About 2 weeks ago, I noticed a bit of brown at the base of Delilah's tail. I figured that she had diarrhea and that I'd keep an eye on it for a couple of days, then take her to the vet if it kept up. After a day or so, the brown went away and I couldn't find any runny stool around the cage, so I thought that she was alright. But this past Thursday morning, I saw it again and Delilah was looking stressed. I called the Penn vet school's small animal hospital, and they referred me to a vet out in Chestnut Hill, about 1.5 hours away from me via public transportation. I made an appointment there for Friday morning.

Thursday evening, I realized that the brown was blood, because I could see more of it. I freaked out, realizing that all of the time I'd been thinking the problem was gone, she'd probably just been cleaning the blood off. I'd thought that, since it was diarrhea, I'd see runny stools around the cage if the problem was still there. But had been bleeding all along...I felt so stupid for not realizing.  I thought about taking her to the emergency vet, but (with the reassurance of some of the friendly folks in the chat room) finally decided to just keep my appointment for the next morning. We went up there by subway, train, and taxi, and Delilah weathered the trip okay. The staff at the hospital were very sweet and friendly to my little girl, and the vet was also quite nice. He chatted on about what great pets rats are.

I was set back about $100, given baytril and benebac, and sent home. I was told that if she doesn't show improvement in a week, we should go in for an ultrasound, which is $380! Ack. The last time I had a rat with vaginal bleeding, the antibiotics made no difference and she had an emergency spay, not an ultrasound. Has anyone else had to get an ultrasound for a rattie with this problem?

As we made the journey back, people stared at us on the train. I just smiled.

Until this morning, there seemed to be less blood and she was doing alright. But now she has a big blob of blood at the base of her tail again...I'm so worried about my poor girl.

I've never had an ultrasound done. When we found the antibiotics weren't working we went directly with a spay.

Keep us posted. 

Just as you said, I fear that's what would happen. You get an ultrasound done and then would go with the spay anyway if there truly was something in her uterus.
How old is Delilah? Is she in good health otherwise?
All my best wishes to your girl! She is so pretty!

Liza, she's almost 3 and otherwise in good health (aside from weakness in her back legs). I'm hoping that her overall good health will help her pull through.

Thanks for the suggestion about iron-rich foods, PinkPaws...I should've thought of that. I feed molasses mix to all of the rats, but I'm now adding some extra molasses to hers.

I should be able to talk to the vet tomorrow about what to do next...I'll post again when I know more.

Well, I convinced the vet to go ahead with surgery instead of doing the ultrasound. I was happy about this until toward the end of our conversation, when he said two very bad things; one was that the surgery would be $300, the other was that I shouldn't give her food or water after dinner the day before surgery. He wouldn't have said the food/water thing if he really knew rats. So...he knows a lot less than my vet back in California did about rats, and he wants almost twice as much money for the spay. By the time we'd gotten to that part of the conversation, I'd already made the surgery appt. for Friday. Now I have a choice to make...do I just ignore his advice about the food and go ahead with the overpriced surgery, or do I look for another vet? I don't know any other vets around here, but at this point I'm wondering whether he really knows more than the average vet anyway. What do you all think about this?

Did the vet tell you about the food and water thing or the people at the reception desk?
I have a weird feeling about this. If the vet himself said this, I wouldn't go back there.
3 is a very proud age for a rattie girl. How long have you tried the antibiotics for? Not that long, three days or am I misunderstanding something? You know your girlie best.
If I were you, I think I would 'shop around' for another vet and see if I can find a more experienced one. At this point, the money wouldn't be as much of a concern as the fact that he said no food or water. That is very... hum... not good. I do know one vet (excellent with rats, I just don't like his staff, that's why I don't go there) who says no food because when the bellies are empty, the incision for a spay might be smaller.
Still, I probably would tend to not going back to your vet. I don't know, something is weird about it.

That's what I think, too. It was the vet that said it, not a tech. He really should know better. I called around to vets on the RMCA vet list yesterday afternoon and asked about their experience with rat spays. I found someone who says he does about one every month or two. Even the tech there knew that the no food and water thing was silly. So...Delilah and I took the train out to Lansdale this morning to see him. The trip took nearly 2 hours, but I think that it was worth it. He was very nice and is going to do the spay on Tuesday. Until then, I'm going to keep her on Baytril and watch her closely. I'll keep up with the iron rich food, too, as she is still bleeding. Wish my little girl luck...she's working hard to get through this and is still as loving and curious as ever.

