Rat skin lesion

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I found local aids that assist in helping animals lives!!!
I nearly had to surrender my boy in order to get him emergency medical attention. It was heart breaking.

He has an infection, hes sad and the vet gave him Enrofloxacin for I assume infection, and Meloxicam for his obvious pain. Diagnosis wasnt clear, other than he clearly has an infection. Hes home now, with his first round of antibiotics and pain medicine, I am putting him with his brother for some comfort and to help his little soul from the entire experience he endured today.
Then I'll separate them over night and get up in the night to check on him a few times.

Next few days will be hard but thank you all so much. Your feedback and input has been beyond words of happiness that Pickles could ever explainView attachment 13277 View attachment 13278 :(:(:):)

Hang in there! Your little guy has antibiotics and that is the first step towards a full recovery. :) It looks so itchy...from my understanding you don't want to put anything topical on it as the antibiotics should do the work from the inside out. As the infection is treated the tissue should dry up eventually slough off on its own. Just keep an eye on him to make sure the enrofloxicin is doing it's job. If not, you may want to add Clavamox since it is effective against staphylococcus (if that is the bacteria) and a handful of other gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.

Please keep us posted on his recovery! Give him lots of love and extra treats won't hurt either ;)❤️
 
All I can confirm is rat medicine is expensive, oh my. But his spirits are up, hes enjoying more treats and rich nutrient foods that are rat safe. Except for some Turkey flavoured wet cat food for a treat and to mix his medicine into.
I predict a recovery for Pickles in this process. I do have to go get more medicine for him again as the bottle wasn't full, says 14 days on the Rx instructions but clearly not the case as I gave him his evening dosage.

In all, rats are really awesome pets to have!
 

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The Baytril you got on Tuesday is gone already? Are you sure you're measuring it right?
I don't have any Baytril, but I do have Doxy.
 
Uh oh... If the baytril is gone already there may be an issue with the dosage that was printed on the label. :( What is the dosage in mL that they have him on and what is the concentration of the baytril and how much liquid in cc or mL was in the bottle? Let's double check this before dosing him again if you can. Usually the dose is around 0.25ml for a typical compounding concentration. If the vet didn't fill the bottle properly then please do make sure you let them know as soon as possible so they can make it right for you...you paid for 14 days, you should have left with 14 days. o_O

Let us know! ❤️
 
Two ideas
The hydrogen peroxide is not effective with infected wounds. It causes tissue damage. A better alternative is the saline rinses
Triple antibiotic cream is cheap and may work
You should take him to a vet and explain your financial situation. The vet should give you antibiotics as the rat clearly needs them. Just promise to reimburse the vet as soon as possible. If the vet is at all understanding this should not be a problem
Agreed. That was how I GOT my vet! I went with no appointment, explained my predicament and was given a bill to pay as if I had a payment plan
Then I made an appointment the next time and again made payments. Now, they all know me and the company trusts me so much that they just hand me a bill on my way out and regularly ask if the rat belongs to me or the rescue agency that I rehome unadoptable rats for. Usually I pay on the spot, but sometimes I'm distraught and they are compassionate and understanding enough to just allow me to walk straight out and pay the next day or whenever I can. That is how you eatabliesta a relationship with them. I can't see a decent vet not giving you antibiotics if you go to them in distress with a sick pet. Vets take a mandatory ethics course just as anyone in the medical field does. Good Luck
 
Hey there, how is Pickles doing today? Did you have a chance to investigate what may have happened w/ the baytril? How is the skin looking? Hopefully all that gunk will start sloughing off on it's own and you'll see a difference soon with healthy, pinkish skin peeking through. :)
 
My Asia had skin lesions. My vet gave me Vetericyn to put on the sores so i did and it cleared up like over night i remember i was so amazed how quickly they healed with that spray, might be good to use with antibiotics
 
The Baytril you got on Tuesday is gone already? Are you sure you're measuring it right?
I don't have any Baytril, but I do have Doxy.

I did measure it correctly. The vet clinic of gave me enough by how much money I had. It did clear up his wound. But the lump has grown and we are concerned its cancerous tumour. Pickles will be getting a test done to see and if that is the case we have to say good bye :( although it's good for his suffering to be laid to rest, my concern is for his brother who will be left alone.

Can someone suggest how to help a brother or sister rat that has been separated with their sibling? Pickles brother is named Kermit. We love our rats and are very baffled with our luck. Is putting pickles down mean I am killing him or giving up on him? Poor guy

Heres the lump that has been growing :(
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They have to biopsy can you feel a lump or its fluid build up or infection?? 6 months boy is so young to already have cancer?? If he os aloud to continue grooming himself he will continue to reinfect the area. I wld be asking my vet for a cone. My vet gave me one after my girls had lumps removed to keep her from trying to clean herself and open the wound back up. Did this Lump get this big overnight? Or after he cut his leg?
 
Agree with Jacksapp. Using an ultrasound device, it is easy to distinguish between a solid mass or a fluid filled( abscess ) swelling. A biopsy is essential in my opinion, especially if the lump is not reducing in size. This is a simple process and one which any competent vet should be able to do.
 
I saw Pickles yesterday (sweet baby!). The lump is huge, very hard, and unmoveable; but uniform, no lumps. And she says it kind of smells. So hopefully a huge abscess. I gave her Doxy and she's giving him Infant Motril. The vet will check him Tuesday, fingers crossed!
 
