Anjus lipoma...

Question
QUESTION: hi, thanks for replying.  Thats great about the limpoma, hopefully it'll just shrink and not get any bigger again.

Baby Rats.... i agree they are so cute.  I remember when we bought Anju and Manju home, they were scared but looked so cute hiding in ... i cant remember what they were covered in.... but we just saw their cute little faces staring at us.

I would like to get 2 more girls, am I right in saying its better to get them from a breeder rather than a pet store??

Just need to convince the family, then we'll have another 2 babies in the house.  When anju and Manju first came home, they were about a month old, we still had kareena at that time who was just under 2 years old.  The babies use to love Kareena and jump on her and bother her, but we dont think Kareena use to like it as she'd always run from them (it was quite funny).

But I wonder - why is that? do older rats not like baby rats?  

If we get another 2 girls, although we love them, the main aim will be for them to keep Anju happy and give her Rat company.  What if she doesn't like them?

We even had a time when Angelica (at 1.5 years) was introduced to Kareena (a baby)... Angelia did NOT like her, one time they were together on the sofa hiding under a pillow, we found Angelica on top of kareena... Angelica had kareena by the neck with her teeth, and im fairly sure kareena was bleeding as well.

they were never left alone again!!

so many stories!! my question (which is in the text above somewhere :D)  is do older rats get along with baby rats, or does it just depend on the rat.

Many Thanks,

Kully


ANSWER: I would like to get 2 more girls, am I right in saying its better to get them from a breeder rather than a pet store??

Just need to convince the family, then we'll have another 2 babies in the house.  When anju and Manju first came home, they were about a month old, we still had kareena at that time who was just under 2 years old.  The babies use to love Kareena and jump on her and bother her, but we dont think Kareena use to like it as she'd always run from them (it was quite funny).

But I wonder - why is that? do older rats not like baby rats?  

If we get another 2 girls, although we love them, the main aim will be for them to keep Anju happy and give her Rat company.  What if she doesn't like them?

________________________________

For starters, I would def look for a breeder if possible. ALthough they are NOT always what they seem, either, but if you find one that has a great reputation and knows what they are talking about (they should be fairly up to par on rat health, know about proper diet, proper husbandry etc..etc...) I would ask if they had girls a bit older than babies...but if you get your older girl used to them gradually, she should get a kick out of them.   She "should" like them...if she doesnt....well, you have another cage with 2 female rats in it.  yoikes!!  LOL!

I have failed with several attempts to put males together and had several males living alone a few years back....but they wanted to live alone...they were given ample opportunities to make new friends and chose to bully them and they were happier alone...but thats not very common.
What kind of personality did kareena have?  Was she a nervous rat or outgoing?  What about Anju, what kind of personality does she have?
You asked if it depends on the rat if they get along with the younger rats, and yes, it really does.  I had one male (the one I am pictured with that is licking my face!!) that was so laid back he would have gotten along with a mountain lion....but another one of my bucks, Kirby, who was also petite for a buck would rip another rats face off if they got near him.  It depends on the rat but it also depends on how you introduce them too. If you toss them together, expect all hell to break loose...but if you do it gradually, it usually works out much better.

This will tell me if she will be easy to adapt to two new girlies or not.  I am getting all excited about the possibility of newness at your house!   LOL!

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Dear Sandra,

Hope you have been well.  I have an update for you regarding little rattie Anju.

I'm sure you remember the issue with Anju was that she had a lump, which the Vet diagnosed as a Lipoma, based on how it felt.  It was decided at that time, that we would leave it alone and not operate.  BUT since then it grew quite big, and started causing Anju problems walking, she had to keep her hind legs wide because of the space the lump took up.  So last week thursday 22nd may, we allowed the operation to take place.  It went well, Anjus recovery is so far going good, they used dissolvable stitches on the inside and glue on the outside.  She is on antibiotics - Baytril.

As for the lump - the vet said it was not a tumor - but also not a lipoma, the vet does not know what it was, shes never seen anything like it.  When the vet made the incision, the lump sort of flopped out itself, it wasn't attached to anything inside Anju other than a few blood vessels.  it was easily removed.

Have you any idea what this could be?  Not a tumor, but also not a Lipoma.

Since Anju had the Op she seems to be always scratching herself, allover her body.  is it possible she got mites from the surgery?  we are taking her to the vets tomorrow to be looked at.

or if not mites, it is possbible shes allergic to baytril?  this is the first time shes had it.

I've not had a girl with mites before, or any sort of skin problem so i dont know what to do.

I was inspecting her a few days ago, and noticed a scab on the side of her waist.  It was not there before the operation.  Its quite big, because of her fur i cannot fully see it, but it appears to be blackish, with bloody bits around the sides where Anju keeps biting at it.  Its clearly annoying the hell out of her.  we dont know where its come from.

Shes not getting proper sleep because shes waking up often to scratch herself, shes annoyed and angry at us as we're not letting her touch the operated area.

Overall shes done so well!!  please help me!!
thank you, kully.


Answer
Sorry it took forever to get back. Usually I answer in a few hours but I just got the news I need to have two new valves on my heart (fun fun!) and have been feeling a bit unwell myself but I am alot better today so .....here I am.....back to rat stuff again just like I want to be!!!

So letseee here..the tumor....still sounds like an encapsulated tumor to me. Being vascular and just "falling out" of her like that tells me it was encapsulated which is why everything was all in once "piece" but of course I do not have a clue about the pathology of it etc...and am seeing this in my head! I see the dressing around her body and imagine this mass being enveloped in a membrane with a few vessels that are bleeding that the vet has to tie off and stop from bleeding and she had skin for closure and ......its all done. I may be totally wrong. I hope I am right though because it would mean it was not spreading regardless if it was cancerous or benign. Being encapsulated would save the day.

The other lump...it sounds like an abscess.  Have you tried to extract anything from it? Is there a crater or hole in the center? Hold a warm compress on it for a bit if she lets you *Yeah right!!!!!*  and press around the base of it, gently but with firm pressure and see if anything comes out. It may smell...it may be a funky color like greenish or yellowish and it may just .....be all thick like toothpaste. Hope you ate dinner already.  LOL

The itchying?  Probably not baytril...is she on anything else? It could be dry skin too...sometimes anesthesia dries the mucus membranes and she could very well have dry skin which itches like crazy.

Check out my website on itchy skin and mites and scabs etc...I wrote these pages mainly for the readers that write to me and so many have the same issues: Respiratory problems, tumors, itching and mites, shy and skittish or biting rats, so I revised my website more or less to accomodate people that write in to me.  Here is the URL on the skin problems:

http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/skinproblems.htm
Let me know how it is all going and again, sorry for the delay!