# Yellow discharge - possible pregnancy



## vandalay1125 (Apr 27, 2008)

Bought two females from a pet store who got them from a local breeder. They had males and females in the same container. Didn't know at that point they could get pregnant that young.

Anyway, one of the two females now has a huge belly (1.5 weeks later). I figure she's probably pregnant, but have three concerns:

1. She has a yellow-ish discharge that seems to be increasing
2. Although she looks twice as wide as her sister, they weigh the same at 76g. The one I don't think is pregnant went from 59g to 76g in five days and the one that looks pregnant went from 68g to 76g in five days. So, the non-pregnant one is gaining at a faster rate than the one that looks pregnant. Their both still young, so I don't know how to distinguish from baby weight and normal growth.
3. Her belly is kind of lumpy - am I feeling babies?

The pregnant suspect is definately less active than when we first got her, but seems to act ok.

So, do I have a normal pregnant rat or a problem??


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## beanieboo-rattles (Jan 3, 2008)

Look into possible Mega-colon. How old is she ??
The reason i say this rather than pregnancy is beacause of the discharge. What do other people think ?


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## Buggzter (Feb 13, 2008)

:!: :!: :!: Get her to the vet ASAP - like, _*NOW*_, if an emergency vet is open who will see her. She looks EXACTLY like the rattie pictures I've seen of megacolon babies. :!: :!: :!: 

SOME develope it right about the time they are weaned 3-7 weeks old, I think. And others develope it later - sometime within the first year. Early onset is always quickly fatal and PAINFUL, the rat not getting any nourishment... Later onset can be treated and thus less painful, but eventually kills the rat earlier than the normal life span... (I've read LOTS lately). 

Your baby is BEAUTIFUL, but she's got the common "high white" markings that can mean the megacolon gene, and everything shows she has it. Her belly swelling is the intestines being completely blocked with waste that cannot pass. 

Put her in a temporary cage by herself on white paper towels and see if she poops. If she doesn't, then she's absolutely got megacolon. She'll have to be put down, if that's the case - if she isn't, she'll die of it within the next few weeks.  

But then, there is a fair chance she's just pregnant - also sad for her young age, but managable. Again, get her to the vet ASAP just to check - if she's got discharge, it may be that she's about to have babies. OR there may be a problem... But, either way, if she's pregnant get ready for the little eeppers! They are fun, if a handful!

If this IS megacolon you need to tell the store to tell the breeder about this case so he/she can stop breeding those parents, or at least not to each other or relatives so this won't happen again in her breeding lines... I know high whites are beautiful, but they can be deadly with the megacolon.  

This post has made me very sad for her. Try to make her as happy as possible with lots of love until you figure out what's happening. I hope there is the joy of many more little pattering rattie feet coming your way. We'll be praying for her - let us know how she's doing, OK?


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

I am sorry. There is no doubt this is megacolon. You need to take your rat to the vet to be pts. Its a horrible painful condition and she will suffer terribly if you don't. Make sure the vet gases first then does the fatal injectin.

She has the classic high-white markings...sigh, I hate when the petstores breed the "pretty marked" rats and end up with this. MC is like playing with genetic fire!

http://ratguide.com/health/figures/megacolon_figure_1c.php

MC rats cannot actually move the food through their digestive system and they bloat up and die. Some people will say that you can feed them a special diet but your little girl is in bad shape and for her sake just have her pts.
_
I hate megacolon!_


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## CeilingofStars (Apr 21, 2008)

Ugh how sad.

Vandaly please keep in touch with us. I'm sorry for your baby!


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## vandalay1125 (Apr 27, 2008)

Thanks for all the input. I'm taking her to the vet shortly. I'll let you know how it turns out.


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## xampx (Dec 31, 2006)

Aww, this is so sad. I had never even heard of megacolon before. 

Poor thing. I'm sorry


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

xampx said:


> Aww, this is so sad. I had never even heard of megacolon before.
> 
> Poor thing. I'm sorry


Read the sticky above called Why Not to Breed by Kimmiekins...It really should have been called the Story of Lil Bit.


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## vandalay1125 (Apr 27, 2008)

Xray confirmed megacolon. She was put to sleep today. We'll miss her.

Thanks for the help.


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## Forensic (Apr 12, 2007)

I'm so sorry. I saw the photo and started crying... it's such a vicious thing...


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## RoRo (Mar 10, 2008)

I'm sorry, good luck with her sister, I hope she dosn't have probs to


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## Buggzter (Feb 13, 2008)

Yeah, I'm SOOOO sorry this happened to you. Very few people think when they first want to get rats, "I need to watch out for MEGACOLON!" I WISH most people knew about it, but sadly so many people have this happen...

I was so distraught when I saw the post last night. I wrote a pretty harsh post at first, but went back and revamped in hopes she was pregnant... *sigh* I need to go hug my ratties now. This is just aweful what you've had to go through. We're praying for you and your other little girl.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

I am sooo sorry.  

Can you post a pic of her sister? The high white markings can be so obvious. And if she has them you might want to watch for late onset MC with her.


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## A1APassion (Jul 29, 2007)

lilspaz68 said:


> I am sooo sorry.
> 
> Can you post a pic of her sister? The high white markings can be so obvious. And if she has them you might want to watch for late onset MC with her.


in addition to this... whether or not she ever develops MC, it's in the line... make sure she never breeds because it will be genetically inherited by the offspring thus producing more rats with this awful condition.

I am very sorry for your loss.


