ratty

Question
QUESTION: Hiya Sandra

Re Our winters..well I take it youre in the Northern Hemisphere..well Im down south...far far down south..right at the very tip of Africa...Cape Point is about a 30 min drive from where I live.  So anyhoo we're going into winter right now (autumn really)...we're by the ocean so we dont get weather extremes..we dont get snow..but we do get rain in winter..and strong gusts of freezing cold wind. Then it can be sunny and dry for a while. (but we have to get all our water for the entire year in winter, so if it doesnt rain then we end up with water restrictions in summer and out summers can be very long and dry)

My boys all have their winter coats already...and theyre getting very very lazy...you would think theyre hibernating.   Theyre a big bunch of babies...seriously wouldnt last 10 minutes in the wild what without their hot water bottles and their blankies and their hammocks...

Re the tissue salts..well..I seriously know absolutely nothing about them...Im a bit sceptical that they work but who knows...I was in the health store last week (getting some pumkin seeds for the brats) and thats the first time Ive actually looked for tissue salts..for some reason Ive always walked right past them without noticing them..but their seems to be one for every ailment known to mankind..and there are loads of diff brands so somebody out there must be buying them.

Re Echinacea..yup I only give it for max of about 4 days then I dont give it to them for a while.  It seems to work for some people and not for others and I googled in online and they dont actually have any scientific proof that it does anything.   

Re my little girl..shes hanging in there...I dont want to get to hopeful but shes looking good at the moment.  But now my one boy scratched himself near his mouth and its swelling up into a abscess ..wonderful..so Im going to keep a eye on it.  He wont let me look at it so its probably quite sore.

J



ANSWER: Well I love abscesses.
Ok that sounds nasty.  

In a perverse way, I like to pop them.  You would pity my son when he had pimples (he is now 17) I would chase him around BEGGING him to let me get the whoppers on his back.  LOL  I tortured my daughther the same way. LOL

If this does turn into an abscess, just let me know if you need help on how to take care of it.  It can be nasty and needs tended too if it does end up turning into one.

I am going to google the tissue salts.  I never even heard of them before!!

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

QUESTION: Ive never dealt with an abscess before but Ive perused your site and have taken note...I dont think its big enough to pop yet..and I might just chicken out and get the vet to do it for me....I'll see.  

Theres no ways hes going to sit still for me though.

Im going to try the wrapping him up in a towel scenario...well first I have to catch him...Ive done it before when he had a gooey eye.  I distract him with something and then sneak up behind him with a clean dishtowel and then in one motion pick him up and wrap it around him before he notices... the only problem is I can usually only get away with doing that once..the next time hes waiting for me...sigh..

How do you restrain your boys when applying hot compresses and antiseptic etc..Im always scared of squishing them and then I end up not holding them tight enough and end up in wrestling match, which they usually win...I only have one boy that would perhaps sit still for me and as luck would have it hes never been sick a day in his life...

J



ANSWER: Restrain...my tanks? LOL Yeah right! Never without a fight.


No the truth is....you wont believe this....now at the clinic, we literally hold them down and the vet has this magic way he puts his hands on their belly while on their back and they dont move. I need to be away from them though since its fact rats like human kids, always act better for someone else other than mom.  At home, I take a plastic syringe I used for medicines and dip it in jelly or jam and they lay on their backs, hold the syringe and lick the jelly from it. It keeps them busy. I have taught them if they fuss and get up,I take their beloved jelly coated syringe away. LOL
Santana, the one eyed wonder rat, he and his brother decided after Santanas enecleation (*eye removal*) when it was time to remove the stitches.  Part of the stitches were hanging so I went to get the clippers and some jelly on a syringe and came back to find that Socrates played doctor and took them out for Santana. I watched him chew the side off rather than pull. They kicked the thread to the curb and Socs started grooming/bathing Santanas surgical site. I gave Santana his beloved syringe (had to remove him from cage or Socs would try to help) and I cleaned up his eye (it looked good) I also found a small lump on Santanas belly so I got a warm compress, put it on  my arm, laid Santana on my arm and just kept petting him behind his ears while he bruxed. We did this a few times all day and it came to a head that night.
SQUIRT came the green foul pus that looked like greenish toothpaste. GAG.
He fussed for a bit but it felt better to get rid of that infection. It filled up again that night and I just had to lightly press it and BLOSH!  MORE!



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

QUESTION: Im glad you battle to restrain your boys too..Im such a novice at pet ratties that Im usually convinced Im doing it wrong..all the advice diff sites give...I would love to know how on earth you pick a fuzzball up and then calmly wrap in a restraining towel..no way ...Ive only managed to do it properly once and that was the sneak grab and wrap method I mentioned earlier and I must say it was wonderful as I could hold the towel closed at his neck and he couldnt put his hands up...but as I say that was the one and only time Ive ever got it right...actually Im not talking to him right now as somebody (dont know who) decided that one of my books in the bookshelf looked better without a cover..my fault as I put their cage too close to the bookshelf and they had a hiding space behind it where I coulnt see what they were busy doing..they did it so quitely too..shredded...sigh.anyways this scratch on his chin seems to have dried into a scab and its pretty flat so I dont think its an abscess..thank goodness.  Will watch it though.

Thanks for all your help ..my little girl is so much friendlier lately..she obviously was feeling a little low for quite a while ..now shes soooo much better...

J

Answer
Yes its called the burrito wrap....take the rat, wrap him like the burrito and have your way...but look out cause they hold grudges!  LOL

I am glad the meds are working. Its about time she has some relief...this med and that med....I know just how it feels.