How do I help my rat to heal her eye infection?

Question
QUESTION: About a month ago I took to my rat to the vets - It had a lump under one eye and as it has had cancer before I was very worried it was a tumor on its face. However, the vet gave it some antibiotics and a few days later the lump sort of burst and the inflammation went down.

Phew! I thought - just have to wait for it to heal. But because the poor thing and her sister kept scratching at it, it ha now become an open wound beneath her eye that shows little sign of healing.

I can't think how to affix a dressing to the delicate area and have tried not to touch it for fear of making it worse.

She seems perfectly happy otherwise - Her normal lovely inquisitive self.  

Will it heal eventually? Is there something I could do, or a vet? As she is a cancer survivor I feel especially protective of my poor little rat.

ANSWER: Its an abscess for sure. when it ruptured and all of the pus was expelled, this promoted healing.  It needs treated but you need to have the vet prescribe you with medications that can be used safely near the eyes.  You can irrigate it with saline solution for now. but I would seek vet attention.  Only use a vet that is experienced with exotics. Dont be fooled by wanna be exotic vets but instead, be sure the vet your seeing has the proper qualifications to care for exotics or chances things can get worse are possible.

As for her cancer, where did she have cancer at?  Did you have a biopsy done and do you know what type of cancer it was (Squamous Cell Carcinoma, lymphoma,sarcoma,)  What a brave little girl she must be and strong too.   Rats are such an inspiration to us, esp when I hear about a tiny animal such as she that pulled through cancer!

Please let me know if you need a name of a good vet if you do not already have one and also about the cancer. I also wanted to know if there is or was any discharge after the abscess burst and what color it was and if there was an odor.  I know its a strange request but since I cant examine her I have to go by what you describe.

Can you take a photo or two of it and email me at Sandyscrittercity@yahoo.com


hope to hear from you soon!

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

QUESTION: Hi, thanks for answering. I took her to the vets this morning and they gave her some painkillers (ibuprofen and something similar to morphine) and antibiotics in three shots. Poor thing she was squirming like crazy - I felt so bad though because it had got a lot worse yesterday and looked really awful. The vet also gave me a course of antibiotics to administer myself everyday into her mouth, and a cream called 'fucithalmic vet' to put on the sore. I feel so bad I didn't take her back earlier but I thought it was healing.

Her cancer was a breast tumor, they did a biopsy and said it was the kind that doesn't spread - but it was about a year ago now and I cannot remember if they told me if it was lymphoma or something else. However today he said there was a chance her eye could be cancerous and if the antibiotics don't work there's nothing he can do because they can't operate on that area. The discharge of her eye was a light yellow. I have noticed that her breath is a different odor to her sister's.

I really don't want to have her put down - she is so lovely and full of personality and her sister will miss her. But if it doesn't get better I suppose it will be unfair on her - she seems agitated now but it might be because of the painkillers?

I am going to the rspca vet on seven sisters road in London.

Oh dear. I am so worried about her and want to make sure I am doing to right thing - yesterday she curled up on my lap whilst I was reading and she seemed so happy.

I have to go to work nowbut I'll send over a picture tonight. Thanks so much for your reply, it helps to have someone to talk to - most people laugh or get disgusted when I tell them about it.

Answer

One eyed wonder boy   Your vet is wrong.  They CAN operate in that area.  "HE" cant, is what it boils down to. I just had someone write to me about the same thing. She put her rat to sleep after she was told they could not remove the rats eye, that they do not do that kind of surgery and that the rat could never survive being under anesthesia more than 15 minutes. Once she found out that it is a very common procedure to perform an enecleation on a rat and they can indeed be kept under anesthesia for up to an hour or longer if needed (as long as it is the proper gas, which would be isoflurane or sevoflurane, which should ONLY be used anyhow and nothing else) the rat recovers 100% without incident.
Please let me find you another vet because I fear this vet will lead you down the wrong path and will make you feel that you have no other choice but to put your rat to sleep when there is HELP for her.


Please see the photo on the side here.  That is Santana.  He had an infection that stemmed from a tumor behind the eye.  The eye was removed as well as the mass. The infection was cleaned out, the eye lid was fused together and now here he is, a year later, happy as can be despite his handicap.  I also have photos of him on my website along with the photo of his eye before they removed          


About the rats cancer: All cancers spread, but if it was encapsulated, this would prevent the spread.  Just to let you know.

Anyhow do not give up on him.  THEY CAN REMOVE THE EYE.  Just not that place I would not let them touch him now anyhow because if they dont know it can be done that means they are not educated enough to know how to perform an enucleation on the rat and may really cause a fatal mistake.

Let me know your thoughts on this and hang in there!