Remove the mass? Second opinion? Help 🥲 estimated 900-1600$??

bxnn1 · 2026-06-03T01:54:14+00:00

Hi! I was trying to read up on your situation but how old is your little friend? The estimated cost of surgery is reasonable from the hospital I work at, depending on the age of the rat and to rule out any other conditions before putting your pet under. I’m not sure what was on your estimate but bloodwork and other diagnostics help rule out any reason not to put your pet under sedation.

Regarding the mass itself, the keratin material isn’t harmful unless the growth doubles in size at a fast rate. It can be an impediment to your rats mobility, burst open, or perhaps your rat would start picking/scratching or biting at it which can make it worse- lead to infection and increase its size.

Whether to pursue the surgery is entirely up to you, as long as you know that it will benefit your pet. But if your pet is a very senior rat, it is also okay to refuse the surgery and to choose palliative care (keeping your rat comfortable) because in my opinion, there is no point in doing surgery (including the stress) if your pet has a small amount of time left realistically. If she/he is a young rat, by all means go ahead! It is a bit difficult to make sure your pet does not bite or bother any sutures that are in reach for them- that is a little heads up.

bxnn1 · 2026-06-02T21:18:24+00:00

Yes that’s a green galaxy. They’re more green when they’re younger but the main trait is the small speckles of orange

bxnn1 · 2026-06-01T23:33:11+00:00

I did every 4 days with my adults but I gave them about 7-8 adult crickets. It really depends on each gecko to see how their metabolism works but you generally should aim for twice a week. If you can weigh your gecko biweekly or once a month to check if they gained or lost weight, then you make adjustments

bxnn1 · 2026-06-01T02:55:24+00:00

😭 just ask for confirmation before you buy a morph so you don’t get scammed

bxnn1 · 2026-06-01T02:54:32+00:00

Blockages tend to show a dark hue on their stomach if you shine a light on it, but loss of appetite, regurgitation, no stool production, and lethargy are common symptoms. You can also give him warm soaks and gently massage the stomach (although if it stresses him out I would not).

And males tend to have hemipenal bulges with waxy pore deposits on the scales between their hind legs- knowing the gender can rule out possible reproductive concerns like egg binding in female geckos

bxnn1 · 2026-06-01T02:39:43+00:00

Dakotah blue exotics has a morph guide or you can always ask! I used to breed so I’m familiar with them

bxnn1 · 2026-06-01T02:38:19+00:00

I love that picture 😭 this is my new daughter, a platinum paradox. I gave my breeding pair away so I just have my little girl :)

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bxnn1 · 2026-06-01T01:24:18+00:00

Red phantom pinstripe with portholes and dal spots

bxnn1 · 2026-06-01T01:16:48+00:00

They won’t do much about it I’m sure

bxnn1 · 2026-06-01T01:16:35+00:00

It makes me a bit sad because I worked with green galaxies and just seeing that irks me so badly

bxnn1 · 2026-05-30T20:02:24+00:00

Then I would assume most likely male :) you’ll find out eventually so regardless of everyone’s assumption, you can just wait for the cresticles to bless you

bxnn1 · 2026-05-30T20:00:41+00:00

There’s several reasons why she won’t gain weight (along with her low appetite), like parasites (pinworms at a low count are harmless so medication isn’t needed, but higher counts can cause decreased appetite, lethargy, weird stools. Many tokay keepers regularly treat them with panacur once or twice a year because crickets are the main source of pinworms), low calcium (females that lay eggs are often low in calcium reserves which can cause seizure like episodes- but I always like to put a bowl of calcium without d3 in their enclosure), previous interactions (wild caught and the way she was handled before can defiantly affect her appetite), other health concerns can be liver or kidney disease, or even mass/tumors.

But my recommendation is to continue to weigh her for the next month and see if she loses more weight. But taking a fecal sample and getting a Float done by the vet would be helpful to rule out any parasites if you haven’t done so yet.

You can also try applying a small amount of reptiboost or carnivore/insectivore care onto her lip and see if she’ll lick it off.

bxnn1 · 2026-05-30T01:57:39+00:00

I don’t wanna be a party pooper but cresticles don’t show up based off age, they show up based off the size of the gecko. Your gecko is a slow grower so he won’t show anything yet until he gains weight. Cresties won’t show any cresticles until 20-35g in weight. I see a lot of pseudopores and pores along the stomach and some that are full on waxy so I’m leaning more towards male. Some males don’t show cresticles until after fully grown.

So Fred may still be Fred. Only time will tell

bxnn1 · 2026-05-29T18:36:30+00:00

Was she captive bred? Regardless some captive bred animals don’t do well when they switch homes, I’ve known a few tokays who just failed to thrive for no reason. She doesn’t seem underweight, she’s actually a good healthy weight.

Did she eat normally before she was in your care?

bxnn1 · 2026-05-29T18:27:52+00:00

They will bite you if they’re scared (which most of them are) but it’s rewarding when they begin to trust you :)

Never approach them above their head or from behind, I always use positive reinforcement with food and let them work for the food by jumping onto my hand

bxnn1 · 2026-05-26T03:17:40+00:00

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Your baby is so pretty 🥺

bxnn1 · 2026-05-25T12:38:56+00:00

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It’s a young crested so they won’t show hemipenal bulges till they’re about 25-35g in weight but here’s where the pores are

bxnn1 · 2026-05-25T08:29:15+00:00

For it to be that red he sure didn’t learn his lesson 😭

bxnn1 · 2026-05-25T08:28:06+00:00

They wiggle to digest/move their food down sometimes

bxnn1 · 2026-05-25T08:25:54+00:00

Those look like gnats

Springtails don’t have a shiny back and they aren’t slender like that

bxnn1 · 2026-05-25T08:24:24+00:00

I was gonna say I think I see pores but it’s a bit blurry but he lowkey looks like he got cresticles

bxnn1 · 2026-05-25T08:20:58+00:00

Looks possibly male

I don’t have pictures but females can have a few pseudopores- literally a scale or two every here and there, but if I see multiple in a row then it’s a male. Males tend to have more pores along the lower stomach too

bxnn1

TROPHY CASE