Surgery Even though all surgeries carry a degree of risk, rats make extremely good surgical candidates. Non-evasive surgeries, such as mammary tumor removals, are superficial and easy to perform. As long as a rat does not suffer from a bad respiratory infection, non-evasive surgeries can be done on a rat of any age, even elderly rats, without much risk. Recovery time after a non-evasive surgery is usually very quick. Evasive surgeries, such as spays and neuters, are somewhat harder for your rat to recover from, since these surgeries involve cutting into the body cavity. So the younger you can perform these surgeries on your rat the better. Rats suffering from active respiratory infections hold a higher risk of dying during surgery. It is important that you make sure your vet keeps your rat warmed during surgery and during their recovery after surgery. Rats are very small animals and loose their body heat very quickly and could die from hypothermia. Unless the surgery is on the intestines, NEVER withhold food from your rat before a surgery. Rats cannot vomit, so it is completely unnecessary, and it will actually weaken them for the surgery if you withhold food. Many vets are unaware of this and will ask you to remove your rats food. Simply ignore the request. It is recommended that you give your rat antibiotics for 7-14 days after surgery to prevent infection. Pain medications (analgesics) are also good to give to your rat after surgery for 1-3 days to help keep your rat from chewing at their sutures. Never let your vet give your rat an analgesia before surgery because when mixed with the anesthetic it can lead to complications and death during surgery. Make sure your vet uses only inhalant anesthetics on your rat for surgery. Avoid a vet who uses injectable anesthetics as these can be deadly for your rat. The best type of closure for your rat's incision is subcuticular sutures for smaller incisions and metal staple sutures for larger incisions. This is an example of what an incision closed with staples looks like. Expect your rat to lick and chew at the incision site. This is normal. This behavior does not necessarily mean that they are going to pull their sutures out. Most rats will not pull their sutures out given proper pain medications and the use of proper sutures. Vets will frequently want to put an elizabethan collar on your rat thinking that your rat is going to pull their sutures out. Tell your vet "no thanks", or take the collar off when you get home. These collars are not very good for rats. Their restrictive nature prevents your rat from being able to eat and makes it very difficult for them to walk. Avoid these collars unless your rat has indeed actually chewed out all his/her sutures. A rat in an elizabethan collar cannot hold food to eat it. (Note: This picture was donated by Erin) If a rat is going to chew open their sutures, they will usually do so the first night they are home. Be sure to check your rat's incision frequently during recovery. If your rat does chew out their sutures, you will have no other choice but to use a collar. If this is the case, you will need to help your rat eat or they will starve. Crush their rat blocks up into a paste by adding water and offer your rat their fill of this mush, by hand feeding them with a spoon, three to five times a day. Use baby food to provide their fruits/veggies. Your rat should have food available to him/her right after waking up from their surgery, so send a small bag of rat blocks along and request that your rat be provided with these when they wake up. Your rat should have water available to him/her at all times. You will need a small cage lined with paper towels to transport your rat to the vet in, as vets usually don't have a containment area suitable for rats. If this cage is large enough, you could also use it as your rat's recovery cage, or you could convert your rat's normal enclosure into a recovery area. It is important that your rat not be exposed to litter when recovering from a surgery. Where ever you end up keeping your rat, their normal enclosure or a separate recovery cage, you will need to have it lined with clean paper towels instead of litter until the incision has had time to heal. This is to keep any dust and dirt normally found in litter away from the wound. It is critical that you keep your rat's environment clean during recovery. It is also good to keep your rat's recovery area free of any climbing toys and paraphernalia. The more their movement is restricted, the better their incision will heal. We have a special cage we use just for surgeries. Our rat goes to the vet in it and then recovers in it afterwards. Here you can see it all set up and ready to go lined with paper towels and containing a water bottle, food dish, and sleeping den. Do not leave your rat at the clinic over night. Be sure to take your rat home after surgery where you can closely monitor them. It is not necessary to keep your rat isolated from their cage mates while recovering, and in fact the comfort of a friend could help speed their recovery. Recovery after surgery could take any where from three to twelve days depending on the severity of the incision.