Look what they took out of my baby's bladder!! *pics*

[pegc]

Poor wee girlie!!  When you think of how itsy-bitsy their bladders must be - I can't believe she had all those in her!! She is lucky she has someone as caring as  you.

Aren't stones like that made of cholesterol? I know that human gall stones are, but I never heard of rat bladder stones.

How did you know there was something wrong with her? What were her symptoms?
She is totally adorable, by the way!

[SonyaFancifulRats]

It could be from too much calcium, if she really eats a lot of cheese.  Until the lab work comes back ,its really speculation though. With so many feeding a similar diet, I would suspect it isn't a nutro problem...  It is possible they were secondary to an undETEcted infection , as well.

Glad she is up and about! Poor baby!!

[Sam]

POOR GIRL!  My mother had stones and she thought that she was dying!  
I would guess that with so many ratties on the same diet as Cous Cous that is probably genetic but keep us posted!

[SADCAT]

How did you know there was something wrong with her? What were her symptoms?

I only noticed it on Wednesday morning. She was squeaking for no apparent reason... a long drawn-out squeak that sounded like she was in pain. Under closer inspection I saw that whenever she squeaked her stomach seemed to be spasming. At first I thought maybe she was constipated and gave her some lettuce, but then I noticed every time she did this squeaking and spasming, she was dribbling out a couple drops of urine, and immediately afterward she would lick herself there obsessively.

I posted here (topic title: "Cous Cous can't pee!") and everybody urged me to get to a vet, no matter what. So I did! And I'm glad I posted, because she might not be alive right now if I had waited.

[ckhs]

  Yay......A happy ending.We are vey glad she is doing better and bravo to you for not putting off the vet trip.Your rats are lucky to have you.
ckhs

[Blue Steel Rats]

OMG! OMG! ...  OMG!!!   Poor little Cous Cous!

Geeze, I hope it's not the Nutro Natural Lite food doing it...  That's what I feed all my ratties, and they seem to be doing very, very well on it.  So far I've been very pleased with the results.    Is anybody else showing the same symptoms that little Cous Cous was showing?  Does everybody eat the same diet?      

So glad you got her in to see the vet!  So glad little Cous Cous is feeling better now.  Does the vet think that these will return?  What's the lab report say about the makeup of the stones?  Keep us informed.  

[EaglesEye Rattery]

OMG! OMG! ...  OMG!!!   Poor little Cous Cous!

Geeze, I hope it's not the Nutro Natural Lite food doing it...  That's what I feed all my ratties, and they seem to be doing very, very well on it.  So far I've been very pleased with the results.    Is anybody else showing the same symptoms that little Cous Cous was showing?  Does everybody eat the same diet?      

So glad you got her in to see the vet!  So glad little Cous Cous is feeling better now.  Does the vet think that these will return?  What's the lab report say about the makeup of the stones?  Keep us informed.  

Above I said I feed the same diet and have been for quite soem time now...  I feed nutro lite with sunflower seeds, raw pasta, and I feed cooked pasta and rice depending on the day.  They also get fresh fruits and veggies.

                                             Em~

[Marwin Rattery]

IMO, its not the protein. Its probably the fruit. Rats do not do well with a high sugar diet...even "natural" sugar that is in fruit is bad. Try cutting out fruit in her diet...that would be my first step, if I were you. I have seen many bad things associated with a diet that contains fruit: obesity, diabetic-like symptoms, bumblefoot. This would be another thing I could add to my list of problems sugar causes.

Rats need protein, and yours is not getting very much if you are feeding Nutro lite, unless you are feeding other protein rich foods. Girls need at least 18% protein, IMO.

Struvite crystals occur in alkaline urine. If that is what she has, the vet may give you urine acidifiers to help keep them from forming again. If your vet says it is protein related, I would question that...as it is obvious your girl is not getting too much protein.

Feel free to keep my posted privately, if you wish. Im very glad you were able to help her and share with the rat community this problem...which I have never heard of in rats until now...Im anxious to learn more.

Take care
Sara K
Marwin Rattery

[SADCAT]

I'm beginning to think that Cous Cous is quite the unique little ratty... I can't believe no one has experienced this before!

I have not noticed any of the same symptoms on the other rats, they are all doing fine.

As for the sugar idea.. that could be it you know.. I never thought about that. I never thought fruit could be dangerous for them! What about things like yogies or fruit loops or the ocassional piece of a cookie? I guess I would have to cut those out too... is it that she's just more sensative to sugary foods? Because I know a lot of people give their rats sugary goodies and they've not had this happen to theirs.

[star]

Your poor little rattie! I am glad to hear that Cous Cous is on her way to mending. Like many others in here, I will be waiting anxiously to know of the results from the vet.

[pegc]

IMO, its not the protein. Its probably the fruit. Rats do not do well with a high sugar diet...even "natural" sugar that is in fruit is bad.

Thanks Marwin - my rats don't eat fruit, other than a small piece of banana in the morning. I was feeling like a bad rat mom cause they don't get any... I feel better now!

[Yresim]

You know of course that she's going to demand LOTS of yoggies to fill the space those nasty stones took up!  

I would put off on giving too many yogies until I knew what was causing the problem.  

My dad tells me that his stones were caused by eating too much candy.  I think that his were kidney stones, though.  

I would not make any other modifications to their diet (I would just remove the yogies & other treats) until I heard back from the vet.  It is possible that the sugar is fine, and that the stones are made up of something else entirely.

[SCRAPPYSMOMMY]

I am glad Cous Cous is feeling better now.  I cant believe the size of those stones.  INCREDIBLE!!! Give her lots of love and attention now to help her have a speedy recovery.
Oh and did I mention that I think HobNob and Cous Cous are two of the most adorable rats in the universe?

[Anna]

Any word back on the biopsy yet?
I think a lot of us are holding our breath waiting to know what could cause that.

[SADCAT]

Any word back on the biopsy yet?
I think a lot of us are holding our breath waiting to know what could cause that.

Not yet... I'm getting kind of impatient myself. I don't know what's causing it so I'm afraid to give her certain things. Basically she's just been getting lots of bread and pasta lately because I'm afraid of sugar, protein and calcium. Grr, hurry up!!

[Bonnie]

OMG! I would cry if those were in me! I can't belive they were in such a little ratty! I showed my husband and he went and told my rats never to get stones. Course, they juist looked at him and begged to be held...

So glad she is feeling better and I hope those results come back soon!

:shocked:

[RaginRatMomma]

Owwwie, those had to hurt. How common is it for rats to get stones in there bladders? Is it something I should watch out for with my 2 girls? Also are they more common in females than in males?
Ratty reguards:ratsmile:

[DesertSands]

OMG! That just hurts ME to look at them! I can't imagine those fitting into a little rat bladder! Poor little baby!  

[SADCAT]

How common is it for rats to get stones in there bladders? Is it something I should watch out for with my 2 girls? Also are they more common in females than in males?
Ratty reguards:ratsmile:

From what I know, Cous Cous is the only rat on this forum to even have these bladder stones! And nobody's heard of it before. I guess it's some kind of genetic fluke or she's just been eating some very weird stuff behind my back.

We called the vet today to ask if the results had come back yet, and yay... they just sent them in TODAY!! GAH... more waiting...