Charlie is a 2 and a half year old gambian pouched rat. The average lifespan is around 7-9 years. I've had him since September and despite being untame I was making good progress with him, but around Christmas his behaviour started to change. Shortly after he went to the vet and had to be put under local anaesthetic to have an x-ray. The x-ray showed that Charlie had a slipped disc in his back, 2 broken teeth, infected pouches, a tummy full of gas, and slidy kneecaps. He had to be kept in a heated incubator for a few days before he came home. It proved impossible to medicate Charlie at home and he stopped eating. He then went to see another vet that was more experienced with pouched rats. Charlie was again kept in overnight and collapsed every time the vet tried to medicate him. He was put back on antibiotics and loxicom and came home the next night. Charlie was ice cold when I got him home and his breathing started to slow down, I managed to warm him up using my body heat and as he was so weak I was able to medicate him. I was able to then medicate Charlie for a week as our bond grew stronger though he has bitten me a few times. Charlie had refused to eat for over a week and has had further blood tests done as it was impossible trying to take blood the first time. It's also possible Charlie has had an ear infection and skull infection to contend with too. He's also likely to be blind. This has all been very pricey and it's possible he may need more scans which I just can't afford so any help is very much appreciated. Charlie has improved but he still has a long way to go. I will write down his costs so far when I come back to edit this.