The news are not so great! =(

Unfortunately it was not a uterine tumor. The vet thought it was a tumor in the uterus and that it would be easy to operate and remove but instead she found lots of tumors in the intestines. They are inoperable, so the vet only took some samples and some pics to show me (i'll post them when i get them, if you want) and closed her up.

The vet said she probably has had the tumors for awhile but only now did they start growing. She told me Gaia would still live a normal life until one of the tumors grows inside the intestine and forms a blockage. I'll have to watch her carefully to see if she stops eating and to decide when it's time to let her go. =(

For now she's home, eating and walking around like nothing happened, she'll be taking some antibiotics and paraffin.

I hope she still has a few more months in her so at least she can celebrate 1 year of life.

Although the news are not so great, I do thank everyone that wished Gaia well and the people who donated for the surgery! I can't thank you all enough! =)

I'm new to this community so thought I'd say hello from me and my cuddly boy Django who is a lovely four month old Dumbo rattie, bold and friendly who loves to come out for walks on my shoulder (or snugged in a scarf/pocket/hood if its chilly!) where he bruxes merrily and watches the world go by. Since the weather last weekend was so lovely we took him with us for a picnic in the park. He had his own snacks and enjoyed a good scamper on the picnic blanket and the grass :) He was having too much fun to sit still for a photo though!

I noticed that Xander has this growth at the corner of his mouth. Does anyone know what it is? He doesn't seem to be having any trouble eating or anything, but I don't want to leave it if it's going to turn into something worse than just a fleshy little bump.

( Picture of said growth )

Treguard haz a sleepy:



The boys are doing great. Treguard is a big snuggly lump and he's adorable. Darby is still a shy boy, but he loves baby talk and treaties and is slowly coming round to the wonder of ear scritches.

We'd had a home lined up for them and for another pair but haven't heard back, not sure if it's happening or not. Either way, they won't be shacked up here much longer, because the rescue coordinator has asked if we'll socialize a litter for her, 4 little girls. Sure we will!

We're gonna miss these little winners! I can't wait until they have a home forever. If anybody knows of rattie lovers in the North East of England who are running dangerously low on fuzzies please feel free to message me/ point them our way, we've got a fair number of them at the moment.

Thanks to your generosity I was able to schedule the surgery for this friday! =)

Right now I only have half the money needed but my vet is awesome and will let me pay half now and the other half when I can. The surgery will be on friday morning, Gaia will spend the rest of the day in the clinic and i'll pick her up on saturday.

I'm already super nervous, and hope everything goes well.




Gaia and I thank you all for your kind words and generosity! I will update on saturday when she's home again! =)

Hi all. I am new to this community. Here are my babies!

( Fun behind the cut! )

it's gotten hot! here now, I have loads of cooling things/methods for my girls but wanted to ask about ceiling fans,as I'd like to try to keep this room cooler,for my comfort too. They're not common in the UK so hope some folks from hotter places will have some more knowledge. Would the draught from them be too much or does cooling the room over all outweigh the concern about them being in a draught?
Thanks

So I recently did a Bad Thing... I bought a rat from a pet shop. I know its not ideal, but she came from the same pet shop as my hamster Burton, and both animals are extremely friendly, tame and healthy, but I do understand that it encourages reckless breeding and increases the risk of health problems, but in my case I seem to have been lucky :)

Eva was the last rat left when I went to the store, when I spoke to the owner she said a woman had bought her 4 sisters and she felt really bad for one being left by herself, and I decided to take her. Though I don't own rats right now, I have owned them before and I know they need company, so though Eva is alone right now, my boyfriend and I have been fussing over her, she plays with us, pounces on our hands, hides in my hair, spends all day roaming my room (with breaks in the cage for food and water) and she bruxes and boggles the whole time. BUT I know human company can never replace that of another rat, so I want to get her a friend asap

I left my number with the pet store, and she'll ring me when they get more female rats, but that won't be for a few weeks, and I'd much rather adopt an unwanted rat from a shelter than buy from a store again. However, pet rats aren't exactly huge in this area, and an internet search doesn't bring up many rescues in the Cardiff area, and none that have rats.

So really I'm looking for information if any of you lovely internet people know of any animal shelters in the cardiff/south Wales area that take rats, or other suggestions on how to find a rat in need of a home?

And after my rambling, I reward thee with a photo! I'm posting on my phone so i don't know how to embed images, but have a link to the tumblr post: http://thedisappointmentofthefamily.tumblr.com/post/23036227838/introducing-the-newest-member-of-the-family-eva

The vet just confirmed that my baby girl Gaia has a uterine tumor. =(

She's not even 1 year old so I wasn't expecting her to get tumors so soon. The surgery costs 150 euros, I don't have that kind of money right now and my mom doesn´t want to pay for it because it's 'just a rat'. =(

Right now Gaia's still as active as ever, still eats and drinks as always but the vet told me that without the operation in a few months she would start deteriorating and that i would have to think about letting her go. =( She's now taking anti-inflammatory/pain medication and a vitamin suplemment.

And this is her


Edit:
I've been trying to gather some donations from my friends on facebook and I think I already have half the money I need for the surgery! yaay! I know you don't know from anywhere but if any of you also want to contribute, even if it's just with one euro/dollar, me and Gaia would really appreciate it and be eternnaly grateful! =)
My paypal is veelapt@hotmail.com
Thanks! =)