Alle

Question
QUESTION: My pet rat Alle is having a bad year. About a month and a half ago she lost her life long cage mate to a ruptured abscess. My husband and I decided we didn't want her to live alone so we bought two rats, Sugar and Sweetheart. We quarantined the two new girls for two weeks. After that we started introducing the three to each other in neutral areas over the course of several days. We switched their cages at one point so that they would get used to each others smell. Finally we cleaned one of the cages and put them in together. (We have a large cage so they have a lot of space.) There were a couple of tussels but nothing more serious than the wresting Alle and Serenity used to do. After about two hours that stopped two. All three have been getting along really well. They eat together now and sleep together.
I take them out every day to play with them. Alle's always been a little skittish. She hates being picked up or moved. Cleaning her cage has always been a fight because she never wants to come out. That hasn't changed but she's slowly becoming more friendly under the influence of the other two who are really outgoing.
Two days ago I took them out to play for about an hour. When I woke up in the night my husband was just coming to be. We have different schedules. He said he noticed that her hand was swollen. I checked on her. She didn't want me to come near her and she was sleeping in the bottom of her cage.
I've watched her closely. At first I just thought that she knocked it against the bars or got it strained in a wrestling match with the other two. Now I'm not sure. The swelling hasn't gone down but her behavior is getting back to normal. She's climbing all over her cage and begging me for raisins and seeds. She uses the fingers on the swollen hand for everything except climbing. She won't let me pick her up, but that's not abnormal for her.
Today I finally got her to come over to where I could get a better look at her hand. It looks like the wrist is swollen just below the fingers. The swelling is large with a round, black spot on the top. I'm not sure if she broke her wrist or if she has a cyst or an abscess. Is there something I can do for her? She doesn't seem to be in pain but I am concerned that she is simply hiding it from me the way Serenity did before she died. I don't want to traumatize her any more than I have to which is why I didn't take her to the vet right away. I thought if it was a sprain or a break they wouldn't be able to help with that really. If it is something that needs to be lanced however I know I am not equal to the task of doing it here.
Is it likely to be a break? Is it likely to be an abscess or a cyst? I think I can get a picture if I need to. She might let me do that. How can I help her?

ANSWER: Hi April


I need to see photos so I can see what your talking about.  It sounds like an infection though and the dark spot sounds like its necrotic tissue, which is indicative of an abscess. It should not need lanced though, you can get it to go down on its own  unless you dont think you can handle it. Simply getting her to stand in warm water for a bit and after that, putting a bit of pressure on the swollen area once you loosen up the black scab on it should get it to burst and you just need to keep it clean.  However, if you would rather see a vet for it of course thats fine too.   Anyhow, send photos to sandyscrittercity@yahoo.com


hang in there!

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

QUESTION: I tired to get pictures but they all came out fuzzy. However today it was considerably less swollen than it was before. The place were I saw the black spot has a depression and looks scabbed over, plus she was weeping a clear fluid. She was a lot more active, using the fingers better again.

ANSWER: Do you have a MACRO setting on your camera?  I always took fuzzy photos too and my vet told me to use the macro setting....mine has a little flower avatar when its on macro.  That lets you take real close up shots.


Sounds like she is on the mend though.....what all have you done for her??  Did anything drain out?

Did you remove the scab and see any funky gunk come out?  What an unprofessional word......funky gunk. LOL Sounds better than asking if there was an accumulation of white blood cells and cellular debris that was thick, yellow, white or green fluid with an offensive odor that came out of the wound, better known as PUS.

Yuck  I like funky gunk better!  LOL







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

QUESTION: I don't know about a Macro setting, but I haven't been able to do much for her. Two days ago I got her to let me touch it briefly and yucky green gunk came out. She let me brush against it long enough to put neosporin on it, but since then she won't let me near it. The swelling is going down slightly so I am holding my breath praying she is going to get better. At least her cagemates haven't caught anything and she seems happy even letting me pet her as long as I leave her paw alone.

Answer
Its for sure a nasty infection.  Somehow you have to try to get more of the green pus out.  Green means the infection is deep.
Somehow you have to get saline solution on it to get it to clean out well.  Can you wrap her in a towel and keep her kind of....restrained?