articles and my rats leaves a trickle of pee when she walks on me or over objects but i always just thought she was marking but some people say that can be a sing of a uranary track infection.

Please Help!!!!!

Answer
 Rats leaving pee on objects or on you is almost always marking.  You'll notice they will walk over something and only pee on the object, or only on your skin.  If she has a urinary infection she will likely be peeing a lot more, and won't just limit it to you or other objects.  There is also usually blood in the urine, which you will notice when she pees or in the cage where she normally urinates.  There's really no sure way to tell if she has a urinary infection, but if the blood is coming from her vagina and you don't notice any blood in her urine there is probably something else going on.

 Blood coming from her vagina could mean several things.  As your vet said, it could be a tumor, or it could also be a uterine infection or pyometra (where the uterus fills with pus).  A tumor or pyometra should have shown up on the x-ray, though it can be difficult to tell sometimes.  Antibiotics should clear up a urinary infection as well as a uterine infection, but pyometra or a tumor would require surgery.

 You're just going to have to wait and see if the antibiotics help if you can't afford the surgery.  Hopefully it is something simple that can be taken care of easily.  If those antibiotics don't work, you can also try a different type of antibiotic, or several, as it would be cheaper than surgery and it may just take the right antibiotic or combination of drugs to treat her.

 I hope everything turns out, keep me updated on her condition!