Infected tail

Question
QUESTION: I have a one year old rat that up until about two weeks ago has always been healthy.  Recently I noticed a scab on my rats tail, I thought at first he has just nicked himself on something while I was letting him out to play.  I just left it go assuming it would heal itself, but the scab keeps getting bigger now.  The scab is very thick in places and is scabbing outward while in other places its con caving inward.  It is about the size of a nickel now and the scab is blackish.  It doesn't seem to hurt my rat and when I touch it he doesn't seem to mind.  I'm not sure if I should take him to the vet.  I did some research and think it might be a fungal infection so I'm currently treating the scab with a anti-fungal cream but would really like a second opinion to make sure I'm treating it correctly.

ANSWER: Dont mess with the tail.  It has a direct link to the rats spinal cord and can quickly turn into something so nasty that it could mean the rat has to lose its tail.  The black you see is necrosis, which means there is no blood supply in that area and the tissue is dying/dead.  It needs medical treatment by a Veterinarian that is qualified to treat rats.  I just had a reader lose a rat to a clueless vet so be very sure of your vets credentials and dont be fooled simply by having them see they see exotics.  Keep in mind there are just 130 certified exotic vets, period, and half the vets that claim they are the exotic vet on board has no formal certification and I probably can safely say I know more than that particular vet knows when it comes to treating pet rats.

Can you send me a photo? You can attach it when you answer the follow up.

Is there any discharge and odor?

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------


Nicodemus's Tail   QUESTION: There is no odor and I didn't notice any discharge until this morning.  On the one side there was some clearish discharge.

Answer
This needs attention by a Vet immediately.  If not, your rat may lose his life, if not, the tail for sure. The vet MUST know what he or she is doing.


How is your rat doing?  Do you need names of qualified vets?  Trust me, I have seen people lose their rats from infected tails and worse yet, if the vet doesnt know what he or she is doing, this can of course make matters worse for the rat.   Let me know. I am concerned.  

I would also like your permission to use the photo of your rats tail on my website. I can of course put another picture up of her cute face too if you want to write a brief history of when the infection started etc... this will help many rats  with similar problems.  Let me know please.