smmmiley
Well-Known Member
Learning as we go...
A week ago today our 5 rats had just been introduced and spent their first night together in one cage. I was pretty excited, all went well, and snuggles were being shared by all. :joy: It was after supper and I was letting them run around in the hall. Heard a squeak and saw two of my girls in a wee squabble... pretty much over right away. Just an irritation I thought.
I picked up one of the girls (Crimson) to make sure she was okay... didn't notice anything, but when I put her down, I had blood on my hand. Then I saw blood on the towel. Picked her up again... she was bleeding on the bottom of one of her back paws.
Got hubby to come up and help me check the other girl (Miss Elliott) involved...
Miss Elliott was hunkered in the corner. We picked her up and it was pretty scary to see the damage these luvlies can do to each other in an instant... like some horror movie, it looked like something had tried to skin her. A gash about 1.5cm long over her left eye. You could clearly see the skin, it looked ripped open. Hubby and I were pretty concerned and didn't know what to do.
I held Crimson and got some cornstarch to dip her paw in.
Hubby held Miss Elliott and tried pouring the cornstarch in her cut.
Bleeding didn't seem to be subsiding for either one, but Miss Elliott's was clearly worse and she kept trying to scratch at it, which widened her injury. Hubby was starting to go green and was getting beside himself.
anic:
I just held dear Crimson close and tried to get her to settle. She wanted down, but I wanted the bleeding to stop first.
I logged into the Rat Shack and got on Chat in hopes someone would give me some advice.
One of my concerns was do I put them back in the same cage after such injuries. They told me not to worry. Someone asked me if it was a fight, or just a squabble... squabble. So said shouldn't be a problem to put them back in the cage together.
Both girls were still bleeding, but had calmed down (15-20mins. later) so not knowing what else to do, I figured perhaps the other rats might help and so we put them back in the cage... :thumbup: :heart:
Immediately, our other 3 girls ran to Miss Elliott and started to tend to her and cleaned her up. Within minutes, her fur was no longer stained with blood and the wound was clean.
It was a real WOW! MOMENT for hubby and I! We probably should have trusted the pack sooner. We're mere humans, what do we know!
Next morning, Miss Elliott's scary wound looked pretty good, scabbed over; and, although Crimson's paw looked slightly swollen, it looked good too.
Today, Miss Elliott's scab fell off, and upon checking Crimson's paw, I couldn't even tell where her cut had been. :joy:
My, my, our hearts were pounding the night it happened, but it sure was amazing to see them all come together and take of each other like they did.
Funny thing is, those two girls and the first two I saw snuggling/napping together after we combined them all. And, still now, they are the two girls that seem to "squabble" the most. :gaah:
I do keep my eye on them both. And, if I hear squeaks I am firm, and I try to distract them. I know they need to work things out, but I sure don't need a repeat like last week any time soon either!
I planned on getting 2 rats. Then ended up with 3. One died and it just didn't feel right so we got 2 more. Then I read about a single girl... now we have 5 girls. They sure do keep me on my toes!! But, I wouldn't change a thing. Love them sooo much it's crazy! :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart:
A week ago today our 5 rats had just been introduced and spent their first night together in one cage. I was pretty excited, all went well, and snuggles were being shared by all. :joy: It was after supper and I was letting them run around in the hall. Heard a squeak and saw two of my girls in a wee squabble... pretty much over right away. Just an irritation I thought.
I picked up one of the girls (Crimson) to make sure she was okay... didn't notice anything, but when I put her down, I had blood on my hand. Then I saw blood on the towel. Picked her up again... she was bleeding on the bottom of one of her back paws.
Got hubby to come up and help me check the other girl (Miss Elliott) involved...
Miss Elliott was hunkered in the corner. We picked her up and it was pretty scary to see the damage these luvlies can do to each other in an instant... like some horror movie, it looked like something had tried to skin her. A gash about 1.5cm long over her left eye. You could clearly see the skin, it looked ripped open. Hubby and I were pretty concerned and didn't know what to do.
I held Crimson and got some cornstarch to dip her paw in.
Hubby held Miss Elliott and tried pouring the cornstarch in her cut.
Bleeding didn't seem to be subsiding for either one, but Miss Elliott's was clearly worse and she kept trying to scratch at it, which widened her injury. Hubby was starting to go green and was getting beside himself.
anic: I just held dear Crimson close and tried to get her to settle. She wanted down, but I wanted the bleeding to stop first.
I logged into the Rat Shack and got on Chat in hopes someone would give me some advice.
One of my concerns was do I put them back in the same cage after such injuries. They told me not to worry. Someone asked me if it was a fight, or just a squabble... squabble. So said shouldn't be a problem to put them back in the cage together.
Both girls were still bleeding, but had calmed down (15-20mins. later) so not knowing what else to do, I figured perhaps the other rats might help and so we put them back in the cage... :thumbup: :heart:
Immediately, our other 3 girls ran to Miss Elliott and started to tend to her and cleaned her up. Within minutes, her fur was no longer stained with blood and the wound was clean.
It was a real WOW! MOMENT for hubby and I! We probably should have trusted the pack sooner. We're mere humans, what do we know!
Next morning, Miss Elliott's scary wound looked pretty good, scabbed over; and, although Crimson's paw looked slightly swollen, it looked good too.
Today, Miss Elliott's scab fell off, and upon checking Crimson's paw, I couldn't even tell where her cut had been. :joy:
My, my, our hearts were pounding the night it happened, but it sure was amazing to see them all come together and take of each other like they did.
Funny thing is, those two girls and the first two I saw snuggling/napping together after we combined them all. And, still now, they are the two girls that seem to "squabble" the most. :gaah:
I do keep my eye on them both. And, if I hear squeaks I am firm, and I try to distract them. I know they need to work things out, but I sure don't need a repeat like last week any time soon either!
I planned on getting 2 rats. Then ended up with 3. One died and it just didn't feel right so we got 2 more. Then I read about a single girl... now we have 5 girls. They sure do keep me on my toes!! But, I wouldn't change a thing. Love them sooo much it's crazy! :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart:
