# Post tumor surgery



## xmegj_96x (Aug 30, 2016)

My rat Google had surgery 6 days ago to remove a tumor that was growing on her left side, a few days after surgery I noticed a little scab on her right side as though she had been chewing her skin (nowhere near her wound) it didn't alarm me too much but I showed it to the vet the next day when she was having her post op check and the vet didn't really say anything (probably because I was bombarding her with fifty other questions) she now has several scabs on her right side and it's looking quite sore in places, I'm going to ring the vets later today but I was wondering if anyone has any idea why she might be doing this? I've not managed to find anything about this anywhere on the Internet, only about rats chewing at their wounds. Google hasn't been doing too well after her surgery, she started to seem like she was recovering (finally started eating bits of solid food) but then went completely down hill and wouldn't even drink any water, so I had to take her to the vets the day after her post op check and the vet gave her an injection of baytril and an injection of emeprid oral suspension, that night she was really lively and eating and drinking fine, i'm still giving her baytril and the emeprid (this will be day number 3) but she's gone back to being really sleepy, she's drinking which is something at least but she's back to only eating yogurt. I know every rat's recovery will be different but I was just wondering if anybody else's rats have had a hard time getting back to normal, I go on holiday 2 weeks today which I thought was going to be plenty recovery time for Google (3 weeks in total) but now I'm not so sure  Any advice would be really appreciated, or any food suggestions as I would really like her to eat something other than yogurt, the vet suggested cottage cheese but that was a no go, I've tried her with tinned spaghetti/beans, mushy peas, icecream and rice pudding. I've also tried her with all her favourites but she will only eat yogurt


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## KrissHero1 (Aug 30, 2016)

She may have hard time recovering. Make sure she sleeps in average temperature. Not too Hot not too cold. I really don't know why she is chewing her side. Have you checked her for mites and fleas? Make sure you give her less dairy food. It would be good if you feed her a lot of vitamins these days for faster recovery. Feed her bio (eco) youghurt, baby food is very good, you can give her vitamin d and c, I make fruit and vegie smoothie from apples, bananas, avocado, carrots. Give her a treat once per day if she wants to  Watch her so she dont hurt herself anymore. Clean cage, so that she live in clean environment. Try to avoid anything that may cause stress. I also give my rat brazilian nuts, even tho they are not the cheapest ones, they are great for rat teeth and they contain a lot of vitamins for rat's immunity. Giving her peas is also a great idea. I belive she will be ok very soon. Just take care of her, love her, feed her healthy, make sure she drinks enough water, and watch her so she dont hurt herself. Best wishes


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## KrissHero1 (Aug 30, 2016)

Forgot to mention...you can feed your little sweetie 1-3 apple seeds and also thyme.


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## xmegj_96x (Aug 30, 2016)

I'll try check for mites/fleas although I don't know where she could have picked them up from and it seems as though it's to do with the surgery since she started more or less when she came home, I thought it could be out of discomfort or frustration but I don't know why she would chew her good side rather than the wound it just doesn't make any sense! As for food I understand that yogurt isn't the ideal food which is why I'm so desperately trying to get her to eat something else, nuts are a good idea but she won't go near anything solid it has to be something she can just lick at, the smoothie is a really good idea thank you!  I don't know why I didn't think of that! I'm gonna try my best to make sure she doesn't do anymore damage to herself but it's difficult as I'm trying to disturb her as little as possible and she's usually hidden in her blanket  hopefully the vet will have a solution to the chewing, thank you for the advice and best wishes!


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## xmegj_96x (Aug 30, 2016)

The cage Google is in at the moment is basically a two tier cage that I've made myself with a ladder that joins the two floors, I took the ladder out to separate her from her sister but I'm thinking now might be a good time to put the ladder back in? Maybe the chewing is frustration from being stuck in a small cage on her own (even though that's what the vet told me to do) she's already removed all her own stitches and the incision is healing nicely so I can't see her sister being able to cause her any harm as my biggest worry was that her sister would pull her stitches out, but seeing as she doesn't have any stitches anymore this shouldn't be a problem. Maybe having a bit more cage space and being back with her sister will be a good distraction and make her feel a little happier and may also encourage her to eat if she sees her sister eating? I don't want to put them back together too soon as I know Google needs her peace and quiet but I feel like it's doing her more harm than good and having her sister to cuddle with may make her feel better.


