Rattie time! / Sad news.. :(

**Casper** · 06-19-2009, 05:20 PM

Its high time I share some new pictures of my rats, eh?

Mason:
aka "Macy"

Akio:
aka "Fatty"

Pocky:
aka "Alien Eyes"

This is the only way she likes to be held... :-D

I wish I could say that everyone is doing good, but I have some sad news....
Pocky & Akio (my two female rats) both have tumors. A while back I noticed one on Pocky's back leg. She visited the vet, but due to her age (3 years, 3 months) and the location of the tumor, surgery is not an option. I noticed Akio's tumor just now. It is about the size of a peanut and right under her arm pit. She is only a weeks' different in age from Pocky and I bet her prognosis will be along the same lines.

On another note, Mason recently turned 3 years old and he still seems to be in good health.

Its still hard seeing the remaining members of my little pack of rats aging...

**Karen** · 06-19-2009, 05:23 PM

Great pictures, you should nominate somerattie for Pet of the Day!

**snowbelle15** · 06-19-2009, 06:05 PM

Wonderful pictures! I've always wanted a rat for a pet, they same like really friendly animals.

I'm sorry to hear about Poccy and Akio. Prayers for them are on their way!

**chocolatepuppy** · 06-20-2009, 05:05 AM

Such cuties!

I'm sorry about Pocky & Akio.

**Casper** · 06-20-2009, 08:09 PM

Thanks.

Originally Posted by Karen

Great pictures, you should nominate somerattie for Pet of the Day!

I really keep meaning to nominate a few of my critters for POTD, but get sidetracked. I just put a post-it up on the fridge as a reminder to work on that this weekend.

Originally Posted by snowbelle15

I've always wanted a rat for a pet, they same like really friendly animals.

They are super friendly animals. Definitely one of my favorite animals to own.

**luckies4me** · 06-22-2009, 11:08 PM

I wish I were still breeding, but with a toddler in the house there is just no time. I miss those furry companions. Sorry to hear about your rats.

Just try as best you can to keep them comfortable.

**Karen** · 06-26-2009, 07:02 PM

Oh, I meant to tell you - green tea has been shown to shrink tumors in rats! I don't know the specifics, but it is worth a shot, replace their water with cool green tea, maybe?

It was s study done in hope that it would help humans with tumors, but hey, if it helps rats, that can be a good thing, too!

**Casper** · 06-27-2009, 07:26 AM

Thanks so much for that info, Karen! After breakfast I am going to go run out to the store to buy some. I figure that I can offer the girls two water bottles: one with water and one with green tea. I will change them to solely green tea once I know they will drink it.

The girls are still doing pretty good. Both get around fine and seem to be as happy as always. Akio's tumor, thankfully, does not seem to be growing at a very fast rate at all. Pocky's, on the other hand, is now nearing the size of a ping-pong ball. Once it starts to interfere with her getting around will probably be when I have to say goodbye...

Thanks to everyone who has kept them in your thoughts and prayers.