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Oh my goodness. And I thought I was bad for giving my rats fishmox for ear infections and URI (all successes lol, I would have brought them into the vet if they didn't improve)
This was an insane thread to read! I can't believe anyone would do that.

Amoxicillin is not the correct antibiotic in many, or most, cases. Personally, I only use it for secondary infections.
 
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Shes dead, why is this post even up? BTW, if you actually DO know how to perform certain procedures, AND you do them correctly, with all the necessary equipment and materials, in a sterile environment, then why couldn't you? Isn't that what emergency surgery is about? Doesnt matter where it gets performed as long as a qualified person in a medically acceptable setting with all the proper equipment and materials is available.
She wasnt qualified though.
 
I wouldn't say she wasn't qualified, but she sure wasn't a licensed vet, nor was she very smart, doing an invasive procedure at home sans anesthesia or worse yet, any equipment and tools that you MIGHT need in the event of something unforeseen going wrong, where you would need emergency equipment or tools or materials, or even just another pair of qualified hands! All of which she would obviously NOT be prepared for just in the basis of... I'm pretty sure she did not have all the things that a vet's office has (one in which surgeries are performed), so she was gravely unprepared. So she more or less is walking a tightrope without a net, and we're not talking about applying a tourniquet to stop a bleeding out situation, were talking about a planned, scheduled, invasive surgery in which every possible unplanned event is prepared for. So the operating room was woefully inadequate. Most likely a joke, only problem is... taking a life in your hands in this environment is not at all funny.
 
I wouldn't say she wasn't qualified, but she sure wasn't a licensed vet, nor was she very smart, doing an invasive procedure at home sans anesthesia or worse yet, any equipment and tools that you MIGHT need in the event of something unforeseen going wrong, where you would need emergency equipment or tools or materials, or even just another pair of qualified hands! All of which she would obviously NOT be prepared for just in the basis of... I'm pretty sure she did not have all the things that a vet's office has (one in which surgeries are performed), so she was gravely unprepared. So she more or less is walking a tightrope without a net, and we're not talking about applying a tourniquet to stop a bleeding out situation, were talking about a planned, scheduled, invasive surgery in which every possible unplanned event is prepared for. So the operating room was woefully inadequate. Most likely a joke, only problem is... taking a life in your hands in this environment is not at all funny.
I completely agree.
 
I've done minor procedures myself, lacerate cysts, removed one once, encasement and all, that was my proudest moment, lol. And I've done plenty of aspirations and sutures, and liquid sutures for the ones that squirm excessively. But NO anesthesia, so no invasive surgeries, and never anything that could lead to complications! Just simple little home remedies that are very common and CAN be done at home. I've done some debriding and irrigating with saline, all in sterile environments, with sterile equipment. Everything I have is single use only, no need to have an autoclave or ultrasonic sterilization machine, lol!
 
Well doing stuff in your own rats is one thing. Its another to do those invasive procedures on other peoples rats. And doing it for a profit. But what someone does on their own rat is their own business.
 
I disagree, doing invasive surgery without the benefit of anesthesia in your home without the equipment you would have access to in a vet's surgical center IS other people's business. Legally maybe not and all they could do is notify the authorities of a case of animal abuse, but ethically it's EVERYONE'S business. I believe that home surgery by an unlicensed, unprofessional pet owner HAS to constitute abuse. What I do is not abusive, nor very distressful. I believe in the Hippocratic Oath, and will do no harm. And I know that it is not so much the affliction I am treating, but the life of a beautiful, gentle, loving little creature, and so I would always measure the risks vs. the benefits. And thatst why I take in mostly hospice cases. If the risks of addressing an illness or injury outweigh the perceived benefits, I will make the rattie as comfortable as possible while giving her dignity to remain a rat while he enjoys his remaining days.
 
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I can drain an abscess myself. Why can't YOU bring your rat to someone who can help him when he needs help? My double Rex has an infected gland, one of the ones next to his penis. I have to unsheathe it and squeeze the pus out so that he can get some relief from the pressure and pain until the antibiotics take hold. Are you suggesting that I take him to my vet every couple of days until that happens when I can easily andaquickly do it myself? I scrub up, wear sterile disposable latex gloves, and do it in a professional manner. I swab him with an antiseptic and give him antibiotics and Metacam at correct doses. Are you suggesting I'm wrong in doing this? And if I didn't drain it? Then what? It closes up the gland, seals it up and continues to grow until he's in so much pain he can't walk or pee? Your reasoning is truly unsupported and you need to give people sound advice in these matters, not tell them to just go to a vet.
 
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I dont think its ok to do at home surgeries either. I shouldnt have said what someone does at home is their business in the aspect of surgeries of any type. Leave anything medical to the professionals. Too many risks otherwise.
 
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Right, any invasive surgery is not a matter for home environment. But non invasive procedures CAN be done at home in a sterile environment providing you have the proper equipment and materials and tools. I can do sutures myself just fine, as long as there's no muscle tissue involvement. Simple epidermis closures are not a big deal if you know how to give a local anesthetic. But if you don't want it discussed on here then that's fine. Silly but fine.
 
