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About Sandra Conti-Todd
Expertise
NOTE: I am sorry for any long delays in responses. I have been going through some personal issues with my life but things are looking up for me and I am getting my life back on track again and will promise to be here for all rat lovers to help guide you on proper care. Love to all of you! To request a telephone consultation, please email sandyscrittercity@yahoo.com. in order to schedule a date and time that is feasible for both you and I. There is no time limit on weekends or after 99pm M-F or if your cell phone carrier is Verizon Wireless. There is no charge for a telephone consultation. I offer my advice free of charge since my goal is to simply keep your rats happy and healthy for as long as possible. My reward is knowing that people learning as much as they can on rat care in order to provide the best care possible. Thats all I need to know. You cant put a price tag on love:) As one of the top experts here at allexperts for 2008, I am happy to be able to help advise others on the proper care of pet rats. I am a rat care specialist/advisor for area vets and have 20 plus years experience working with rodents. I can advise you on the most current treatments available to your rat for common and also complicated ailments that seem to affect domestic rats during their life time. I do telephone consults and have even had some wonderful Vets call me to compare notes/stories. I also have training in animal behavior with the main focus being the study of rodent behavior. I also have experience with wild rats, raising one myself .

Experience
My expertise Includes the following: 1. Education on prevention of tumors, lung and heart disease and disease of the kidneys too. 2. Up to date treatments for tumors in rats,both benign or malignant tumors. 3. The most current treatments used successfully to treat lung and heart disease 4. Prevention and treatment of the mycoplasma organism that our rats are plagued with since the day they are born, among other common ailments that attack our rats, just to name a few. My job as a rodent consultant is to educate the owner on proper care of the animal but in no way does my advice take the place of seeking professional treatment by a qualified Veterinarian. However, I will contribute to this site by answering your questions about raising pet rats and any problems that may arise regarding their health, diet, husbandry and over all well being of the rat to **the best of my ability.**

Organizations
I maintain my website, Critter City and update it often to keep up with current treatments concerning pet rat health care. Please click the link above to take you there!

Publications
My own website of course, and also I have brochures on rat care that are found in various animal clinics in my area.

Education/Credentials
Mentored by highly noted exotic specialists in my area.
I am a member of the ASPCA.

Awards and Honors
Was honored by being chosen to be one of the top 50 experts of 2008

Past/Present Clients
My past clients have been through various animal clinics and I also am mentor to new rat owners that reach me through here and my website too.

You are here: Experts > Animals/Pets > Exotic Pets > Pet Rats > Penny's lump

Pet Rats - Penny's lump

Expert: Sandra Conti-Todd - 11/4/2009

Question

Penny 11/03/09

Hi Sandra! I am writing to you because I think you can help my little buddy. Penny is a black hooded female rat that I purchased as a baby from a PetCo (along with her cagemate, Lola) in July of last year, so I estimate her to be between 16 and 17 months of age. On Wednesday October 30th, I found a lump behind Penny's left forelimb about the size of grape. It kind of feels like a grape, too. I saw a picture of a rat named Jacky with a similar lump on your critter city website, so I figured Penny's lump was a mammary tumor and I was relieved to learn that it would require a simple, routine surgery to remove it. I was given the names of a couple of good Vets by Janell (since we live in the same city) and I took Penny to see Dr. Jenkins at Avian and Exotic here in San Diego. Although he was very knowledgeable on the subject, I left there feeling worse. The first thing he said was that I should wait a week to see if it grew, which would confirm that it was a tumor. He said that the lump could just stay like that or even shrink up and go away, which I had never heard of happening! If that was the case, he said, I could just choose to not to do the surgery. Dr. Jenkins also went on to say that if the lump got much bigger that it would cost even more to remove. He gave me an estimate on the cost of the surgery and I was shocked to see that it would cost $400-$475, on top of the $49 it cost me for the consultation. So my questions for you are: Is this a reasonable price? #I love my rats and want to do everything I can for Penny but that's a lot of money, and I know that this is an issue that will likely come up again.) Also, do you think it's really possible that the lump may stop growing or even shrink?

I was going to attach several pictures from different days, but I can't figure out how to include more than one so I just included the most recent picture. I can tell you that the lump doesn't seem to have grown much in about a week and although Penny is a little on the small side (and always has been), she is just as active and as happy as if it wasn't even there.

Thank you so much for your help, Sandra.

Answer
This is outrageous in price, the highest I have seen in a long time.

I disagree with the vet. He should know right off if its a tumor or an abscess or cyst so this shows me that his lack of education is soemting to be leary of. I would seek advice from another vet. If you want I can give you names. Are you close to Westminster Ca?

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