My first rat related anxiety attack.

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CardboardCastles

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2008
Messages
349
Location
New Hampshire, USA
So, I got home last night late, I've been working crazy hours, and then I took my girls out like I usually do for out time. Mishka is a home-body and doesn't really like leaving her "comfort-zone", so I'm used to her climbing back in the cage and findy a hidey-hole. Last night, though, as she was climbing into the cube, I noticed her toes were BRIGHT red...I thought blood, then looked closer, and it wasn't. Then I thought maybe it was the dye from the chew stick things I bought from Walmart and maybe I had missed it and her toes had been like that for a bit...(when I realized those stick things were dying my fleeces colors they needed to be tossed, they haven't been in there for a few days). So I let it be and went upstairs to get them some pea pods and cucumber and when I came back down Mishka was licking at her paw furiously. So I took her out and her paw was really hot to the touch, and I could see better, her middle two toes were all swollen up, so at 12am I called the vet and left a message and then called this morning too, and got her in to be seen. This picture is -after- the vet today, just a minute ago, actually. I dont' know how well you'll be able to see the toes. This morning they weren't AS swollen, and it -looked- (to me) like she'd torn off one of her claws, but at the vet today, the tech thought she saw a little bit of bruising up on the white of her "wrist"...I don't really see it, but I'm not exactly the rat expert...

img0820qh9.jpg


The vet wanted to do an x-ray, but I didn't have $70 (on top of the $60 office visit, and then more $$$ for whatever needed to be done, they don't do billing, I had to pay it right then) to do that... I don't know if I'm just being over-worried, but the vet wanted to do the x-ray to see if the toes or foot were broken, because, if so, they'd need to be amputated....and the second she said that my anxiety attack started. Its been about an hour and a half and I've still got major palpitations going. She gave me baytril and metacam for now and said we should cross our fingers and hope for an infection but that if she starts to act sick or if the toes go black, I need to bring her back in immediately...so now I'm all nervous anxiety-ridden rat mommy...just looking at it, what do you guys think?
 
That sure looks painful but it can be something as simple a a sprain and even if it is broken, there's no need for amputation.
There's also no need for an xray cause no matter the what it shows, it should be the same treatment... rest, quiet, baytril and metacam.
I do understand your panic attack, I've had my fair share and usually rat related. We are here for you. :cuddle:
 
She was concerned that if it were broken and dislocated that it would ruin circulation to the toes and they'd die on their own, and I'm not positive, but I'm fairly certain an infection from necrosis would be harder to treat...I don't want septic baby toes :sad3:
 
That does sound like a possibility although, not one I've ever heard of. And ya, septicemia is very hard to treat.
Can she move her some of the toes? Do you see her using the hand?
 
The only time I have heard of amputations being necessary is with a severe compound fracture (where the bone is coming out of the skin). I have not heard of any case where a rat has lost circulation to an area below the break either. Amputation may be necessary, but the instances are probably extremely low. I find that strange that it would be the first suggestion that a vet would make in this situation.
Unfortunately, you can't really splint a rat limb so you have to be careful to limit their mobility and carefully watch the limb for any signs of complications. In the situations that I have had, the rat has known to not use the limb and they have healed on their own. I was given antibiotics in order to combat any infection that might occur due to the sprain/break.
 
She was favoring it majorly last night, but she's been using it more today. She uses it to prop her food up, but she isn't holding it like she normally would (which in turn makes her a little hunchback when she's eating).

Her sister was chasing her around the cage this morning and she climbed right up the side and dove into a hammock using that paw, but now she's kind of mellowed out. She's usually my hider, but she seems to be even more elusive than usual now...does Metacam ever make your rats sleep more? I'm usually at work this time of day, so she may very well be napping like she always does, I just don't see her, but she's been sleepy since about 20 minutes after the Metacam dose this morning.
 
Yes, metacam can make her a little sleepy. It is a good sign that she's already using it but it's best if she rests it. But how do you tell a rat that? :roll:
 
Of my 4 girls, she'd be the only one to listen, lol

I just peeked in on her in her box and Wilomena has her mushed in a corner, her injured paw free, but laying over the rest of her giving the occassional affectionate groom.

