My rat got her toe stuck

Question
I came home from work tonight and found my rat, Sophia, with the second finger on the left hand stuck in the cage.  The cage is one of those coated wire cages with walls that connect at the corners.  Her toe/finger was where these walls meet; she had been climbing.  The whole hand looks swollen, especially the third finger right next to the squished one and the squished one looks ready to fall off.  She hasn't been squeaking and seems fine sitting on my shoulder, just as normal, but the hand looks bad.  Will this swelling go down? What do I do about the squished toe?  I also can't afford to take her to the vet right now.  Do you have any advice on what I should do?  Will she know better now or is this likely to happen again?  I've only had her about a 5-6 weeks.

Answer

Keep it clean and rub it with neosporin. I cant promise that this will help if she needs a systemic antibiotic which means a vet visit is warranted.

As for her learning her lesson: She is a rat, not a human child. She has no idea how or why she has discomfort in her paw and has no conception of right from wrong.  She will not learn her lesson. I would take a pair of pliers and crimp the area tighter so there is less of a gap.