# Phantom Pregnancy ?? Or Are they pregnant ??



## beanieboo-rattles

Not sure if this is in the right place but ahwell.

Both of my himalayan dumbos seem to be showing signs of pregnancy..Round lil bellies..Losing hair round the nipples...No signs of being in heat..

If anyone could help me with other things i can look for to make sure they are not pregnant i would be happy.

Unless their is a wild rat roaming my house..then as far as i know they havnt been in contact with males. I only own females..

My other female hasnt had proper free range time yet. Only sitting with me on my bed untill shes a bit more tame. And she has no signs.

Could it be a phantom pregnancy ??

All advice appreciated 

x


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## lilspaz68

How long have you had them home?

Rats don't often have phantom pregnancies but do get pyometra's which can fool people into thinking they are pregnant. A closed pyo ends up with a big belly on a rat, but the uterus is actually full of pus 

Could you be mistaken at all?


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## beanieboo-rattles

lilspaz68 said:


> How long have you had them home?
> 
> Rats don't often have phantom pregnancies but do get pyometra's which can fool people into thinking they are pregnant. A closed pyo ends up with a big belly on a rat, but the uterus is actually full of pus
> 
> Could you be mistaken at all?


Ive had those two for around 9 months. 

It may be that. But they are showing other signs. For instance the loss of hair round the nipples. And personality changes as they are less willing to play with me.

How does pyometra's happen ?? Does a vet have to diagnose it ?? What treatment will be used ??


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## lilspaz68

Here is Pyometra
http://ratguide.com/health/reproductive/pyometra.php

With Pyo they start treating with abs to get it under control then they spay the rat to save her life.

They could have masses internally  Are they sisters?

And I checked with TEK just now (famous breeder) and he said rats CAN have phantom pregnancies just like other animals.


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## beanieboo-rattles

**** that looks nasty. 
They are going to the vet anyway soon. Because one of them has a cloudy eye.

No they arnt sisters. Just buddies lol

Could Pyo be passed to the other girl if they have it ??

How long would a phantom pregnancy last ? is there anything i need to worry about ?


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## lilspaz68

I found these on Goosemoose 

_If it were a phantom pregnancy, she would have swelled up for a couple of weeks and then have gone slim again after 3 weeks or so.
She might have genital myco which causes infertility or the babies to be reabsorbed, and can also cause infection in the uterus causing it to swell greatly. Definitely get her seen by a vet, she might need antibiotics. An x-ray could confirm what is going on inside her._

_the male had a genetic defect which caused the three girls which i kept from the litter to develop uteran tumors which led to death at a relatively young age. Worry_

You've had the girls for 9 months right? How old are they?


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## Forensic

Two pyometras in unrelated rats at the same time would seem suspect to me, because it's more of an internal thing. All the same, ask the vet... wait too long with a pyometra and it'll kill them. And you could look into an emergancy spay also, if he feels they are, in fact, pregnant.


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## beanieboo-rattles

lilspaz68 said:


> You've had the girls for 9 months right? How old are they?


They are roughly 10 + 11 months old. Maybe slightly older.



Forensic : They are booked to goto the vet in a few days. 

If it is indeed Pyo.. What else would cause these changes? aka nesting , no signs of heat , Losing hair round nipples..



**is now worried about her girls**


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## A1APassion

are there any photos of the rats being discussed


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## beanieboo-rattles

I will get some posted up asap

What angle would be best ??


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## Forensic

Probably something that shows their tum.


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## lilspaz68

Do an overhead pic, that will show the particular bulge they get on thei "waist", you can do a standing show belly from front pic (but they are often misleading)

For examples..

Bronwen when I got her home...11 days prior to birth








8 days before birth








5 days before birth

















My poor beached whale...2 days before birth


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## beanieboo-rattles

Ok i will get pics Asap. =)


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## lilspaz68

How are the girls doing?


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## beanieboo-rattles

Sorry for no picstures at the moment my home computer is broken so i can only get on occasioanlly at work. 

One of them is slowly "deflating " but the other is exactly the same no change that i can tell. But shes getting very annoyed if i try to pick her up so i cant really check


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