So I was checking on all my rats and I checked this one tub and there was an asf rat that looked SUPER FAT. It was to the point where the rat looked as if she could not see. I took her out and noticed it wasn't fat, it was air!

She was a balloon!!! Under her skin was tons of air and she felt like a fuzzy balloon.

I figured it was a genetic defect so I was going to cull her but then I thought, what if I pop her and deflate her...?

I wondered what would happen, would she bleed out, would she suddenly die?

So I took a very sharp box cutter and poked her in the back of the neck and she suddenly deflated. Her skin was saggy but there was no blood and she didn't instantly die.

I put her in a tub by herself and I watched her over the next 2 weeks. She was fine. Over the course of a few hours her skin looked normal and she's still here with us.

Weirdest thing I have ever seen.

Here are photos before I deflated her.


Any clue what causes this?



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