vaginal/rectal bleeding?

Question
QUESTION: We adopted a rat from a shelter 2 1/2 weeks ago. A home was raided that had hundreds of rats. Many had already been euthanized but my son convinced me to take this one home. She is a female with 1 deformed ear. The males and females were separated in different cages. They had been at the shelter 3-4 months. No idea how old she was or what abuse she may have suffered. When we got her home we discovered she was very skittish and agressive toward any human contact. The shelter where we found her had wild rats running around that we even saw in broad daylight - just gross! Anyway, she had bitten everybody in the family, so we adopted a very gradual approach to human contact. We managed to get her lured out of her cage with food and treats. Then we gradually decreased the distance away we were standing until she was comfortable with our presence. Then we started handling her (gently of course but with gloves on to prevent further injuries). She was getting more relaxed. Then this AM we woe up to find the floor of her cage covered with pooled blood. Most of it was soaked up in the carefresh bedding, but there were standing pools. It was splashed on her face and tail. We all panicked and got her out of the cage thinking she had hurt herself. There was no obvious injury, but there was blood on her underside. Because we don't handle her that much I couldn't tell where it was coming from. I cleaned out her cage and took the bedding out and put white washcloths down so I could accurately see how much blood was there. We checked on her every 30 min. or so. It was a Sun. I tried to find an emergency vet but no one would see an "exotic" animal. The bleeding stopped, the white washcloths were clean. She groomed herself over the course of the day and is it wasn't for the dries blood on her tail we never would have known anything happened. We took her out of the cage again late afternoon - she is walking normally and pooped and peed when she was out of the cage - pellet looked normal (so I am guessing it wasn't rectal bleeding). There were no pieces of tissue that I could find indicating that she had given birth and eaten the babies or had a miscarriage. She hasn't eaten that I have seen today. Help! We are frantic that something is wrong but don't know what to do. I would take her to a vet if I knew one that could treat exotics. Also, I am reluctant to disturb the fragile trust we have been building - trust me it has been hard to build it. She wasn't looking particularly pregnant but she had gained weight - I attributed it to the fact that we were using food as a training reward and she was getting all kinds of goodies in large quantity to further training. I would appreciate any advice. Thank you.

ANSWER: Hi Beth

Bless you for taking in this little girl and working with her. I had a wonderful wild female rat that was a biter and she hated humans. I also trust trained her to the point she became my best friend. She lived to be 3 years and 7 months old and was the best rat I ever had. I lost her 3 months ago.

Anyhow, your female....the vaginal bleeding could be from a few things. Lets start with the easier, less dangerous of the problems. If its not vaginal and it is from her bladder, it could simply be a urinary tract infection. "Could be" mind you.
Also, it "could" be a vaginal infection caused by mycoplasmosis. With baytril it should clear up the bleeding. If the bleeding would get worse over the period of 3 to 5 days while on baytril, it could also be due to polycystic ovaries which can be controlled with a monthly hormone injection called LUPRON. The final diagnosis and the least pleasant one would be tumors or polyps of the uterus/female reproductive organs. Spaying would resolve that problem but the tricky part is, spaying is very invasive and requires a skilled surgeon that is experienced with exotics. What we need to do ASAP is find an exotic specialist or even a Vet that has studied exotics as a special interest that also has experience with rats and get her there as soon as tomorrow.
The chances of her bleeding to death are not very great, however, but if it is infection from myco or another organism, it could only get worse and be harder to control.
Lets hope its that simple.  
Please let me know where your location is, the nearest cities to you and how far you will be willing to travel within reason of course and I will get back to you with as many names as I can find that will see this little girl for you.   Thank you so much for caring enough to take her in and work with her. There are not enough people in this world like you...I wish there were!!

Hang in there....