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## KrissHero1 (Aug 30, 2016)

You can surely put her back with sister WHILE you are watching. But when you're not, I would still recommend keeping them further from each other. Because sister can pull stitches out.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

KrissHero1 said:


> Forgot to mention...you can feed your little sweetie 1-3 apple seeds and also thyme.


Please do not recommend apple seeds, they are on the Forbidden Food list. Apple seeds contain a cyanide derivative and can be deadly.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

As for your wee girl. Lets look at her behaviours...she became limp and lethargic almost a week post surgery? Its healing well so that's not an issue with her sister. We'll worry about the scabs later on (could just be parasites). My worry here is she has developed PT (pituitary tumor) which can kick latent slow growing PT's into high gear from the anesthesia. Are you able to get a video of her for us? Possibly moving around, trying to eat a small solid treat or soft foods?


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## xmegj_96x (Aug 30, 2016)

I can try get a video although I'm new here and wouldn't know how to post a video?  just been reading up on PT and out of a massive list of things to look out for she has none of the symptoms, she seems to be moving round as normal just not doing a lot of it because of her being lethargic, when I do take her into the vets she becomes very active because of being nervous/scared so she still has full movement it just seems she's choosing not to move because of feeling under the weather still


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

you can upload to a sharing site like Photobucket or maybe Youtube and then link it here.

How do her lungs sound? Can you hold her sides to your ear and listen for any sounds other than the whoosh of air in and out?


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## xmegj_96x (Aug 30, 2016)

She's been having a few breathing difficulties since her surgery but they started on the morning of her surgery before she was put under anaesthetic, she's always sneezed a lot since the very first day I got her? Could this have anything to do with PT? As when she's had breathing problems before, antibiotics have put it right? So seems more of an infection than anything but I'm no expert, I put her on my bed to try record her walking but she's now running round my bedroom with her sister as if nothing's wrong, I'm starting to think the lethargy is due to boredom/depression of being caged on her own


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## KrissHero1 (Aug 30, 2016)

Sorry for the apple seed recommendation. I would say its not PT at all. I think she is just tired. Give her healthy food and vitamins and she 'll be ok.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

xmegj_96x said:


> She's been having a few breathing difficulties since her surgery but they started on the morning of her surgery before she was put under anaesthetic, she's always sneezed a lot since the very first day I got her? Could this have anything to do with PT? As when she's had breathing problems before, antibiotics have put it right? So seems more of an infection than anything but I'm no expert, I put her on my bed to try record her walking but she's now running round my bedroom with her sister as if nothing's wrong, I'm starting to think the lethargy is due to boredom/depression of being caged on her own


It sounds like it depressed her immune system enough for a respiratory infection. Did they send you home with antibiotics?


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## KrissHero1 (Aug 30, 2016)

She is getting better. By your symptoms it sounds more like stroke than pt. Dont worry Im sure she don't have pt.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Krisshero1, you don't know this...a resp infection (if that's what she has) can creep along slowly then make her very very ill, and we would like to prevent that.


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## xmegj_96x (Aug 30, 2016)

She's on baytril at the moment, do you think I should ask for another antibiotic to go along side this as if I remember correctly the last time she had breathing problems she was on baytril for a week and it didn't help much but when another antibiotic was prescribed on top that's when she improved, I think she was prescribed zitromax as well as baytril


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## xmegj_96x (Aug 30, 2016)

Thank you btw, if you hadn't asked me to take a video she would still be sat in her cage by herself upset, she's now happy as Larry, she's already started hunting round my bedroom for things she can steal to make a nest and hopefully now that she's using more energy she'll be encouraged to eat more! I'm determined to get her well again


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

yeah a week of baytril won't cure any active infection, it usually returns about 3 days after you stop, often a worse issue than before.

How many days do you have of baytril?


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## xmegj_96x (Aug 30, 2016)

I'm guessing a weeks worth, it doesn't say on the bottle like it usually does, she has an appointment in a couple of days anyway because she was supposed to be having her stitches removed so I'll just keep a close eye on her until then, if she shows any signs of getting worse I'll try get her in before then


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