Megacolon? Or Something Else? Bloated Baby Rat!

[WarriorPrincess90]

Hey guys!

I ended up with a pup last week that didn't get eaten and I decided I wanted to keep him. His eyes and ears were open, but just. So I've been feeding him Isomil per the instructions I read on a fostering website and he is starting to eat a little bit of solid food. He's been doing wonderfully until today. He's almost doubled in size this last week, but I've noticed that he doesn't poop as often as I'm used to rats pooping, and the last day or so they have looked dry when he did poop. Now today, his belly is bloated looking. I thought, "Oh no! Megacolon!" But I'm not sure. He is a red eyed white, about 3 wks old I'd guess, and even though he's bloated, his belly is very much squishy. Not hard. And he eats like a fiend! He seem to be constantly hungry today. If I flip him on his back and push on his belly (softly mind you) he squeaks a lot, but when standing if I push on his belly he doesn't complain.

So I guess my question is, is this Megacolon? Or something else? And should I be worried? Or is there anything I can do for the little guy?

[aldebono]

Constant hunger is a sign of megacolon as they can not properly absorb the nutrients in the food. MC is pretty unmistakeable as it looks like they swallowed a ping pong ball whole. The belly feels like it's filled with air with very little give when poked.

It sure does sound like MC to me. Maybe put him on paper towel to see if he is pooping. If he isn't, I would think MC.

I am sorry. It's always hard to see.

[WarriorPrincess90]

If it does turn out to be MC, what would be the best way to put him down before it gets too painful? I don't currently have a CO2 chamber, though I was looking at building one in the next few weeks.

[WarriorPrincess90]

I saw he had feces poking out of his anus this morning and with some gentle massaging he managed to pass two cylindrical poops on the large side for one so small. I'm almost positive it's MC now. He can't pass stool on his own it seems.

I wasn't aware this was a common problem with red eyed whites? Is it?

[sorraia]

I saw he had feces poking out of his anus this morning and with some gentle massaging he managed to pass two cylindrical poops on the large side for one so small. I'm almost positive it's MC now. He can't pass stool on his own it seems.

I wasn't aware this was a common problem with red eyed whites? Is it?

It isn't necessarily common with red-eyed white. Most red-eyed whites are albino, but some could be highly white marked, OR could have "high white" markings underneath the albino. Without knowing the animal's background, there is really no way to know what the likelihood is.

If it isn't megacolon, it could be some kind of blockage. A blockage could cause the feces to sit inside longer, which would then dry them out (as the colon pulls moisture out of them), which would make them larger and harder than normal, and harder for the baby to pass. Whether it is megacolon or not, it doesn't sound like this baby is in good shape.