shade
Well-Known Member
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:
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.
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:
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.