Eek... could be a huge abscess. It has the scab and the smell, I'm gonna vote on huge abscess. That is going to be a monster when it opens to drain.... I would pick up some betadine to have on hand in advance of the abscess rupturing. With the betadine you would dilute it with clean warm water in a bowl until it is the color of weak iced tea. You'll also need a irrigator (a 20 ml syringe with a curved plastic tip or one with a standard tip). You'll have to draw up that solution to fill the syringe and gently irrigate the open wound in a way that the solution is washing and acting as a debridement. You will only need one full syringe of solution per wash, no more no less-- so 20 ml of diluted betadine twice a day. You'll do this twice a day until the wound closes from the inside out.

Washing it with this solution in this way keeps the wound from closing too quickly and allows it to heal from the bottom up.

Keep us updated!
 
They have to biopsy can you feel a lump or its fluid build up or infection?? 6 months boy is so young to already have cancer?? If he os aloud to continue grooming himself he will continue to reinfect the area. I wld be asking my vet for a cone. My vet gave me one after my girls had lumps removed to keep her from trying to clean herself and open the wound back up. Did this Lump get this big overnight? Or after he cut his leg?

I think a biopsy wouldn't be a bad idea. Long weekend with nothing open was surely a rough and tough go for Pickles. His breathing is shallow and hes weak. I've been hand feeding him pumkin seeds and almond sliver seeds, scrambled egg, and some ensure(he loves it). Luckily a kind indavdiaul had some Doxycycline to offer that I have now given Pickles. His ears are drooped all of the time and he doesnt use his back leg because the swelling wont allow his knee to bend. I'm praying he pulls through. And with his condition, I think Emergency might have to do!
 
Eek... could be a huge abscess. It has the scab and the smell, I'm gonna vote on huge abscess. That is going to be a monster when it opens to drain.... I would pick up some betadine to have on hand in advance of the abscess rupturing. With the betadine you would dilute it with clean warm water in a bowl until it is the color of weak iced tea. You'll also need a irrigator (a 20 ml syringe with a curved plastic tip or one with a standard tip). You'll have to draw up that solution to fill the syringe and gently irrigate the open wound in a way that the solution is washing and acting as a debridement. You will only need one full syringe of solution per wash, no more no less-- so 20 ml of diluted betadine twice a day. You'll do this twice a day until the wound closes from the inside out.

Washing it with this solution in this way keeps the wound from closing too quickly and allows it to heal from the bottom up.

Keep us updated!

Yikes! I dont know how to do something like this. Gosh. I think emergency hospital will help more then a vet clinic
 
There should be a vet available on call for emergencies. That is standard practice.
From your description it is likely that the rat has generalized sepsis.
Another alternative is to contact your local human doctor for advice?
 
Yikes! I dont know how to do something like this. Gosh. I think emergency hospital will help more then a vet clinic
I'm certain that the vet will be able to assist. They will likely lance and drain the abscess before it opens on it's own. I would call the vet to discuss this.

As for caring for an open/drained abscess, it's not as scary as it sounds. ;) I had to do it for my old man Nibbles when he ended up with a preputial abscess by his guy parts. It wasn't as terrifying as it sounds and was really a breeze. :) Rats also heal up super quick, so it was two weeks and 2 days of irrigating and everything healed up beautifully.
 
I had a ratties abscess pop as well and I didn't have anything the flush it with so I used an antiseptic spray on a Q-tip and wiped it out, kept it dry and she healed up very well.! She has a small scar from it as it popped on its own but nothing big.!
 
How did the vet visit go yesterday? I had a nakie girl with a similar issue. She was dumped outside with her mate and many other rats in Montreal. We are pretty sure a breeder dumped their "stock" outside and she had this monstrous abscess.

Soon after being live trapped.

June%203%2016%20Montreal%20nakies.jpg~original


a lot of lancing and flushing later and it finally started to heal up

Jun%2016%2016%20Emma.jpg~original
 
I saw Pickles yesterday (sweet baby!). The lump is huge, very hard, and unmoveable; but uniform, no lumps. And she says it kind of smells. So hopefully a huge abscess. I gave her Doxy and she's giving him Infant Motril. The vet will check him Tuesday, fingers crossed!
If its an abcess the vet shld be able to poke it and drain it. If it has a bad smell its infection and needs to be drained and needs to be on antibiotics and kept away from others so they dnt try and groom him also wld ask for that vetericyn for wounds to keep it cleaned... My Tokyo had fluid build up after a lump was removed and the Vet drained it in about 10 secs. It went away and never came back Hence... they can drain it without putting him to sleep but if you dnt do something quick he is gonna be so sick they may not be able to save him if you are already hand feeding him
 
Hang in there! Your little guy has antibiotics and that is the first step towards a full recovery. :) It looks so itchy...from my understanding you don't want to put anything topical on it as the antibiotics should do the work from the inside out. As the infection is treated the tissue should dry up eventually slough off on its own. Just keep an eye on him to make sure the enrofloxicin is doing it's job. If not, you may want to add Clavamox since it is effective against staphylococcus (if that is the bacteria) and a handful of other gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.

Please keep us posted on his recovery! Give him lots of love and extra treats won't hurt either ;)❤️
So My vet would not let me put my two girls together after the lumps were removed because your just asking to infect the incisions.... so open sores need to keep kept clean, so he shldnt be with his playmate until the healing process occurs. Otherwise your just asking for him to be reinfected. Obviously you shld let them see each other thru the cage but not have contact until he is healed and the wound is covered. My vet which is a very good vet didnt let me put them together for 2 weeks after there lumps were taken off. I let them see each other they also got to smell each other but no contact and no running around in the cage together until healed please please do this do not let that little man keep suffering
 
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