Prevalence and outcome of routine and emergency reproductive surgery in female pet rats presented to a veterinary teaching hospital

Abstract

Reproductive tract disease is not commonly reported in pet rats. Prevalence, disease identification, outcome and treatment of reproductive tract diseases in pet rats has not been reported. Records from all female rats presented to Oklahoma State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital from 2012-2020 were manually reviewed. Animals undergoing ovariohysterectomy (OVH) and/or ovariectomy (OE) were eligible for inclusion in the study. Of 42 female pet rats, 7 rats (16.6%) underwent routine OHE/OE and 3 rats (7.1%) underwent non-elective (emergent) OHE for treatment of reproductive disease, including dystocia, vaginal prolapse and hemorrhagic endometritis. Of the non-elective OHE procedures, one of the three rats survived surgery and the other two died. Postmortem examinations demonstrated respiratory disease in both of them. All the rats that presented for elective OHE/OE survived to discharge. Reproductive disease in female rats is relatively frequent and herein we described a condition previously unreported in pet rats (vaginal prolapse). This report adds to the body of evidence that supports elective reproductive surgery for pet rats.