vaginal bleeding of female rat

Question
i have a fancy hair female rat she is 1 and a half years i noticed vaginal bleeding today and am concerned her mother just passed back in august she had 3 tumors and eventually after a few weeks fell ill and i put her to sleep... i read on the internet that it is serious and am looking for advice  

Answer
Hi Amy
Vaginal bleeding can be very serious. The common cause is a simple Urinary Tract Infection, (UTI), which can be cured with antibiotics. Other causes include fibroid tumors, uterine infections, and even kidney tumors.

You need to get her to a vet to find out the exact cause. The vet can do a CBC, a simple blood test to determine if there is infection. Sulfa medications are the best antibiotics for urinary infections and tract disorders. Hopefully, once she's taken her meds, she'll be fine.

If the bleeding is due to tumors you have some options. If she's showing no signs of pain, and is eating, chances are she can life a lumpy but happy life, which may be a few months, or even a year. However, if she's obviously in pain, and the vet doesn't see a reason for surgery, the sad fact is that putting her to sleep may be the kindest thing you can do.

Surgery is always an option, and always has risks. Anesthetics have been toxic to rats when the vet isn't  experienced in pocket pets. Bleeding from sutures, infections, and of course, the possibility that the tumors are too big for removal are all things to consider. I recommend surgery for mammary tumors, and have had  hundreds of girls do fine for up to two years afterwards. But, when you're dealing with kidney, or other major organs, the chance your girl won't make it through are much higher.

The best thing to do is to talk to your vet and rule out the simplest issue first. Hopefully a course of antibiotics can cure your sweet girl, and she'll have a long happy life.

If she's pregnant, and she's bleeding, that's also normal during labor. Since you didn't say she's expecting, I'm inclined to believe she's got another issue.

After you and your vet talk, let me know how it went. I hope she's just having a case of 'bad pee' as one of our little volunteers says.

Cathe