(no subject)
Sorry I haven't updated for a while. To be honest, losing Warlock kinda put me out of the loop with rat things for a while; I just didn't feel like it was right without him. He was the focal point for the entire group, and for a while after losing him I even kinda got a bit lack lustre about the whole rat thing.
Of course my babies were fed, watered, cleaned and health checked each day, but I'd be lying if I said I went out to the shed with the same enthusiasm I once did.
Thats improving now, though, and although no-one has replaced him in my heart, Im now back on form and taking pictures again!
Since its been a while since the last update, there are, inevitably, some deaths to report.
Firstly, Lenny.
He died 2 weeks after his 3rd birthday, making him the oldest rat I've ever owned. So much for people who say hairless rats can't be healthy and live long lives.
There isn't an exact cause of his death, he was one of those who just faded away and died in their sleep. I knew he wasn't well, as he was lethargic, but he was peaceful and passed away on his heat pad in his bed in my room.
I suspect his heart simply gave out.
Secondly, Luciano.
This one was a shock to me, as it all happened out of the blue, and very suddenly.
One day, he was perfect, the next, he had a small lump on his throat.
Thinking it was an abscess, I kept an eye on it for a day or so and it got bigger quite fast (not unusual for an abscess). I put a needle into it to check what it actually was and just got lots of watery blood out.
I decided to take him to the vet anyway, and the vet did the same thing: put a needle in and told me it was an abscess and to treat with baytril and loxicom.
I did this, but it made absolutely no difference.
The lump grew AMAZINGLY fast, and within 3 or 4 days, it was bigger than his head.
Although he still ate, drank, moved about and was licky and affectionate, the size of this lump, and how quickly it was growing, was horrible.
It went from the size of a small marble to about 10 times that size in about 5 days.
I took him back to the vet, a different vet, who said she didn't think it was an abscess since she could feel some major arteries joined very firmly to it, and it was very hard. When she put a needle in, nothing came out except a small bit of watery blood. Again, no pus or anything to suggest abscess.
Due to its location, Luci's age, and the nature of the lump, she didn't reccomend surgery. She said it could be a freak, fast-growing tumour or perhaps a cyst, but there wasn't anything that could be done about it, and it definately wasn't something as 'simple' as an abscess.
I opted to have him put to sleep, as within another day or two, it would have likely grown half its size again.
It was horrible, because he went from a normal, happy old rat to having this enormous thing on his neck, but he was still SO friendly and lovely :(
I guess I really did trust that it was just an abscess and would be treatable. It was quite upsetting to be told it wasn't.
Since my last update, I've gained 5 new rats, but lost one of them before I even had the chance to photograph her.
But the new boys first.
Murray and Hubert Cumberdale belonged to Roach.
I actually gave them to her about a year ago after I rescued them from the pets@home adoption center as babies, where they were minutes away from being sold to some teenagers on an impulse buy who wanted to keep them in a hamster cage.
She loved them, but has now had to move back in with her parents who don't want her to have them, so they came back to me.
It took a while for them to adjust and settle into the group, but they now are, and they fit in well.
I then got given 3 girls from a member of the public.
I'd been away for the weekend and came home to a mail asking me if I could take some rats, fairly urgently.
At the time, I really didn't have much space for girls, but it seemed a fairly urgent situation. The owner had gotten a new kitten, and was, incredibly stupidly, letting the rats interact with it. One of them had attacked the kitten, as they would, and she chose the kitten over the rats. Seemed a nice person and all but geez.....why do people insist on putting rats with large predators then act surprised when it goes wrong?
So I ended up with 3 old girls. One was called Polly, and I named the other two Cissie and Ada (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cissie_and_Ada).
Polly was over 2, and had a small mammary lump, as well as slight respiratory noise. Within a very short time, her respiratory problems became severe and she also developed a head tilt. The vet did not reccomend I attempt treatment as she was very ill and the chance of recovery was slim.
She was put to sleep the same day as Luciano. I didn't even have her long enough to get a photo, but she was a beautiful roan rat with loads of her dark markings left. She looked like a honey badger.
The other two are doing well. They're well settled in and are healthy rats.
So onto pics.
Murray, one of Roach's lads.
Hubert Cumberdale
Henry and Hubert
Rat pile
Sleepy Vinnie
Henry huddling to the wall to keep cool. My rats are outdoor rats, so indoor central heating makes them feel extra warm. They often lay in cool places when they're indoors.
Henry and I THINK Murray. Murray looks almost identical to my little Huey. The only difference is their size; Huey is smaller. But in some photos it can be hard to tell.
Luciano with his porridge. One of the last photos taken of him.
Dara (aka Doo-da) who always smushes himself into tiny places.
