Rat skin lesion

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How is Pickles? Any update on how the vet visit went? How's the abscess looking today? I forgot to add that you can try moist heat/warm compresses a couple times a day for 5 to 10 minutes to help soften the scab and draw out the abscess. I've done warm compresses with either a water saturated paper towel or a hunk of gauze. Take that into a bowl and heat it up in the microwave for 15 seconds at a time to heat it up. Once it's nice and hot, wring it out a little so that it is damp and shake it out to cool it a bit. It should feel like a comfortable heat, not too hot but warm. Make sure to test how hot it is before using it on Pickles. You dont want to unintentionally scald him.

Then give him a good snuggle outside of the the cage on your lap while keeping him cozy and using the compress on his abscess. You dont need to mush it down, just gently press w/ minimal pressure. Keep it there for 5 minutes or 10 if you can and it doesn't lose its warmth.

You can also use one of those hot/cold gel bead buddies (looks like a plastic bag w/ squishy gel beads inside). They tend to hold heat much longer than the cheaper paper towel and water version. Just heat it up per the instructions and take a paper towel (or gauze) and saturate it with comfortably hot water, wring out the paper towel so that it is damp and wrap it around the heated bead buddy-- instant moist warm heat and it will maintain the heat for a full 10 mins or longer. :) Just make sure to triple check the temperature on the inside of your forearm to make sure the combo isn't too hot for sensitive nakie rat skin.

This is what I've used for my ratties and myself. It's the perfect size at about the size of the palm of a hand and it's super cute ;):
https://www.amazon.com/TheraPearl-Childrens-Reusable-Flexible-Compress/dp/B004P2TYOW

You can find these things on Amazon (and Amazon prime now), and at any pharmacy. Usually they carry the boring, not very cute gel bead buddies, but they all work just as well.

I hope that you and Pickles are doing really well and hoping that with a little more time, you and Pickles will be able to put this craziness w/ infections and abscesses behind you! :)
 
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

I'm not a veterinarian, but I do have a background in small animal medical care (I edited to correct my use of the term "medicine". I want to avoid any confusion or assumption that I carry a degree in medicine, because I most certainly do not) and critical care. I respect the professional opinion of a veterinarian and veterinary surgeons are well versed in the pre/post-op treatment and recovery of the animals in their care, but in this case I would have to strongly disagree with your veterinarian's post-operative guidance.

I'm certain that your veterinarian is stellar and that she had your girls' wellbeing and health in mind when instructing you to keep them separated after surgery, but 2 weeks is unnecessary and has no medical benefit. In my experience I've found that separating cage mates, during illness or following a surgery, for more than 3 days may further impede recovery and decelerate healing. This is due to not only the stress of surgery but the addtional mental and physical stressors that isolation (rats are social animals that live in family groups or mischiefs) creates and manifests as compromised immunity and other physiological effects.

Being in a strange place (cage) without the familar comfort of a cage mate in the family group will cause any social animal distress, but that stress response is further amplified by external stressors such as a major surgery, anesthesia, etc. There is documented medical evidence that certain degrees of stress can be incredibly detrimental in its effects on the body's respirtory, cardiovascular, endocrine and nervous systems.

I do agree, following a surgical procedure but dependant on the temperament/personality of the rats in a family group (eg rats that are super hyper, obsessive groomers or just boogers because they're bullies), that the recovering rat may need to be housed in a hospital cage for 2 to 3 days. This allows the recovering rat time to shake off the anesthesia, begin pain management and for you to monitor their food and water intake, urine output and stool production. If the rat is recovering well, then there is no need to keep him/her stowed away in a separate cage away from the companionship of her cage mates. No more than 3 days in a hospital cage away from cage mates is necessary. Anything longer than 3 days, in my opinion, is superfluous because it has no medical benefit to the animal.

This is only my opinion based on my education and personal experience. Others may agree or feel differently or disagree. I wanted to reply with my observations and opinion regarding the ongoing debate inclusion vs segregation regarding sick, recovering and/or post-op rats. I wanted another opinion for future reference in case someone is searching through posts trying to find guidance on post-operative care and whether to separate a rat from her family group.

I am glad that you have found a veterinarian that you trust and like. When you find a great vet, my advice is to make sure you maintain a working relationship with them so that you can easily follow them if they ever decide to open their own practice or leave to work at a different practice. Also, I'm really glad to hear that your ladies healed up well. I'm hoping that they are healthy and happy for many more months and years to come. :)
 
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They arent completely seperated they can see each other they just cant touch each other. My girls play alot and wrestle each other so for me it was best to keep them apart. I work in the medical field and am not a vet, I do understand the significance of open wounds getting infected or causing staph and thats exactly what seems to have happened to pickles.... infection. In my opinion if you dont be more safe then sorry with small animals you can lose them quick. My girls also groom each other alot, so i dnt wanna take the chance of one of them reopening the incision or infecting the area with there mouths.. again this is my opinion. I lost one of my girls recently and i won't take a chance of it happening again. I did put them together when I was watching so they cld smell each other because it does take there moral down not being together, as long as I was watching because as soon as they start playing or grooming i had to stop them so the other one didnt accidentally hurt by the other. My girls keep getting mammary tumors so far i have had 2 removed on Tokyo and 3 removed on pompei. Does anyone know what I can do to try and reduce them getting then besides having them fixed??
 
I have been watching this thread for a while. If this is an abscess, antibiotics alone WILL NOT be effective. The abscess must be drained. Do not listen to anyone giving misinformed opinions about what type of antibiotics to use etc. Although I am not a vet, I have been a physician for 40 years. If this is an abscess, I am 100% confident that my statement here is correct
 
I have been watching this thread for a while. If this is an abscess, antibiotics alone WILL NOT be effective. The abscess must be drained. Do not listen to anyone giving misinformed opinions about what type of antibiotics to use etc. Although I am not a vet, I have been a physician for 40 years. If this is an abscess, I am 100% confident that my statement here is correct
I totally agree and I've told her that. She feels he's not well enough to undergo the procedure, so she wants to make him healthier first. I've told her he will not get better until the abscess is drained (and I'm concerned it could lead to sepsis if it's left), and that it wouldn't require anaesthesia, rats are very tolerant of abscess drainings, and he would feel better immediately, and his appetite & health would return. I'm really concerned for Pickle and hope his mom is hearing that draining is crucial.
However, he must be on antibiotics too.
 
Oh no! ...too much sad news. I'm so sorry for your loss. :( You were an amazing Mama to Pickles and he was very lucky to have you. ❤ Hang in there and give lots of love to your other little buddy. I'm certain that his little heart is broken from such a loss, too. Thinking of you and sending warm thoughts your way.
 
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