# My rat has a swollen belly



## Emi

Hi
so today I went in to clean the girl's cage, I have three dumbos. And when I clean the cage I let them roam. But this morning I noticed Belle, my gray dumbo who is the skinniest, has a swollen belly.
I told my mom, we looked up stuff online and found it could be a series of things. I think maybe she is constipated because she has not been eating, shes been drinking lightly but she has not been pooping. I put her in a box with a towel so I could clean the cage, and she did go to the bathroom. But she did these small droplets that were unusually hard and were smaller than puppy kibble, which isn't normal for her. She did a bunch of those but hasn't gone since the AM.

Could it be that she just needs to go to the bathroom or is this much more serious?
To add she also has respiratory problems so maybe she swallowed a lot of air?

Right now Belle is on my bed, curled up in the ruffled bedding. It seems like she's breathing hard and she'll lick her lips and her eyes will boggle. She looks so weak and tired and I feel bad with how swollen her belly is.
Is there anything I can do for her at home? No human medicine like pepto?


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## Emi

Update: she pee'd on my bed so it can't be a urinary infection or something?
I heated some regular oatmeal, (because that has fiber?) waited until it cooled and fed her. She only ate a bit of oatmeal so she's kinda eating. But I'm worried to feed her if it isn't going to pass through her. She's not going to burst, is she?


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## MyrtlesMom

Peeing doesn't mean she doesn't have a UTI. If she's squeaking in pain while she's peeing, that's a sign of a UTI. The bloated stomach makes me think more along the lines of blockage or gas. How old is she? Is she a high white (more white than color, blaze, etc)?

I hate to say it, but she needs to see a vet. If she does have a blockage it can be very serious and kill her. If you absolutely can't get her to a vet or your mother refuses to take her, then canned pumpkin (the kind for filling pies) and very, very gentle tummy massage starting from the front and working to the back may help. See if she will drink water through a syringe. Unflavored pedialyte is also an option to try and rehydrate/mush things up in there. You can also try baby gas x (gas medicine drops for infants). According to the rat fan club website, it's a 1/4 teaspoon. A vet is always best though if you can do it. I am certainly not a vet. If your mother will take you, then she really needs to see a proper vet.

Please keep us updated!


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## kksrats

How old is she? If she's very young it could be megacolon, if she's older it's likely an obstruction of some sort. I've heard of people using senokot or miralax for constipation in rats though I can't vouch for the efficacy of either since I've never used them. If she's that lethargic, breathing hard and not eating I would recommend taking her to the vet as soon as you can. Rats have very fast metabolisms and can dehydrate and starve extremely quickly.


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## Emi

MyrtlesMom said:


> Peeing doesn't mean she doesn't have a UTI. If she's squeaking in pain while she's peeing, that's a sign of a UTI. The bloated stomach makes me think more along the lines of blockage or gas. How old is she? Is she a high white (more white than color, blaze, etc)?
> 
> I hate to say it, but she needs to see a vet. If she does have a blockage it can be very serious and kill her. If you absolutely can't get her to a vet or your mother refuses to take her, then canned pumpkin (the kind for filling pies) and very, very gentle tummy massage starting from the front and working to the back may help. See if she will drink water through a syringe. Unflavored pedialyte is also an option to try and rehydrate/mush things up in there. You can also try baby gas x (gas medicine drops for infants). According to the rat fan club website, it's a 1/4 teaspoon. A vet is always best though if you can do it. I am certainly not a vet. If your mother will take you, then she really needs to see a proper vet.
> 
> Please keep us updated!


She hasn't squeaked or made any noise out of pain. I've been rubbing her tummy gently to try and get things moving and she seems content about it..
She just turned a year old back in May I think.
I'm not sure what you mean by the color? Her fur? She's light gray with a white tummy.

I'll see if I can get her to the vet tomorrow first thing.. I don't have a vet in my area and the last small pet vet I went to was awful. I'll talk to my mom.
Got it, thank you I'll try those!!
I will!


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## Jess <3

I had a megacolon scare with one of my girls earlier this year, the vet visit didn't help much but luckily the problem went on it's own. Have you noticed your rat sucking in her sides at all? When rats have abdominal pain they usually stretch out and suck in their sides and sometimes bend in what looks like an unnatural position. As for a blockage, if it's bad enough you should be able to feel hard poos in her stomach by gently pressing and feeling around the area. If there is feces stuck in her anus you might notice a lump that looks almost like testicals. You can try to gently guide this out. 

Have you changed food at all? If you make a fast switch from one brand of food to another, a rat's stomach can react badly. This would be visible in a swollen stomach and a change in colour, shape and/or texture of the rats feces. 

Luckily, it's very unlikely to be megacolon as she's already over a year old. But a vet visit is essential as it could still be a number of things that may require treatment. 

I hope everything works out well for your rattie, please keep us updated 

P.S Megacolon is common in high white rats which is probably why MyrtlesMom asked.


