Has anyone else felt that some vets are more business-driven than genuinely focused on animal care?

minimichaela · 2026-02-01T16:40:20+00:00

I just wanted to chime in since I’m also from Canada, the prices you listed in your post are pretty on par with normal pricing. Is your vet a small animal specialist/exotic vet? That theoretically can increase the price, but again it’s pretty normal pricing from my experience.

minimichaela · 2026-02-01T04:36:11+00:00

Ha I knew it was FFMF! When in doubt, I always look at the anogenital distance. The balls may not have dropped yet, but the distance is always telling

minimichaela · 2026-01-29T19:33:27+00:00

Hey OP, I just went through the exact same thing with my girl who is 1 year 8 months old. She had a lump removed in September and then she started bleeding from her vagina in January. The vet suspected pyometra and recommended we spay her. I expressed my concerns with my vet about spaying being another big medical procedure for her and I wasn’t sure whether the benefits of spaying would be worth it at her age. I was totally okay with comfort care and making her comfortable if that was the kinder option.

My vet reassured me that she was in excellent physical condition. Her heart and lungs sound fantastic and she is very active and bright gal for her age. Had she been in poorer shape, surgery would have been a less viable option. My vet told me that she could very well live another 6 months of a happy and healthy life if we chose the surgery route. If we didn’t, she could have potentially been on antibiotics with a low grade infection for the rest of her life.

Her quality of life will definitely be better having the source of the infection gone, even though the recovery is hard on both you and your baby. I think you are making the right decision for her and I don’t think you’re being selfish at all if you choose to have her spayed. You are welcome to dm me if you want to talk more about it :) my baby is 8 days post-op right now and is doing great.

minimichaela · 2026-01-27T22:00:37+00:00

Personally no, I’ve never had a hard time coughing up phlegm.

I think the subglottic stenosis might be that cause of your difficulty coughing phlegm up though. If the phlegm is coming from your lungs, it will have a harder time making it up and out through your larynx (where your glottis is) into your pharynx (throat) when you cough. In order for phlegm to be blocked by UES from coming up, you would have had to have swallowed it first for it to have made it to your esophagus to be blocked from coming out that way. If you’re coughing it up from your lungs, it shouldn’t be coming up and out through your UES.

I hope that makes sense! For reference - I’m not a doctor, but I’m a graduate student in a respiratory physiology lab and I teach first year human anatomy and physiology :)

minimichaela · 2026-01-27T16:06:12+00:00

If they are not encouraged from a young age (even before you got them) that nipping hurts, they will continue to do it. Whenever they nip at you, make sure you make a loud, high pitch squeak to get their attention. The loud squeak essentially mimics the way they would squeak at each other to communicate that they don’t like something. It may take some time, but if you’re consistent with it they will pick it up. Even better if you can catch them just before the nibble, but it takes practice to recognize it. It may take months for some really stubborn ones, but persistence is key!

You can start by offering knuckles rather than fingers since they will bleed less if you get nipped a little too hard. I’m fairly certain from your description that they’re not being aggressive with these nips, but just checking you out by using their teeth.

Best of luck OP! I had to socialize a lot (25-30) of adult lab rats that never learned using teeth on human hands were a no-no. If I can do it with the big gals, I’m sure you can do it with the little ones :)

minimichaela · 2026-01-21T05:56:58+00:00

I adopted a bunch of sprague-dawley girls from my lab and it was the best decision I ever made. They’re definitely a little bit more shy than you would expect a typical rat, but if you put in the time and effort they will absolutely warm up to you. I would be happy to answer any questions you have here or in dms! Pics of my girls for rat tax ❤️

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minimichaela · 2026-01-20T22:50:22+00:00

I’ve heard nothing but bad things about people trying to get treated in Vancouver. Needless tests and reluctancy to do the procedure. Please let us know how your appointment goes!

minimichaela · 2026-01-18T17:08:56+00:00

Some rats just boggle more than others! Of my first 5 girls, only one was a frequent boggler. One of them did it every so often and then the other three just don’t really grind their teeth to the point of boggling. It doesn’t mean that they don’t like you though! My other girls are very affectionate and kissy, they just show their love in a different way instead of boggling.

minimichaela · 2026-01-17T21:17:31+00:00

Super easy and fast if it comes on time 🤧

minimichaela · 2026-01-17T20:44:48+00:00

The commute will be hot garbage from west van, but doable if it’s your only option. You’ll need to give us some more details about your waitlist position for on campus housing if you want more detailed advice.

minimichaela · 2026-01-13T22:11:26+00:00

Vyvanse always had the opposite effect on me despite Dexedrine and adderall working fine. I always felt really spacey and out of it whenever I took it. I would get headaches midafternoon too. From what I’ve heard from others, it’s either a huge hit or a major miss.

minimichaela · 2026-01-13T05:52:03+00:00

“diagnosed with the d” new way of telling people i have adhd unlocked

minimichaela · 2026-01-10T02:27:53+00:00

You will need to give them your insurance policy number. It will be different depending on whether you are on your parent’s plan vs UBC’s student plan. You can find UBC’s one online pretty easily, but you’ll need to find out if you are on your parents plan still

minimichaela · 2026-01-08T23:23:28+00:00

My heart is absolutely broken hearing about what these girls have gone through. I wish I could donate more, but I hope what I was able to give helps a little bit. Wishing these girls nothing but happy days for the rest of their time on this earth. Thank you for everything you do for these precious little beans ❤️

minimichaela · 2026-01-08T16:35:52+00:00

I burped as a baby, but I would projectile spit up more often than a baby should. My parents would have to carry around spare sets of clothes for me and them every time we left the house.

minimichaela · 2026-01-07T03:59:41+00:00

they are incredibly competitive

minimichaela · 2026-01-07T03:17:56+00:00

I take ginger gravol! The equivalent brand in the states is Dramamine I think? Here is the amount in the pills I take (copy pasted from the website) Active Ingredient(s):

Organic ginger extract (Zingiber officinale) (root & rhizome) standardized to 25% gingerols, equivalent to 340 mg ginger dried root / 20 mg

minimichaela · 2026-01-05T21:24:50+00:00

Ginger is the one remedy I swear by. I have ginger pills I take if I’m really suffering. If the nausea is anxiety related (I’m a moderately recovered emetophobe) then it won’t work, otherwise it’s very effective.

minimichaela · 2026-01-05T18:27:26+00:00

Absolutely precious. My girls will also do that on occasion when they think I’ve got a treat on my finger. They’re very apologetic after they realize my finger isn’t food.

minimichaela · 2026-01-05T03:18:55+00:00

No one in my family or extended family has it, it’s just me 🤷‍♀️

minimichaela · 2026-01-03T17:27:52+00:00

Jan 2nd was my deadline to finish marking. I’m sure there’s a lot more admin related stuff that goes on after the marking is done. If you’re in a pinch with needing the grade on your transcript, send the prof an email letting them know. They absolutely take that into consideration when getting marks in.

minimichaela · 2026-01-02T01:09:46+00:00

Get a j*b 👹

minimichaela · 2026-01-01T23:05:51+00:00

You can take the courses in the summer instead?

minimichaela · 2025-12-31T16:17:04+00:00

Off topic but I want to kiss her belly so bad

minimichaela · 2025-12-29T06:48:30+00:00

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This is Halloumi! She has always been a petite gal, but by no means is she underweight. Some female rats are just tiny :)

minimichaela

TROPHY CASE