jorats
Loving rats since 2002.
Bumblefoot is common enough in rats but hard to treat. Here's how one of our member managed the sores.
By Little Devils
Reminds me of a previous foster that I had. I can tell you that BluKote did nothing except make a big mess and I don't bother with it anymore.
When he first came in:
After 2 weeks with me:
What I did was keep him on layers of soft fleece changed twice a day. Watched his diet. Clipped his nails once a week (second pic he was done just before his nail clipping) (if the nails are long the weight of their body automatically is held mostly by the heels). Put him on a diet.
Then he was put on antibiotics but the most impact I think were the 3 x epsom compresses a day and 3 x daily wash w. chlorhexidine soaks, esp. the epsom salt compresses. The epsom salt compresses is something that you can start now, it's cheap and easy to do.... 1 table spoon of epsom salt, 1 cup boiling water... mix it until the salt is dissolved and then soak cotton balls in the mix and apply to the bumblefoot (make sure it's warm but not too hot!). Do it for about 5 minutes 3 times a day (keep changing the cotton balls when it gets cool... you'll go through a lot of cotton balls)
It went away completely but he was adopted after 3 weeks and she kept on with the treatment... just no pics to show the end results.
One of our volunteers who also took in a rat with a huge bumblefoot also had HUGE success using a bandage that has charcoal with silver sulfadiazine in it to draw out the infection (the vet just bandaged his whole leg). He was also on Chlorpalm but that was mostly for an abscess that he had in his cheek but it may or may not have played a role as well. After a week the results were dramatic. Something I would discuss with my vet too should there be another case. Of course keeping the leg bandaged on a rat is not easy
By Little Devils
Reminds me of a previous foster that I had. I can tell you that BluKote did nothing except make a big mess and I don't bother with it anymore.
When he first came in:
After 2 weeks with me:
What I did was keep him on layers of soft fleece changed twice a day. Watched his diet. Clipped his nails once a week (second pic he was done just before his nail clipping) (if the nails are long the weight of their body automatically is held mostly by the heels). Put him on a diet.
Then he was put on antibiotics but the most impact I think were the 3 x epsom compresses a day and 3 x daily wash w. chlorhexidine soaks, esp. the epsom salt compresses. The epsom salt compresses is something that you can start now, it's cheap and easy to do.... 1 table spoon of epsom salt, 1 cup boiling water... mix it until the salt is dissolved and then soak cotton balls in the mix and apply to the bumblefoot (make sure it's warm but not too hot!). Do it for about 5 minutes 3 times a day (keep changing the cotton balls when it gets cool... you'll go through a lot of cotton balls)
It went away completely but he was adopted after 3 weeks and she kept on with the treatment... just no pics to show the end results.
One of our volunteers who also took in a rat with a huge bumblefoot also had HUGE success using a bandage that has charcoal with silver sulfadiazine in it to draw out the infection (the vet just bandaged his whole leg). He was also on Chlorpalm but that was mostly for an abscess that he had in his cheek but it may or may not have played a role as well. After a week the results were dramatic. Something I would discuss with my vet too should there be another case. Of course keeping the leg bandaged on a rat is not easy
(thanks to miss Biscotte for trying to stay as still as she can :wink2: )