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## FallDeere

Does she look like she's pregnant? I'm not suggesting she is, only asking because one of my rats is going through something similar. At first I thought she could be pregnant (even though that's physically impossible).


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## Emi

Hii!
I'm back with a kind of big update.

So I called a vet, explained the situation. She did not seem concerned at all and almost let me wait until Monday to go see her. But I was just too worried that Belle looked uncomfortable and was not getting any better.
Saturday, I took Belle to the vet in the morning. I noticed Belle was still doing hard, dry poops but she would still eat and she would still drink.

The vet examined her but couldn't exactly tell me what the problem was. She told me Belle is a very healthy rat, she couldn't feel any hardness in her belly or anything. She explained megacolon to us and said it could either be that, or Belle is pregnant!

She gave her an exam and checked her poop, which Belle managed to do a normal soft one there at the vet. There's nothing wrong with her feces, no parasites and everything is normal. She didn't want to give me meds for megacolon in case it wasn't and I have to wait 18 days to tell better if Belle is pregnant. That was $79 to go home with Belle not better.

I do not think she is pregnant. At all.
I have 3 girls and when they were 8 weeks old I took them to the vet and that vet told me they were all female. But now this vet tells me since they were young it could have been harder to tell if they are male.
But I've looked at my girls now, all a little over a year old, and I see no male parts whatsoever on them. The vet said that Belle is just at the age for megacolon and to be able to get pregnant.
But Belle indeed looks pregnant. She just feels like a balloon except where she is bloated kinda comes more out to her sides rather than a round belly?
I'm afraid this vet either didn't know what she was doing or there just isn't much to do for Belle..

I have pumpkin and I've been feeding her. Today, Sunday, Belle is still bloated but she did A LOT of pooping in the night. Its all more like diarrhea now but she hasn't gotten smaller.
I haven't changed her food. They still get their veggies, treats, pellets except now Belle has been having a bit of green tea and pumpkin.
The only white on Belle is her tummy, by the way.

So basically I was sent home to separate Belle, to keep feeding her and just to wait. I have another appointment in August but I don't think I want to take her there.
Is this megacolon thing just going to go away on its own?
Or is one of my girls just hiding their genitals and Belle really is pregnant..?
Should I take pictures of Belle's belly and my other girls?
Belle just seems less playful nowadays but she does crawl around. Thankfully the vet told me that she was not in any pain and she seems pretty normal.


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## Jess <3

I worry that the vet you saw perhaps didn't know much about rats since there are a few flaws in the information they gave you. 

Firstly, if all of your rats are over a year old and have been living together all this time, you would know if one of them was a boy. Firstly because they would have almost definitely gotten pregnant by now and secondly because male rats testicles aren't exactly hard to find. Also, males are often noticeably bigger than females. 

The next thing that concerns me is your vet telling you that she is only just now at the right age to get pregnant or have megacolon. Female rats can get impregnated at a very early age and megacolon is usually present very early on in a rat's life. 

Could she possibly just be gaining weight? As female rats slow down with age they tend to pile on extra body fat since they are usually so active when they are young. If she is more assertive than your other rats, then she may be getting the best helpings of food. I have one girl who definitely eats more than her share, and she's rounder than my others. 

Yes, pictures would help if you could upload some, and it might help to start weighing her fairly frequently as well.


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## Emi

I don't think pictures will help...
I found Belle dead this morning at 9am.

I was up at 2am or later and she was hiding inside of her nest, I made sure she had water and food. This morning I found her by her bowl and I called her name, her eye was slightly opened but when I touched her she wasn't moving and felt hard.
I woke up my family because I was too scared to find out myself and my brother said she was cold.

I didn't think I would be this deeply upset and my mom who adores the rats isn't handling this well either.
I feel the most guilty, that I went to an idiotic vet and couldn't help Belle.

What should I do with her? Should I let her sisters say goodbye? Do I bury her in my backyard? I've never been through this before.
And the poor baby was just a year old!


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## Jess <3

I am so sorry for your loss, please don't blame yourself you did everything right. Letting her sisters say goodbye is a personal decision, however they sometimes may not react to a passed cagemate in my experience. Yes, you can bury her in your garden. Some people use a she box as a coffin, others bury their passed rats straight in to the earth. Again, I am truly sorry, the loss of a pet is always difficult.


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## Emi

Thank you so much, it means a lot that you took the time to give me advice and help me through this.

I know, but I feel the worst because I realized she died alone. I had her in a separate cage because I was told I should separate her, and because I was afraid the others would steal her food.
Oh my gosh..
Okay thank you, I'll likely put her in a box because I don't want another animal digging her up..


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## Jess <3

Rats usually choose to be alone when they pass, you separated her because the vet told you to, so you were acting in her best interest. It's easy for our grief to turn into guilt when a rat passes, because we were responsible for their care, but death is unfortunately inevitable in some cases and you should take comfort in knowing you made every effort to help her.


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## rashmikapri1

[QUOTE="Jess QUOTE] Hey the same thing is happening to my female rat and she is also one year old i can't loose her please help me if you could we don't have vets here who assist rats


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