I can suture myself with a needle and thread, LOLOL.
Think about what you are saying. You are telling people out there to go ahead and do what they think they can do. That is a recipe for disaster.
I really do hope there's a law one day for animals. People can kill their own pets at home if they want to so of course we can't say anything about what you put your pets through. But do not bring that on here.
 
Personally, I really don't care if you can or can't suture yourself and rats. What I care about is you are cutting open abscesses, cysts, and suturing your rat without any form of a numbing agent. Every time I've been to the doctor and had something sutured close or had growths opened, they applied a numbing agent. It is incredibly cruel not to numb your animal before any of these "minor, noninvasive" surgeries when you have access to it by going to the vet. I don't get how you can glance over that. You are directly causing pain to your animals because you can "do it yourself." Medicine is not a DIY project everyone can master. You're being too cheap and inhumane to your animals because you can do it by yourself.

Edit: When I say cutting something open, I mean physically using a scalpel or any sharp object instead of applying a warm, damp cloth to a cyst or abscess to open it up. Suturing on thr other hand can be incredibly painful.
 
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Think about what you are saying. You are telling people out there to go ahead and do what they think they can do. That is a recipe for disaster.
I really do hope there's a law one day for animals. People can kill their own pets at home if they want to so of course we can't say anything about what you put your pets through. But do not bring that on here.
By no means am I telling anyone to do what I am qualified to do. If you are capable then that's one thing, if you have never done this sort of thing and have never been trained or educated yourself, then under no circumstances should you attempt to do this. I understand that people can take an idea and act upon it, which is why I do NOT discuss my home treatments, especially any that you, personally, and others like yourself,could frown upon and disagree with. But the fact is that I can perform simple, non-invasive and unrisky procedures that a vet visit is not warrented. I am NOT abusive or a danger to my pets, and to say that illustrates your ignorance of the facts because you obviously do not know them well enough to speak on them. Just as I couldn't begin to say I know of your experience, education and training, please don't presume that you know of mine.
 
Personally, I really don't care if you can or can't suture yourself and rats. What I care about is you are cutting open abscesses, cysts, and suturing your rat without any form of a numbing agent. Every time I've been to the doctor and had something sutured close or had growths opened, they applied a numbing agent. It is incredibly cruel not to numb your animal before any of these "minor, noninvasive" surgeries when you have access to it by going to the vet. I don't get how you can glance over that. You are directly causing pain to your animals because you can "do it yourself." Medicine is not a DIY project everyone can master. You're being too cheap and inhumane to your animals because you can do it by yourself.

Edit: When I say cutting something open, I mean physically using a scalpel or any sharp object instead of applying a warm, damp cloth to a cyst or abscess to open it up. Suturing on thr other hand can be incredibly painful.
Where did you get the idea I do not use any numbing when I need it? That's what I'm talking about, you are making assumptions and then applying that assumption to me! You have no right to speak upon that which you do not know about or even understand! So you owe me an apology because I would never use a scalple on my pets without giving a lidocaine injection around the site. As for sutures, many of my rats wouldn't be good candidates for them without anesthesia because they can't keep still and I would never restrain them for such a procedure since tiny little movements could cause mistakes, or more appropriately, accidents. That's when I use Vetabond, if it is feasible, where I CAN restrain if I need to momenmarily with a second pair of qualified, gloves hands, and if it's not, I call my vet. So you can apologise for your incredible lack of understanding of how I home treat my pets, which, as I previously stated, is always under strict adherence to medical ethics. Thank you very much.
 
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Rocket99, can you clarify for us your credentials? I think we might be missing something here. Are you a vet or vet tech? If so, we truly appreciate your insight. But if not, please refrain from talking about at home procedures which requires sedation. We really must advocate vet care. It would be highly irresponsible of us to promote DIY techniques.
 
I agree, and as I said, in no way am I suggesting anyone perform anything that they are not qualified or knowledgeable in, and that DOES include treating an abscess since you can make it worse if you don't know what you're doing. And sure, im a CNA and would have been a trained paramedic if I finished school, but life got in the way when my daughter was born and I had to take a leave of absence for 18 years. I have been employed as a home health aide and have treated many patients, the least of which involved local anesthesia and minor procedures such as debriding mostly superficial wounds such as bed sores. But that is not even the difficult part, that was keeping a patients vitald stable when an emergency strides before assistance arrives. And treating a patient's illness or injury is nothing compared to treating the patient herself! Which is why I advocate spending as much time as possible just observing and taking notes, mine being mostly mental notes but I also keep a journal and a chrinologichr record of all my hospice cases. If you asked me on what date I have a certain rat his last dose of Prednisone in 2015,I could find out in less than 5 minutes. So don't presume you know everything about people. Am I a vet tech? No, I'm better.
 
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