ZGT or abscess?

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xNemoxRemyx

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Aug 10, 2014
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Hello everyone I am new here. My heart rat Remy, who is about a year and a half, has been having a hard month...I came back from vacation on July 5th and noticed she was not herself. She was drinking A LOT and not eating. I took her to the vets and we noticed the left side of her face was swollen. She wouldn't let us look in her mouth but the vet suggested an abscess and gave me Baytril 0.1cc twice daily and 0.2cc of Metacam once daily. After I started the medications my rattie was back to normal but after the medications ran out, the mass kept getting bigger. The vet gave me another supply of the baytril and metacam but now, the mass is growing and I am a very scared rat mommy...I've done some research and ZGT scares the heck out of me!! I am not sure if I am dealing with that or a couple of very nasty abscess'. She has two lumps. One under her chin and one on the side. No blood in the ears. What scares me is that her bottom jaw is a little crooked and shes not eating as much. Can someone please help me! Her vet is not available til Tuesday.
 
I am currently treating one of my boy's that had a swollen face and a lump that went under his jaw. I had him in to see the vet within 3 days of noticing it and they immediately put him under did needle aspiration, x-rays, lanceted the site to drain the pus, and we sent out a sample. I don't think that is a ZGT, but that rattie needs aggressive treatment. My boy's lump compared to that is a tiny pimple and he is in extreme pain (on 2 pain meds and 2 antibiotics) and is having a hard time eating solid foods.

http://www.ratshackforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30638&page=3
 
dspch911 said:
I am currently treating one of my boy's that had a swollen face and a lump that went under his jaw. I had him in to see the vet within 3 days of noticing it and they immediately put him under did needle aspiration, x-rays, lanceted the site to drain the pus, and we sent out a sample. I don't think that is a ZGT, but that rattie needs aggressive treatment. My boy's lump compared to that is a tiny pimple and he is in extreme pain (on 2 pain meds and 2 antibiotics) and is having a hard time eating solid foods.

http://www.ratshackforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30638&page=3
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I am going to take her to the vets as soon as I can! I just read your thread, glad its not bone cancer! Maybe this is just a large infection that baytril itself can't do. I just want my baby better!
 
dspch911 said:
My boy is eating baby food, baby cereal, etc
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I've been doing baby food and applesauce she seems to love the applesauce. Every time I offer her food, she grabs it so I know she has an appetite. She is a fighter i will tell you that...she's been on a roller coaster ride for a month now but still runs to greet me every time I walk into my room.
 
Location isn't right for ZGT. Is right for teeth abcesses but hopefully its just a tissue abscess. D

How long did you give the baytril for?

With my rats with teeth issues, I soak their lab blocks (put in container with lid, cover completely with water and in a few hours you have lab block mush) and its much easier to eat for her
 
lilspaz68 said:
Location isn't right for ZGT. Is right for teeth abcesses but hopefully its just a tissue abscess. D

How long did you give the baytril for?

With my rats with teeth issues, I soak their lab blocks (put in container with lid, cover completely with water and in a few hours you have lab block mush) and its much easier to eat for her
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Yea I was thinking it's a lil too far forward for ZGT but I still wasn't sure. She's been on baytril for two weeks. She's going to the vets ASAP. Offered her some juice and she nearly ripped my hand off! Haha offered her soft baby food and she took it and ran. She's been eating Oxbow Adult Rat food before all this but I'll try making it into a mush.
 
My rat Quicksilver had something there and when he had a needle aspiration all the vet got was blood, and during surgery she found a very undefined mass but it wasn't a ZGT and yours is even more forward than his is :)

We will all cross our fingers (and tails) for a simple abscess!
 
"She has two lumps. One under her chin and one on the side. No blood in the ears. What scares me is that her bottom jaw is a little crooked and shes not eating as much."
What jumps out at me is the two lumps. Does it sound like she may have gotten bitten and then it abscessed?
And I can't tell you how many times rats have been given too-short a course of antibiotics and the infection recurs. I wouldn't bother with the Baytril - most of the bacteria is probably resistant now. She's going to need a different class of drug. Have you tried warm compresses on her face to see if you can bring the swelling to a head? If it is an abscess, popping and draining is the best treatment so her body doesn't have to deal with all the pus. And it will hurt less if it pops because the pressure will be resolved.
 
Joanne said:
"She has two lumps. One under her chin and one on the side. No blood in the ears. What scares me is that her bottom jaw is a little crooked and shes not eating as much."
What jumps out at me is the two lumps. Does it sound like she may have gotten bitten and then it abscessed?
And I can't tell you how many times rats have been given too-short a course of antibiotics and the infection recurs. I wouldn't bother with the Baytril - most of the bacteria is probably resistant now. She's going to need a different class of drug. Have you tried warm compresses on her face to see if you can bring the swelling to a head? If it is an abscess, popping and draining is the best treatment so her body doesn't have to deal with all the pus. And it will hurt less if it pops because the pressure will be resolved.
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She is such a diva and hated the compress idea. She has a vet appt at 930 so I think we may do some tests. I'll keep you all posted!!
 
noodlebutts said:
My rat Quicksilver had something there and when he had a needle aspiration all the vet got was blood, and during surgery she found a very undefined mass but it wasn't a ZGT and yours is even more forward than his is :)

We will all cross our fingers (and tails) for a simple abscess!
Click to expand...

She gets checked out tomorrow so I'm keeping my fingers crossed! Thank you
 
Well it's an abscess. On the way to vets it ruptured and a ton of pus came out. She had to put Remy under to lance it and see what is causing the abscess. Were also sending some in for a test. She's still in surgery so I'll update when I can.
 
Joanne said:
I'm glad it was an abscess. Much better than a tumour, for sure. I hope she made out OK with her surgery.
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She did well with the surgery. Vet said that she had an ulcer in the back of her mouth and she lanced the abcsess. The lump under her chin we are still unsure on. She did look in it and no pus came out. X-rats said it's not to the bone. We also sent a culture of the stuff out. Let's hope for good news. Remy is happy to be home with mommy. I'll update pictures later.
 
Throttle still have his lump under is chin too and it turned out to be an infection so were still working on the warm compress. Glad to hear everything worked out alright she is going to be so much happier!!:flowers3:
 

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