Weird toe injury

[Ktina]

More drama. I noticed Womble hiding in his igloo more than usual. When I took him out I saw something weird and hard inbetween his two toes. It looked like a mushed blueberry that had dried, and that's what I thought it was since they had blueberries last night.

So I put him in the sink too soak his foot. His foot was really sensative and he wouldn't let me look at it very well. Well, my mom tried to get it off after soaking it and he started bleeding TONS. Needless to say I don't think it's a blueberry. I finally got it to stop with corn starch but I'm still holding him right now and I'm too afraid to put him down since if any of the corn starch comes off it will start bleeding again.

He's pretty lethargic and a but pale, which worried me that he lost too much blood. Any advice on what can help stop the bleeding besides corn starch and flour? What about anemia, anything I can do for him until tomarrow? And what do you think that thing on his foot is? No pics of it, sorry. Sigh.

 

[Fidget]

If the cornstarch won't work and he keeps bleeding you can try a bit of crazy glue if you don't have surgical glue.

 

[LA]

I would think to prevent anemia (if that is a problem in rats) you could feed him spinach. It has iron and it will prevent anemia. I'm grasping at straws here though.

 

[MumsyRat]

I would give him iron fortified baby cereal. In addition to the added vitamins and minerals it also helps with hydration since it's mixed with water. I personally prefer Milupa because it's a good quality cereal and I think it has the best texture and taste. Some of the other brands look like snot when you mix it up & taste gross (to me anyway) but Milupa looks like a very fine cream of wheat. I like the taste and my rats LOVE it!

 

[mamarat]

I had a rat with an eye injury that wouldn't stop bleeding. He was lethargic when I came home from work. I applied pressure to the eye and fed him yogurt and anything he wanted until the bleeding stopped. He was okay after a while.

 

[Vanessa]

but Milupa looks like a very fine cream of wheat. I like the taste and my rats LOVE it!

Or, you can use Cream of Wheat. You can't get any higher in iron than that. I eat it with Soymilk and it is super yummy!

 

[user 78]

If the cornstarch won't work and he keeps bleeding you can try a bit of crazy glue if you don't have surgical glue.

The crazy glue widely available is actually very toxic. The ingredients used are no where near what they were when it first came out as a glue for in field surgeons and medics. Please do not use any glue products not marketed for human use on your's or your animal's injuries.

 

[chicky82]

Poor boy instead of super glue, what about liquid band-aid? it states that it doesn't sting, drys super quick and stays on hard to cover places The only thing i'd be worried about is him licking it off but since he didn't lick the blood off, maybe he wouldn't lick off the bandaid? it would just be a temporary thing though, you'd have to make sure it doesn't hold any infection in

 

[Ktina]

Thanks guys. I got his foot to stop bleeding and he doesn't look as pale. He didn't want to play tyonight, though.

I have another question about him. He had this bite on his side (it's not deep, just wide). I haven't seen any of them fighting so I was pretty surprised. Anyways, above it there is a bump. It feels like a tumor, but I'm wondering, could it be fluid or infection trapped under the skin? He doesn't come from the best lines but he's not even a year old (he turns a year old April 10).

 

[user 78]

If there's a bite just under it, I would think it's an abscess forming. It's very possible and and one of his cagemates got into a scuffle and his side and toe were bitten. Or the toe may be from something completely different. He'll need to go see the vet, get some abs. If the side wound is an abscess, then you'll want to do warm compresses for 10-15min 2-3 times a day.