He didn't say why, kmw, and I didn't ask -- I probably should've. I was just really surprised, and the conversation was almost over...I wanted to just hang up and think about what to do. I was also really shocked by the price, which had me reeling a bit. When I thought about it afterward, I decided that I wasn't totally comfortable about the conversation. He'd also said things that seemed contradictory when we were talking about the ultrasound. It sucks, because he seemed so nice at the office and all. I'm hoping that I made the right decision, but it is impossible to be 100% sure. The new vet does seem very caring though, and was much clearer about his level of experience. I guess we'll just have to see how everything goes on Tuesday...

Well, where do you live?  I live on the Main Line, and am going to try Sugartown Veterinary Hospital.

I meant to update much earlier, but I've had internet problems. What follows is a loooong update. I'm sorry it's so rambling, but I couldn't figure out how to make it shorter.

I ended up taking Delilah to the emergency vet hospital at UPenn 2 days before her scheduled spay, as she had lost interest in food and wasn't drinking much. Her skin was "tenting", so I could tell that she needed fluids and vet care. I signed a form saying that they could do whatever was necessary to stabilize her, and they took her to the back. I sat in the waiting room for over an hour, when a student came out and took a history from me. Then I sat there at least another 1 1/2 hours before finally seeing her vet for the first time. Fortunately, a friend waited with me for much of the time...if I'd been alone, I'd probably have lost my mind.

The vet told me that they thought Delilah would die, but that if I didn't want to put her down she needed fluids overnight so that she could get some strength back, then they could see if she was well enough for surgery the next day. This, I was told, would cost $2,000 - $3,000. The vet gave me this 'I know you're gonna put her down -- nobody would spend that on a rat' look, and made a few condescending comments in response to some questions I asked. I was pretty darn floored. I asked what they'd done so far, and the vet told me "nothing". I asked to see Delilah, and the vet brought her to me. She looked awful -- much worse than when I'd first walked in. I didn't know what to do, and was feeling really upset. "Can I sit with her for a few minutes and think?" I asked. The vet left, and I sat alone with my little girl. Just to see what would happen, I poured some water into my hand and held it up to her nose. Poor Delilah drank desperately. I grabbed some baby food that I'd brought with me, and she ate a few bites. I just couldn't believe that they hadn't tried to give her any food or water during the 3 hours or so she'd been there. After a few minutes, the vet came back and said, sounding surprised, "She's drinking! That's encouraging." I wanted to throw up. I wanted to say "why the hell didn't you try to give her anything to eat or drink?!". But instead I asked them to give me the sub-q fluids so that I could take her home and try to get her through the night. I was told "no", and that even though I'd given sub-q to rats at home numerous times in the past, they didn't want me to do it because I'm not a "trained professional" -- I could leave her overnight and fork over my money, or I could have her PTS, or I could leave. I was numb. I asked my friend what she thought I should do, and she said she thought we should go to another vet. I didn't know whether it was the right thing to do, but by that time I'd been there for what seemed like forever and couldn't make decisions. We went to an e-vet, a long $40 cab ride away, that my friend had taken her cats to.

The e-vet had someone with rodent experience who was incredibly nice who saw me right away and treated Delilah with respect. She thought we should do everything that UPenn said we should do, *plus* start by trying to get some bloodwork and forcefeeding. She said that everything, including the surgery and all, would come to $350. I was amazed...this place was the polar opposite of UPenn. "Go ahead and start", I said. 15 minutes later, the bloodwork was back. Unfortunately, it showed that my girl was clearly too far gone. I spent a few minutes snuggling with her, holding her close to me, and sobbing. Then had her put to sleep.

It was a horrible day. In all, I spent nearly 6 hours in vet's offices, and came out of the experience with a dead rat. At least she died in a place where she and I had been treated with respect. At least I was able to be by her side when she died. I still keep wondering whether she'd have had a better chance if I'd gone to the 2nd place first. I know one thing...I will NEVER go to UPenn vet hospital again. I can't believe that an Ivy League school would treat caregivers and their animals in the manner that Delilah and I were treated. 

Kathleen I'm so sorry that it ended that way. I was following her story and hoping that she'd be ok after the spay. I've just recently had to put my last three girls to sleep. They were old and seemed tired of fighting the tumors and old age illnesses they had gotten. Actually, these girls I had gotton from you as rescues when you were living in Berkley. They had great lives and I'm torn that they are gone. One was a little black berkshire that you were fond of and the three others were grays, 2 with head spots. I miss them so much, but I know that they are in a better place. They are probably showing Delilah the ropes across the bridge. Hugs to you

Kathleen, I'm so sorry. *hugs*