Wil is the furry foster mommy!
 
I hope that her little hand is much better. I really dread my first rat emergency. Sometimes I think I would be better sticking to the human kids -I know a little bit more about them!
 
99.9% of the time, all you need to do is give them something for pain and swelling, and you can give an antibiotic in case of infection. I always keep Infant Motrin on hand just for late night emergencies like this. As has been mentioned, you can't splint their limbs, the x ray won't really do anything but tell you what may have happened [break, sprain, small fracture], and amputation should be the last resort for *severe* injuries.

Do you have a hospital cage that's low and long? Popping her and a friend in to a cage like that for a few days will limit how much she uses the paw, and keep her from injuring it any more. While rats do know not to use the paw, they only know it because it hurts when they do use it. So the idea is to give them just enough pain relief that it doesn't hurt too badly, but not so much they they don't realize they're still injured.
 
Oh poor baby girl. And I'm sorry you had to go through the stress of her injury. It sure can be scary. They do have a way of spraining feet, catching toenails, and even ripping them off at times.

I had a rattie (actually is was my friend's rat, who stayed with us while she was on vacation. He had managed to fall and break his hand, just days before we were to care for him) who's hand was badly swollen. It looked like if you were to blow up a doctor's glove, and the fingers were just little sausages off that hand. We gave him pretty high (approved through our vet) doses of Metacam, and also had him on Cefa (which works GREAT for infections), but Baytril of course works well too.

In Pierre's case, an xray had been done on the hand and it was broken in two places. When the swelling finally went down, he still walked with a clawed hand, but got around just fine and didn't need amputation (my friend's vet had talked about taking the hand....but my vet did not think it was something to even consider really). We did keep him in a one level cage to deter him from climbing...but he still felt the need to try and climb the side of the cage. :roll:

What did happen with Pierre though, he developed an abscess on the top part of his hand later on, after we stopped the Cefa...so I think his break might have been from a bite.

Hopefully, after Mischka has been on the metacam and baytril for a few days, you'll see a drastic improvement. She should start using that hand more and more...they heal FAST. But if you do see that the hand is curling, or you see swelling remaining on the top part of her hand, I'd keep an eye on it. However, of all the swollen feet and hands we've ever seen (several over the years)...they ALWAYS seem to heal right up. I think rats try to drive us crazy sometimes.
 
i had this happen with one of my nyc rescue boys. he had never been in a cage with levels, and not even thinking, i let the two of them in the ferret nation. percy must have gotten his little hand stuck in the ladder. one morning i found him with his hand very swollen and purple, it hadn't been like that the night before! i worked at a vet at the time, so i brought him in to be looked at. my dr said it was most likely broken, but just reccommened meds and rest, as an xray wouldnt change treatment, and she couldnt splint it because it would make him crazy. i had him on baytril and metacam for a while. then developed an abscess on top of it, which i had to drain and clean daily. a huge mess. finally after about a month, the swelling was completely gone, as well as the abscess. his hand never went back to normal, and its still in a clawed position, but he uses it just fine. runs around faster than most of the other boys! grooms and eats normally. he still to this day gets upset if you try to touch that hand though, my poor doll. this all happened 3 or 4 months ago, but he is a happy little booger. :) so, i'm sure your babykins will be just fine. <3 hope she's feeling better soooooon!
 
Well, day #2 and her little sausage toes look WORLDS better. Now that the swelling has gone down, I can tell the discoloration on her toe was the fact that she'd torn the tip off....claw and all....almost like just the skin from the very tip of her finger went with the claw. I still don't see the bruise the tech saw, but I did notice she looks bruised -between- her toes...


In any event, her little toes are pretty much back to normal size after just 3 teeny doses of Baytril, only 5 days left on it. (and the metacam, which I gave this morning, but there's only 3 days left of that) Keeping a close eye still, but she's a trooper!
 

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