Long story short, lost my job a little over a year ago, had a

>>2390433
Idk OP you tell me if its worth it

honestly OP, even if you do the surgery, you will likely find new lumps within a week or two. thats the sad part about rats- they are such love but their little lives are short. enjoy your time together but let them go when they are beginning to suffer. Multiple major surgeries are hell on such small though noble beasts.

2 years is about what you can expect out of most rats. I wouldn't do the surgery, personally. You'll probably have another couple months with her depending on how fast the tumors grow. I had a rat who remained happy, social, and reasonably active until his was about baseball-sized.

Sorry OP. For your own sake, consider choosing a pet with a longer lifespan.

>>2390470
>>2390591

When I asked the vet's opinion, and the opinion of a friend who keeps vermin as well, both of them were 50:50 each way. But the vet was pretty frank about there being more surgeries after this one. Rats heal quickly, but at her age it's going to get harder for her to recover.

Intellectually I've been leaning towards not giving her the surgery, but when her and her sister are running up and down my legs to get cuddles and scratches when I let them out to play of a night, it's hard to convince myself that letting them both go is the best thing.

>Sorry OP. For your own sake, consider choosing a pet with a longer lifespan.

I've been keeping girls for quite a few years before my BSOD; they're a difficult habit to break. But yeah, given my circumstances right now, I'm giving it some thought. There are some very good reasons why they've been the best pet for me before this, but maybe not right now.

>>2390614

Pretty much sums it up.

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>>2391108

You unfortunately have two tumour-making machines. I'm going to be really honest with you, if you remove one lump, you'll likely be removing a few more further down the line. The basic problem is that a rats mammary tissue is huge compared to other animals, see pick related, and it's also really susceptible to neoplasia- often of a malignant nature. Their reproductive cycle doesn't help this either, but I digress.

I would be strongly tempted to wait until it effects her and then put her to sleep. I would be tempted to introduce some kittens into the cage/ a neutered male and go from there.

>>2391669

This is true; I've been very lucky that I've only had one girl who grew tumours as fast as the doe I have now. But they started coming a lot sooner in her life, and slowed down a lot after she was desexed and had most of her mammary tissue removed at the same time. I've had a couple girls after that who were also lumpy, but their lumps were very slow growing and towards the end of their lives.

So, yeah, intellectually, you're right, but again, trying to convince the emotional part of my brain is giving me hell.

>>2391994

Oh, aye, please don't get me wrong- I do know where you're coming from- I used to keep rats myself around ten years ago. After having quite a few of my buddies wind up with tumours I decided I couldn't cope with their short-life and bought a dog instead. Pick related!

*If* you were in a better financial position, and the hundreds for the surgery (just for realistically an extra few months) didn't impact on you then practically I'd say go for it. However, if I was in your situation then knowing their short length of life, I personally wouldn't financially bankrupt myself for a few months. I would spend the money making her as comfortable as possible for as long as she has.

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>>2392190

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This isn't realistic for most people, but I got sick of having rodents and such live for a few years, get a million tumors and then shit themselves to death.
I finally got a pair of these goofy ass niggas and I've never been happier.

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my rats died recently i'm still not over it, i took them to the vet and had them on antibiotics and it couldnt save them

all the joy you get from having them comes back in a concentrated wave of pain as they die

>>2390433
Fellow ratfag here. It's really not worth it, anon. Not if they're 22 months old already. Not only will they just get more tumors, it's cruel to put the rat through all the pain and stress of surgery if it's not going to improve its life significantly.

They can live a surprising amount of time with lumps too. Just enjoy the time you have with them now and rather use what money you have to buy more rats one day.