Hey everyone. I joined this forum for advice/a second opinion concerning an ongoing health issue with one of my rats, Spot. It's a bit of an odd situation so you'll have to bear with me.
It all started when I noticed Spot, who is about 2.5 years old, had developed a lump on the side of his face (between the eye and ear area) a little under two months ago. It popped up pretty quickly and I was worried that it was a tumor, so I made an appointment with the only local vet that would see rodents. When I got to the vet, he poked a syringe/needle type thing into the lump to see if it was a mass of tissue or just an abscess. He drew a bunch of pus out with the needle, which obviously meant it was abscess. After that he lanced it and drained out the rest of the pus. He then prescribed an antibiotic (Baytril) to give orally and steroid cream to apply directly into the wound. I was told to give Spot the antibiotic twice daily for two weeks and apply the cream into the wound once a day until it stopped making pus. I was so happy at the time that it was just a simple abscess that would go away and not a tumor.. unfortunately things would eventually become more complicated.
The abscess filled up again the next day (which I was told to expect), so I gently squeezed out the pus and cleaned the wound with warm, soapy water before applying the cream and giving him the antibotic. I continued treatment as instructed and after a few days, the abscess seemed to stop making pus and the swelling started to go down. After it stopped making pus, I stopped using the cream (kept cleaning it though) like the vet said and kept giving the antibiotic. Around day 10 of treatment, the abscess started filling up and swelling again. I called the vet and voiced my concern, so he prescribed a different antibiotic (Amoxicillin) to be given for another two weeks.
So I stopped giving Spot the Baytril and started him on the new antibiotic the next day. I continued to drain and clean the wound normally. After a about a week of that, the abscess stopped making pus again and the swelling subsided. I kept up with the antibiotics + cleaning, and after the two weeks were up, the abscess seemed to have dried up and the swelling was totally gone. The wound began to scab and I thought I had the infection beat.
A few days after I discontinued antibiotics, the abscess started filling up swelling AGAIN. Of course, I called the vet and he told me to kept it clean and start giving him the Amoxicillin again (there was extra). So I did and am still doing that now. It's been over a week since then and the abscess keeps filling up yet trying heal and close at the same time. It's very difficult to clean at this point and it's very swollen. Also, this time around he has developed some new symptoms that really worry me. The past few days, his jaw has become slightly crooked (due to the swelling, I guess?) which is making it difficult for him to eat and now there is little blood coming out of his ear. I'm worried he's in a lot of pain, too.
Obviously I'm going to take him back to the vet, but can anyone offer any insight on what's going on? I'm starting to wonder if it's ear infection gone wrong or if the infection from the abscess has somehow spread to his ear... maybe that's the cause for the blood? Also, if the swelling goes down, will do you think his jaw return to normal? Has anyone ever encountered a situation like this?
I apologize or such a long post and all the questions, but I'm so worried and confused at this point. I feel like I've done something wrong even though I'm trying my hardest to help him get rid of this thing. I want him to get better so badly...
Any help is appreciated. Thank you for reading.
It all started when I noticed Spot, who is about 2.5 years old, had developed a lump on the side of his face (between the eye and ear area) a little under two months ago. It popped up pretty quickly and I was worried that it was a tumor, so I made an appointment with the only local vet that would see rodents. When I got to the vet, he poked a syringe/needle type thing into the lump to see if it was a mass of tissue or just an abscess. He drew a bunch of pus out with the needle, which obviously meant it was abscess. After that he lanced it and drained out the rest of the pus. He then prescribed an antibiotic (Baytril) to give orally and steroid cream to apply directly into the wound. I was told to give Spot the antibiotic twice daily for two weeks and apply the cream into the wound once a day until it stopped making pus. I was so happy at the time that it was just a simple abscess that would go away and not a tumor.. unfortunately things would eventually become more complicated.
The abscess filled up again the next day (which I was told to expect), so I gently squeezed out the pus and cleaned the wound with warm, soapy water before applying the cream and giving him the antibotic. I continued treatment as instructed and after a few days, the abscess seemed to stop making pus and the swelling started to go down. After it stopped making pus, I stopped using the cream (kept cleaning it though) like the vet said and kept giving the antibiotic. Around day 10 of treatment, the abscess started filling up and swelling again. I called the vet and voiced my concern, so he prescribed a different antibiotic (Amoxicillin) to be given for another two weeks.
So I stopped giving Spot the Baytril and started him on the new antibiotic the next day. I continued to drain and clean the wound normally. After a about a week of that, the abscess stopped making pus again and the swelling subsided. I kept up with the antibiotics + cleaning, and after the two weeks were up, the abscess seemed to have dried up and the swelling was totally gone. The wound began to scab and I thought I had the infection beat.
A few days after I discontinued antibiotics, the abscess started filling up swelling AGAIN. Of course, I called the vet and he told me to kept it clean and start giving him the Amoxicillin again (there was extra). So I did and am still doing that now. It's been over a week since then and the abscess keeps filling up yet trying heal and close at the same time. It's very difficult to clean at this point and it's very swollen. Also, this time around he has developed some new symptoms that really worry me. The past few days, his jaw has become slightly crooked (due to the swelling, I guess?) which is making it difficult for him to eat and now there is little blood coming out of his ear. I'm worried he's in a lot of pain, too.
Obviously I'm going to take him back to the vet, but can anyone offer any insight on what's going on? I'm starting to wonder if it's ear infection gone wrong or if the infection from the abscess has somehow spread to his ear... maybe that's the cause for the blood? Also, if the swelling goes down, will do you think his jaw return to normal? Has anyone ever encountered a situation like this?
I apologize or such a long post and all the questions, but I'm so worried and confused at this point. I feel like I've done something wrong even though I'm trying my hardest to help him get rid of this thing. I want him to get better so badly...
Any help is appreciated. Thank you for reading.
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