The Hunchback of East Lansing

After Sushi came home from the vet last Thursday, we had to inject her with 10 ccs of sodium chloride under her skin every 12 hours. This was pretty horrific - it isn't technically hard but it hurt her, and since she is so tiny, there wasn't a lot of room for error. Not to mention how hard it is to focus and not screw up when you also have to pin down a frightened and loudly squeaking rat.

After the fluids were injected, Sushi would have a hunchback for a couple of hours, until they were absorbed.

The raised area above her head/behind her ears is actually the balloon of fluid. She was a trooper to put up with us doing that to her. Originally the vet said every 12 hours for 7 days but he also said that if we got past 48 hours and she was eating her normal food (which has a heavy water content), then we could stop. I was grateful that at 48 hours she was eating and happily put the needles and syringes away.