Sandy

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

QUESTION: We live in Palos Verdes, CA. I'm hoping to drive no more than 30 min. Tonight she is back to her normal self. I have seen her eating and drinking. No more bleeding. I swear I didn't imagine the whole thing, but she is acting like I did. I also seen her grooming. She even poked her head out of the igloo when I talked to her, something she had just started doing a few days ago - I guess she associates us with food now. If the bleeding does not reoccur - would it be safe to wait to take her anywhere? I am just very concerned about breaking the trust we have gained if we don't need to. Of course if she does not seem normal, I will take her in, but I think if we could just handle her then any kind of medical care would be easier to administer. This whole thing has me very concerned. It was quite the shocker this AM. She almost seems nicer now to us today - but maybe that is my imagination! Thanks, Beth

Answer
Hi Beth

I wouldn't wait. If it is pyometra, the bleeding can be intermittent.My concerns are when you said she looked as if she had gained weight, and with pyometra, appearance of weight gain is from swollen abdomen from the infected uterus if indeed she has this condition, of course, and without examination I cannot tell what is going on with her, only going by what you said in your previous message. Also, if its a tumor and you wait, it could cause further problems for her and the bigger the tumor is, the more vascular it becomes causing it to be more risky for surgery. Trust me,these things grow at an astonishing rate once they establish their own blood supply. The big problem with rats is that they hide illness so well. This relates to their cousins in the wild. If the rat shows any weakness he makes himself a wide open target for any predator and also puts his entire colony in danger as well.       

Even in the absence of bleeding, the problem will still remain since the existence of vaginal bleeding is abnormal in female rats no matter what the cause.

Some people have assumed that the bleeding they see from the female rat may be from her menses, which is of course, not true. Female rats have a very short estrus cycle (they go in heat every 5 days) which is not enough time to allow for endometrium lining to even form yet so there is nothing to be shed from the uterus in the absence of an endometrium lining. I know you did not even suggest this be from her being in heat but I have just received at least half a dozen messages from people suggesting to me that your rat is simply in heat. Oh, how simple that would be wouldn't it? So I am putting the flame out to that fire right here and now for the readers that thought maybe this was the case with your  rat and again, its only wishful thinking that it could be so easily resolved!

As for the bond of trust you and your little Doe have formed,to be honest, she will not mistrust you again nor blame you for the actions of another person or animal etc. Rats have a fantastic memory (***which is what makes their species so appealing in the world of experimental animal testing :-( ***)  and the love and trust they develop with their keeper is a very strong bond.

Once they trust you, its for life. She will see you as her safety net at the vets during the exam, so this may even create more of a bond. I can almost guarantee that while at the vet she may fuss and fight the vet during the exam but once released she will run right into your arms for safety but she will not blame you nor hold a grudge against you. If anything, she will learn to dislike whatever vehicle you used to transport her to the vets and possibly next time she sees it (such as a cat carrier etc...) she may associate the vet trip (if she disliked it that much, that is)and fight you to get her back in it,but rarely do rats hold a grudge even against their cagemates.
I have studied rat behavior for a long time and can honestly   say that I have never noted rats that will hold a grudge..but with that said, there is always a first, just my luck it would be your Doe!!

Anyhow, here are a list of some vets I found for you to check out.  I may find more here a bit soon as I have  my second cup of coffee. I want to help so please write back with a follow up or email me privately at sandyscrittercity@yahoo.com

Hang tight, we will get her all fixed          up so she can have a "happily ever after" life with you in her new forever home.

Sandy



The Association of Exotic Mammal Veterinarians in your area:
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Dr. Rosskopf
Avian & Exotic Animal Hospital
4871 W. Rosecrans Ave
Hawthorne, CA 90250-6613
310-679-0693
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Drs. Schwartz & Shane
Overland Vet Clinic
3465 Overland Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90034
310-559-2424
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Dr. Frank Lavac; VCA Wilshire
2421 Wilshire Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90403
(310) 828-4587
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Drs. Palazzolo & Ridgeway
Long Beach Animal Hospital
3816 E. Anaheim St
Long Beach, CA 90804-4005
6562-434-9966
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Dr. Ann Murata
County Hills Animal Hospital
2919 Rolling Hills Road
Torrance, CA 90505
310-539-3851
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Dr. Cassie Jones; Point Vicente Hosp.
31234 Palos Verdes Drive West
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275-5361
310-265-9511
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Dr. Maria Castiglione; Pacific Vet Center
23629 Hawthorne Blvd.
Torrance, CA 90505-5603
310-265-9511
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Dr. Oliver; Blue Cross Pet Hospital
15239 La Cruz Drive
Pacific Palisades, CA 90272
(310-454-2633
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Animal Emergency Referral Center    
3511 Pacific Coast Highway Suite A
Torrance CA 90505
Phone:    310-325-3000
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