Mrs. Snuggles Goes to the Vet

What an adorable girl!! And, I'm really glad to hear she's going to have the surgery. I just read the post stating the possible euthanization (i think that's spelled right?) of your rat, so I was kind of nervous opening this thread. I was crossing my fingers, praying for good news, and it was, indeed, a positive post! :) I hope her surgery goes well! I also must add, your vet sounds fantastic.

Definitely do not withhold food whatsoever. They are wrong on that part. Rats have very fast metabolisms and their blood sugar would get much too low to safely do surgery. They need to be eating up to the time of the surgery. Rats cannot throw up, so it doesn't matter anyway! :)

Don't let them take her food away from her, and make sure she's eating and drinking after she wakes up. I've never withheld food before a surgery, and they wake up much faster.

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Originally Posted by mlededee

she is such a cutie--i'm glad this turned out to be something that the vet can easily take care of. :) and i don't blame her for peeing on the vet one bit. if my doctor stuck a needle in my boob i might pee on him too. :P

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:8: Point made! lol

Robin, so glad to hear that there is a solution! I'm very glad that Mrs. Snuggles is going to be OK!!! Your a great rat mommy!!!!!

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

Definitely do not withhold food whatsoever. They are wrong on that part. Rats have very fast metabolisms and their blood sugar would get much too low to safely do surgery. They need to be eating up to the time of the surgery. Rats cannot throw up, so it doesn't matter anyway! :)

Don't let them take her food away from her, and make sure she's eating and drinking after she wakes up. I've never withheld food before a surgery, and they wake up much faster.

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Becky,

Thanks for that. I drop her off at 9 Friday morning and he does surgery around 11. She should be fine those 2 hours without food as long as she's had food all night, correct?

All the ratties will be getting Thanksgiving treats Thursday evening anyway. :D

Oh, and for clarification, Becky - it was the receptionist that gave me the advice on withholding food, not Dr. C. I guess that's the standard response for dogs and cats the night before surgery and she had little experience with rats. I'm very confident in Dr. C and his care.

I usually just drop them off in their tank with food and water. I don't see why he would have a problem with it. They aren't like dogs or cats who get sick after surgery if they have food in their stomach.

I would just leave a bowl of food mix in her tank, as well as a full water bottle, so she'll have it when she wakes up. Alot of vets have these misconceptions about rats. They generally eat every hour at least. It's just not a safe thing, IMO, for them to be without food for 3+ hours. Their blood sugar would get too low and they just can't recover well at all. Especially since she's an older gal, she needs all the energy she can get.

Might want to give him this link: www.ratguide.com so he can read up on some things and be up to date. There's an exotic veterinary group on Yahoo if he wants to join also. Exotic DVM I think is the name.