Crying My Eyes Out! My Poor Baby Girl, Oreo! WHAT SHOULD I DO?!?!

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Chickenfan4life

Chickenfan4life

Crowing
7 Years
Aug 28, 2012
12,770
161
308
Planet No
Oreo is my sweet rat, a feeder rat. I saved her life. But, now she has a tumor the size of a grown man's thumb. Last night, it split the skin. Now, she limps because it drags on the ground, and squeals. Does it hurt her? I think that she is in pain, and feel that it is time to let her go. I am looking for a vet that will euthanize her. But, mom says she doesn't have enough money to get her euthanized and thinks that she is not in pain. She said that if I really think she's in pain, dad can use the pellet gun to put her down! I almost screamed "NO!", I said it so loud!
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What should I do? We don't have enough money to get her put down? She is suffering and I feel guilty! Help!

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Thank you all, guys. I cry whenever I hold her, which I am doing a lot now. Her split skin scabbed over, but then popped with a lot of puss.
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I am so sorry! Female rats are extremely prone to tumors. I have lost every female I owned to tumors eventually. You can sometimes find quality breeders who have largely bred tumor and mycoplasm problems out of their lines, but they are few and far between. I stopped having tumors operated on as it put my rats under stress, and the tumors either grew back or spread each time. I now euthanize when they start showing signs of no longer enjoying life. I actually now prefer home euthanasia to bringing rats to a vet. Most vets still euthanize rats with an injection to the heart, and they won't let owners be there for their rats. When I got their bodies back for burial, my rats showed obvious signs of having been extremely stressed during the procedure. I now use a homemade CO2 chamber. It is what we used most often with lab medical research rodents, and they have very strict welfare guidelines.

CO2 can be very painful if not used properly. If used properly, it is my prefered method when dealing with rats or mice. Many other animals do best with nitrogen gas (most animals can't detect that it is replacing oxygen) but because rats and mice burrow, they are actually able to detect nitrogen at very low levels, so CO2 is often used instead. CO2 must be introduced very slowly, or it WILL cause stress and pain. If done correctly, rodents should only feel disorientation before losing consciousness. CO2 should be introduced at an exchange rate of 20 percent or less...the animals should not be desperately trying to escape or gasping...this happens when gas is introduced too fast! Large plastic totes can be used as a chamber with aquarium tubing connecting the gas tank to the chamber. Make sure there are no leaks. To reduce stress as much as possible, my prefered method is moving a rat to a small (smaller than the chamber) wire cage a week beforehand. They will get used to the new cage, and feel safe in it. Then, when ready to euthanize, place the wire cage in the chamber. By leaving them in their familiar, primary enclosure, a great deal of stress is avoided. Even better if this can be done early enough during the day where they will curl up to take a nap. That way, they can be euthanized without being disturbed, and if done correctly, they will simply never wake up again. Be sure to check for breathing and a heartbeat after death is thought to have occurred. Waiting for rigor mortis to occur, or using a secondary kill method at that time is the safest bet.

If you feel at all uncomfortable with the above method, get a professional to euthanize your rat. Vets typically charged us 50 dollars or more to euthanize our rats, but maybe you can find one who will do it for less or for free. As mentioned, animal shelters might be able to help. You might also be able to find a rat or mouse breeder (feeder or pet) who can put your rat down for you. Please let me know if you do want to use the above method though. I can walk you through it more and describe the set-up better. It still costs money to build a chamber however. The totes and tubing you can sometimes find for free, but probably not any gas cylinders. There are some other methods listed online, but this is the one I trust to work, since again, I have used very similar set ups in laboratory work where euthanasia methods must be tested and approved.

Rats are wonderful, intelligent creatures. It is so hard when their already short lifespan is cut down even further. My males have all outlived my females by a long-shot due to the tumor issue. Regardless, my females had a much better life with my husband and myself than most rats get...and certainly bfeeder rats. You have given your rat a lot of love and a good life. I wish you the best in giving her as good a death as possible as well.
 

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