Her foot is Really Swollen!! UPDATE- Foot Chewing!

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S

shade

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 11, 2008
Messages
199
Location
Burbank, CA
My youngest girl, Fidget is having some bad luck with getting feet and toes stuck in things. The first thing that happened was her toe got stuck in between a zip tie and the wheel it was holding. It bled a little but overall she was fine after some alone recovery time.

However, she just can't stop getting stuck and now I'm worried. I have a wooden stick (the smooth kind in bird cages) going from one end of the cage to the other for them to climb on and chew on or do whatever to. Well the girls chew on their hammocks a lot and I guess some of the string or thread from one of them managed to tie fidget's foot and part of her tail to the wooden stick. So when I came home she was dangling by her ankle, squeaking and twisting all over. When we got her still, her tail slid out easily so I figured it wasn't that tight on her yet (like it just happened). But then cutting it from her ankle was difficult because an extension of the string was wrapped tightly around her ankle, but we got her loose. This was last night (tuesday night).

Her foot looked bad and I kinda freaked out because it was purple and she just dragged it around like she couldn't use it. There was a distinct groove in her ankle where the string was and all I could think was that her foot had died and was on the verge of falling off (like how some people dock tails by tying a rubber band around it). I put a cold compress on it for a bit and massaged it to try and get the blood flow back and a few hours later her foot looked pink just like the other and she seemed to be using it just fine.

This evening, after being out all day, I went to check her foot just to make sure she was ok and was shocked at what I saw. Her foot was still pink like before, but now it was twice the normal size. She's using it but It's completely swollen and the groove is still on her ankle. I want to take her to the vet but the one close to me is just familiar with rats, she's not an expert and I'm afraid she might try something that could make it worse (maybe i'm just over worrying idk). But do you think it's normal for it to swell after the trauma it went through? My boyfriend suggested separating her again so the others don't rough house with her and make it worse. But right now i'm just kinda at a loss. I'm going to call the vet in the morning and ask her but I just wanted to know what you thought about the situation.

Here are pics of her foot as of tonight:

DSCF1802.jpg

DSCF1804.jpg

DSCF1805.jpg


Please let me know what you think, I'm really scared she might lose her foot.

Update
I just checked her after I posted this and she's actually got puss leaking out of the groove in her ankle. I separated her and am definitely calling the vet in the morning.
 
What probably happened is that the string cut into her foot and it got infected. She'll need meds, Baytril or Bactrim.
I'd recommend you don't use any hammocks that can fringe or come undone, stick with fleece.
Let us know what the vet says.
 
Was it really pus or was it fluid? Sometimes the swelling forces the fluid inside of the foot/leg through the skin, making it weep. But I would get her to the vet. Is she in a lot of pain, is she using it at all?
 
What probably happened is that the string cut into her foot and it got infected. She'll need meds, Baytril or Bactrim.
I'd recommend you don't use any hammocks that can fringe or come undone, stick with fleece.
Let us know what the vet says.
Click to expand...

All the blankets and hammocks are fleece but I buy them as actual blankets from walgreens then cut them and sew them. The only thing that's not cut is the bottom blanket which I think does have a line of string along the edge.

Was it really pus or was it fluid? Sometimes the swelling forces the fluid inside of the foot/leg through the skin, making it weep. But I would get her to the vet. Is she in a lot of pain, is she using it at all?
Click to expand...

It could be fluid, it's really swollen like it's full of fluid. She kind of uses it but it' sort of a hop like she doesn't want to use it a lot and if you try to look at it and touch it she gets all squirmy.

I'm calling the vet right now.
 
Oh god, the vet closest to me says that the "rodent vet" Dr. Grupo wont be in till Friday. So I called West end which is a vet that does a lot of small animals like ferrets, bats, and rats. They said I need to bring her in but they're like a 1h 20m away. The appointments at 11a which is 1h 40 min from now so I'll keep you updated.
 
If it's just clear fluids, no smell coming from the foot, it's a natural progression to the swelling but doesn't mean it won't go down.
Good luck at the vets!!
 