A happy Vinnie
Kashmir in bliss
Bowie
Cissie
Aggie
Ada, and Ada with Bella
Beautiful Bella
Bella with Cissie
Bunty
Reggie!
Of course my babies were fed, watered, cleaned and health checked each day, but I'd be lying if I said I went out to the shed with the same enthusiasm I once did.
Thats improving now, though, and although no-one has replaced him in my heart, Im now back on form and taking pictures again!
Since its been a while since the last update, there are, inevitably, some deaths to report.
Firstly, Lenny.
He died 2 weeks after his 3rd birthday, making him the oldest rat I've ever owned. So much for people who say hairless rats can't be healthy and live long lives.
There isn't an exact cause of his death, he was one of those who just faded away and died in their sleep. I knew he wasn't well, as he was lethargic, but he was peaceful and passed away on his heat pad in his bed in my room.
I suspect his heart simply gave out.
Secondly, Luciano.
This one was a shock to me, as it all happened out of the blue, and very suddenly.
One day, he was perfect, the next, he had a small lump on his throat.
Thinking it was an abscess, I kept an eye on it for a day or so and it got bigger quite fast (not unusual for an abscess). I put a needle into it to check what it actually was and just got lots of watery blood out.
I decided to take him to the vet anyway, and the vet did the same thing: put a needle in and told me it was an abscess and to treat with baytril and loxicom.
I did this, but it made absolutely no difference.
The lump grew AMAZINGLY fast, and within 3 or 4 days, it was bigger than his head.
Although he still ate, drank, moved about and was licky and affectionate, the size of this lump, and how quickly it was growing, was horrible.
It went from the size of a small marble to about 10 times that size in about 5 days.
I took him back to the vet, a different vet, who said she didn't think it was an abscess since she could feel some major arteries joined very firmly to it, and it was very hard. When she put a needle in, nothing came out except a small bit of watery blood. Again, no pus or anything to suggest abscess.
Due to its location, Luci's age, and the nature of the lump, she didn't reccomend surgery. She said it could be a freak, fast-growing tumour or perhaps a cyst, but there wasn't anything that could be done about it, and it definately wasn't something as 'simple' as an abscess.
I opted to have him put to sleep, as within another day or two, it would have likely grown half its size again.
It was horrible, because he went from a normal, happy old rat to having this enormous thing on his neck, but he was still SO friendly and lovely :(
I guess I really did trust that it was just an abscess and would be treatable. It was quite upsetting to be told it wasn't.
Since my last update, I've gained 5 new rats, but lost one of them before I even had the chance to photograph her.
But the new boys first.
Murray and Hubert Cumberdale belonged to Roach.
I actually gave them to her about a year ago after I rescued them from the pets@home adoption center as babies, where they were minutes away from being sold to some teenagers on an impulse buy who wanted to keep them in a hamster cage.
She loved them, but has now had to move back in with her parents who don't want her to have them, so they came back to me.
It took a while for them to adjust and settle into the group, but they now are, and they fit in well.
I then got given 3 girls from a member of the public.
I'd been away for the weekend and came home to a mail asking me if I could take some rats, fairly urgently.
At the time, I really didn't have much space for girls, but it seemed a fairly urgent situation. The owner had gotten a new kitten, and was, incredibly stupidly, letting the rats interact with it. One of them had attacked the kitten, as they would, and she chose the kitten over the rats. Seemed a nice person and all but geez.....why do people insist on putting rats with large predators then act surprised when it goes wrong?
So I ended up with 3 old girls. One was called Polly, and I named the other two Cissie and Ada (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cissie_and_Ada).
Polly was over 2, and had a small mammary lump, as well as slight respiratory noise. Within a very short time, her respiratory problems became severe and she also developed a head tilt. The vet did not reccomend I attempt treatment as she was very ill and the chance of recovery was slim.
She was put to sleep the same day as Luciano. I didn't even have her long enough to get a photo, but she was a beautiful roan rat with loads of her dark markings left. She looked like a honey badger.
The other two are doing well. They're well settled in and are healthy rats.
So onto pics.
Murray, one of Roach's lads.
Hubert Cumberdale
Henry and Hubert
Rat pile
Sleepy Vinnie
Henry huddling to the wall to keep cool. My rats are outdoor rats, so indoor central heating makes them feel extra warm. They often lay in cool places when they're indoors.
Henry and I THINK Murray. Murray looks almost identical to my little Huey. The only difference is their size; Huey is smaller. But in some photos it can be hard to tell.
Luciano with his porridge. One of the last photos taken of him.
Dara (aka Doo-da) who always smushes himself into tiny places.
A happy Vinnie
Kashmir in bliss
Bowie
Cissie
Aggie
Ada, and Ada with Bella
Beautiful Bella
Bella with Cissie
Bunty
Reggie!