News
Vote for the HeroRATs
The HeroRATs have had their video entry for the McKinsey on Society Innovation Video Contest selected to be in the final shortlist of videos.
Voting is open until the 9th December 2011 so we here at UKpouchies are urging you to help our hero's and place your vote now at the following link:
New Ambassadors for HeroRATs
APOPO have Introduced their new Pouched Rat Ambassadors for the their Adopt-A-Rat scheme.
The young rats are: Blossom, Mojo, Cheeky and Nala and full details icluding when they were born as well as the likes and dislikes can be found on the HeroRATs website.
You can also check them out by following the following link:
Pouched Rat Health Warning
UKpouchies is trying to raise awareness of Pyometra in female pouched rats after news of a female recently being diagnosed with the condition.
This is a condition better known to affect female dogs and cats but can also affect rodents including rats, hamsters and rabbits.
Pyometra is an infection of the uterus that can can cause the uterus to become full of pus. This can affect a female whether she is used for breeding or not. There are 2 types of Pyometra:
Open Pyometra - This is where the infection has happened at around the same time that the female is going through her estrogen cycle and her cervix is open which then allows any infection to drain out of the body.
Closed Pyometra - This is the more serious of the 2 and can result in the loss of life as it can go for some time un-noticed. This happens due to the cervix being closed preventing any infection from draining away causing pus to fill the uterus. This in turn will cause the abdomen to swell quite considerably. Closed Pyometra can be very difficult to diagnose until it is in its advanced stages as there is very little discharge if not any from the vulva.
Symptoms can include:
- Loss of appetite
- Weight loss
- Lethargy
- Normal, increased or decreased body temperature
- Excessive thirst
- Excessive urination
- Swollen abdomen
- Dehydration
Toxins and other bacteria can leak through the uterine walls and into the bloodstream causing other complications such as Sepsis better known as blood poisoning. This can happen in both open and closed Pyometra and in turn can cause other vital organs from working properly for example the liver may not be able to filter the toxins sufficently causing toxins to build up in the blood and eventually the brain.
Affects of toxin build up can include:
- Neglect of appearance
- Unresponsiveness
- Irritability
- A refusal to eat and drink
- Loss of balance
- Stumbling
- Shaking
- Coma
- Death
If treatment is not sought after in time the uterus may eventually rupture cauing the infection to escape into the abdomen resulting in peritonitis.
Treatment for this has a high success rate in other animals but does usually involve the female being spayed removing the uterus and the infection completely. The female will then be put on a course of pain relief while she recovers usually metacam.
HeroRat on Twitter
You can now follow HeroRat on Twitter.
To be able to follow their updates click on the link below:
HeroRat on Youtube
HeroRat has launched its own youtube channel where you can find video footage of Apopo's HeroRats work demining and detecting Tuberculosis.
You can subscribe to their channel by clicking on the link below: