Amputating his leg?..

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AgitatedPelican

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So, my boy has been to the vet and either has am infection or cancer, we are trying antibiotics to see if its an infection. If he has cancer, we will most likely opt to amputate his leg- because otherwise he is perfectly healthy and not showing any signs of old age.
Do any of you have any personal experience information on this?
Or have/had a rattie who had to lose a back leg?
Any and all info helps
 
I have been through a few amputations with my ratties. Is yours a hind or a foreleg?
Hind leg amputations (up close to the hip) are relatively easy for a rat to adapt to. They might need a little help from you for scratching etc on that side but they heal up well and can be happy rats for the rest of their lives. Forelegs are a more difficult thing for them and you might need to help them a bit more.

Here's Inca grooming 2 days post-op and as you can see she's having to relearn her balance a bit but she will do fine.

dec26Incagrooming.jpg~original


and exploring on the same day :)

dec26Incaexploring.jpg~original
 
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It's a hind leg, how long did recovery take?
And will the 3 days to recheck be too long to wait if it is cancer?
We are on the rat version of keflex and meloxicam for infection and pain. He got a steroid shot five hours ago, with no improvement.
I have absolutely no idea when I'm supposed to see signs of improvement if i will see any
 
lilspaz68 said:
Just keep.an eye on the swelling. Is it hard or hot and a little give to it? Is it painful to the touch or if you manipulate the leg gently.
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The antibiotics actually are making the swelling go down! Almost completely in a day. I think he's going to be okay :)
 
My guess is it's not infection, but a bad sprain. Steroids are best at inflammation and Meloxicam is fantastic with pain and inflammation and the dexamethasone injections work fast. The antibiotics would take a few days to kick in where you would see improvements. This is a good sign :)
 
lilspaz68 said:
My guess is it's not infection, but a bad sprain. Steroids are best at inflammation and Meloxicam is fantastic with pain and inflammation and the dexamethasone injections work fast. The antibiotics would take a few days to kick in where you would see improvements. This is a good sign :)
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Thank you so much :) how long is too long for the bump to be on his ankle without a recheck to see if it is a tumor?
I think you're right though about it being a really really bad sprain. The vet gave us meloxicam too
 
lilspaz68 said:
Just so you know, the meloxicam is likely the cause of the swelling coming down. Antivio5tics takes days to work on an infection. Does he seem happier now?
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So much happier and super snuggly! Not in the old boy way though, he just seems elated to be better.
 

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