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## KayRatz (Apr 5, 2007)

Oh god... losing rats is so horrible, I'm so sorry about this.


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## vandalay1125 (Apr 27, 2008)

The tan one in the pictures above is her sister. Exactly what are "high white" markings? I'd like to be able to identify it in the future.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

vandalay1125 said:


> The tan one in the pictures above is her sister. Exactly what are "high white" markings? I'd like to be able to identify it in the future.


Did you forget to post the pic or is it just the end of a long day at work and I a missing something?

Here is the best article to explain High White Markings...

http://www.spoiledratten.com/highwhitecont.html


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## beanieboo-rattles (Jan 3, 2008)

Its the first picture she posted. Loks like beige hooded to me.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Ahh for some reason the other baby girl got shifted to the right and I didn't even notice her in the pic.

The sister looks like a beige berkshire dumbo (possibly not even related if she was from a petstore, they often throw all the babies together) but she doesn't look like she has high-white markings (blazes, spots, odd-eyes, etc) so I wouldn't worry too much. I would be aware of late onset MC just in case though. Good for all of us to be aware of it.


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## OnlyOno (Apr 4, 2007)

oh i just read this and my first thought after seeing those pictures was "that is not a pregnancy, and that is not good". i am so sorry to hear about this, i'm sorry you had to go thru this.

yes, another reason that you shouldn't just breed the "pretty" rats together. maybe you can get the petstore you got her from to give you another rat in exchange, so her sister isn't alone, and you can let them know that they are breeding genetic timebombs and they need to be careful...


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## Ophelia (May 25, 2008)

OnlyOno, that is exactly what I thought. "That is not pregnancy."


I'm so sorry that your poor rat was sick.  How horrible.


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## ChrissyGz0r (Mar 3, 2008)

omg just read this thread thats terrible poor rattie
you should definatly go back to pet shop and demand another rat!
and say preferbly one that aint ill! 
if thats even possible for them 
and tell them that they need to do there research before breeding ...and yea yea i know my rats had babies didnt do genetic research or anything but these are suppose to be professionals pfft they should know about all that stuff already =/ shouldnt they :S 

anyway yea back on topic hope your other rattie is ok .. and new one if you decide to get one  
x


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## Ophelia (May 25, 2008)

Chrissy, I would imagine that the pet store was selling them as feeders so they probably wouldn't care about the genetics...maybe I'm wrong, but that's how most rats are sold in stores so I just assume that's how these were purchased.
Besides most pet stores (large chains anyway) don't breed their own animals. They have them shipped in and don't really care too much about their background. That's why so many people have a problem with buying sick animals from Petco/PetSmart


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## aliviazombie (Jun 10, 2008)

I think people are being a bit unfair on pet stores. Alot of people like to blame all their rat's problems on the pet stores I've noticed. They are NOT all bad. I work in a pet shop and we are excellent with all our animals. I got my rat from there and he is so amazing. Everywhere is different, and as someone who sees everything that goes on in a pet store, I think people shouldn't be so harsh.


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## beanieboo-rattles (Jan 3, 2008)

You may work in a petstore. And yes it may be a nice one. However there are many pet stores out there who "mistreat" the animals they sell. People are harsh because in general they arent good places to buy from. In my opinion you are being rather close minded. Have you ever been to another pet shop and checked out there animals ? Have you bought from another one ? Experienced hundereds of vet bills because of it ? No. So do not make comments like this unless you have personaly experience on the matter.

Oh and as a side note you said you got your RAT from there. You should get him a buddy


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## SweetLittleDelilah (May 13, 2008)

Oh no, I'm so sorry. 
Megacolon is an awful, awful thing.
As much as I love high white markings, i refuse to ever get a rat with them because I'm too afraid they will die. 

I do hope her sister will be alright, and you are in my thoughts!


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## collisiontheory89 (Apr 16, 2008)

I think pet stores are kind of like car dealerships, there are some reeeeally dodgy places but also some genuinely good places. Having said that, the good places are far with few in between. I don't think it's particularly to fair to completely label all pet shops as horrible. I mean, I obviously can't comment on the pet shop situations overseas (I never went to one when I was in America) and perhaps your situation really IS that bad compared to ours. We have pet stores who are crappy and don't know what they're talking about, but we also have a few that are really good (a small number). I think it's not too hard to tell the difference between a good pet store and a bad pet store, so long as you do your research and ask the right questions.

Anway, I'm sorry to hear about your loss. Things like this make me so mad because they can be easily avoided.


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## Caity (Apr 1, 2008)

My theory about pet stores is that it has nothing to do with people just wanting a job and not caring about the animals there. Pet stores typically pay less than fast food and having a lower sales volume, don't give employees many hours. The job is pretty much all about cleaning up waste. Personally I prefer to roll burritos. So the fact that they are often primarily staffed by teenagers and disgruntled-looking adults is not a surprise to me...these are people who likely have poor home lives and derive satisfaction from getting paid to neglect animals and create heartbreak for the people who buy them. I could be reading too much into it, and I'm sure there are many exceptions that include people who participate on this forum but I am of the philosophy that people are totally aware of how they affect others' lives and chose to do nothing about it, probably because they are all around unsavory individuals who enjoy it.

I'm really sorry for your loss. I bought a high-white rat not knowing a thing about MC, and he passed away within a day. I refused to complain to the store from which I bought him because I couldn't stand the thought of hearing them offer me a $4 refund. Surely if the employees don't care about the health of their animals in the store, they are not going to care what happens when someone takes it home.


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