Well I just got back from the vets and it was a bit overwhelming. She's on this antibiotic called trimethoprim sulfa that she gets .1 cc 2x a day. and then this other medicine that goes directly on her foot. I'm not sure what it's called but it really stinks and your not supposed to touch it or it will absorb into your skin and give you an icky taste in your mouth. She gets that twice a day and then warm epsom salt compresses 6x a day. They're going to call on Friday to check on her and if she's not improving by monday then the vet suggests amputation at the knee.

That's the worse case scenerio though. He said where the cut is on her ankle, the skin may just slide off like a glove and then her foot could be treated like a regular wound. I'm hoping this medicine works because I don't think I'd be able to even afford amputation. I told my mom and she just paused and was like "It's a rat", like because it's a rat it's not worth spending the money for an amputation.

but if amputation comes up as an option, IDK what i'm going to do. The $56 bill today took a lot out of me. And it sucks because this vet i really expensive. The medicine was like $4.50 each and then the check up call was $1 but the visit was $47 *sigh* and the drive used up like half a tank of gas. The vet closer to me may be able to do the amputation if the option comes up, the only reason I didn't go there was because the rat expert there wont be in till friday. I just hope this all turns out good. Fidget isn't even acting like she's in pain. She still tries to climb in her cage and she's alert and overall happy. It breaks my heart that she has to go through this =(
 
Actually, count yourself lucky with vet prices. To get my girls seen is a $87 visit fee. Because I needed Baytril and Metacam, they were $15-20 EACH for little bitty bottles, and the vet didn't want to give them to me! She wanted me to pay $500 for an x-ray of my Mishka's foot because she was convinced she'd broken it and it would become septic. She'd just torn the tip of a toe off and it got infected.
 
The medicine he gave you is Bactrim also known as Septra or Novotrimel. It's a really good med for infections like this one.
I'm really hoping it doesn't come to amputation, although rats do very well with an amputation, it's still quite a bit of money.
It really sounds like a typical ankle sprain. Keeping my fingers crossed for you and your sweetie.
 
I honestly doubt that amputation will be necessary...they must have given you DMSO and Fuciderm...I got the same warning...nasty taste :)

Sebastian had his diagnosed as a bacterial infection and he got the exact same treatment...the swelling went down in a few days

poorsebfoot.jpg
 
yeah DMSO is what he called it. It smells god awful like a sickening sweet stink. Its hard to describe but it makes the room smell whenever we use it on her.
 
shade said:
yeah DMSO is what he called it. It smells god awful like a sickening sweet stink. Its hard to describe but it makes the room smell whenever we use it on her.
Click to expand...

DMSO is not an antibiotic though, its just an agent that allows the actual medicated ointment be absorbed into the tissue fast. I had to use fuciderm as my topical ab ointment. Do you use anything other than the DMSO?

How's her foot today?
 
it's starting to look a little better. All I use is the (I guess it's called dmso I could be wrong) foot medicine 2x a day After she gets a warm Epsom salt massage (which she gets 6x a day) and then she gets her antibiotic 2x a day as well.
 
An update:

Ok her foot is healing beautifully! The, I guess, dead skin i peeling away to show fresh healthy tissue and it just looks great.

However,
This morning she started chewing on her toes making them bleed. IDK why she's doing this, I called the vet and the tech said when the vet gets in she'll talk to her and call me back. But has anyone had their rat do this before? how can I keep her from chewing. lol the vet asked if I had a collar to put on her or something to keep her from doing it but I didn't think they made them that small x3 *ahem* anyways IDK what I can do to keep her from that foot. Any suggestions?
 
Her foot could be hurting her, or it could be tingling - like when your foot's asleep and it starts "waking up". Either one could be a normal part of the healing process and if so will stop within a day or two.

The main concern with this type of behaviour would be that the tissue on the foot is dying, but it sounds like she's healing well!

Collars are tough to use on rats, but in this case I would recommend one as it will likely only be very temporary. Here are some directions on how to make your own e-collar for your rat:

http://www.ratballs.com/RatTails/Tails084.html
 

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