Ear Infection Turned Facial Absess And a Very Scared Mommy

[cbrown92390]

My almost 2 year old male had an inner ear infection that went unnoticed and has since resulted in a very large facial abscess. I can see puss draining from his ear and the lump (which rests between his ear and eye) just seems to be getting bigger every day and the skin at the very head of the abscess is now a brown in color. I noticed this problem last week on Wednesday and immediately put him on antibiotics and ear drops. She did not lance and drain the abscess due to its placement and it has not ruptured once. The abscess seems to be getting bigger and bigger everyday and my boy is definitely not his usual energetic self. I have tried soaking the abscess with a warm wet towel which did seem to draw some of the puss out of his ear but mostly it ended with the both of us being very wet. If the abscess does not rupture by Wednesday, I will call the vet again and see what needs to be done. Until then, I am left feeling incredibly anxious about the situation and I am sure that Artemis is completely miserable. Is there anything I can do to drain the pus on my own? Every minute that I just spend waiting is truly a nightmare for the both of us.

Thanks for any advice,

A very worried Mommy

 

[mamarat]

Poor baby. I wonder if it could be zymbal gland tumor? Can you take a pic?

 

[lilspaz68]

The location really sounds like ZGT. A pic would help us a lot.

http://ratguide.com/health/neoplasia/zy ... _tumor.php

 

[cbrown92390]

Can anyone tell me how to post pictures on the forum? I got him to sit still for about 2 seconds and was able to snap a few.

 

[lilspaz68]

When you hit reply you have 2 options, using a photo hosting website and pasting the link (like Photobucker) or at the bottom of the window that you type your post in, there's "Click Here to add an Image to Your Post"

 

[ratkin412]

I have my fingers crossed for Artemis. How very scary for you and the poor little guy.

 

[cbrown92390]

Here it is at a few angles, his fur is looking extra fluffy from getting his abscess soaked.

 

[lilspaz68]

he looks rather rough even for 2 years old...how is his health beyond this?

 

[cbrown92390]

I know he looks scraggly in these pictures, I took them right after I tried soaking his abscess and we both ended up getting very wet.

 

[lilspaz68]

I was looking more at his eyes and face...

 

[cbrown92390]

He and his brother are both rescue rats that I adopted when they were both very young. Their mother was a pregnant pet store rat who was bought by an unsuspecting teenager. She did keep the rats in a 10 gallon tank with cedar bedding and fed them seed mix. Since I adopted them they have lived in a very large wire multi level cage, use carefresh bedding, and eat lab blocks and dog food.They have had the presence of respiratory issues (sneezing, never wheezing though) and the red tears and boogers. I have taken them both to the vet for regular exams and she has never had any professional concern in terms of their health. His brother Badger also had a facial abscess last November/December but his abscess came and went within a week and did not reappear due to aggressive prescribed antibiotics. I know this was a really long drawn out response to my rats' medical histories but if anything has come up to you as a red flag in regards to Artemis's health please let me know.

 

[lilspaz68]

He must be aging fast then...watch that breathing though, these are the rats that will flare up into URI's once they get older. When you rat phone him, do you hear any roughness or crackles at all?

The pic doesn't show the actual abscess very well, so its early stages yet...the inner ear infection with pus coming from it is very worrying. What antibiotics did you put him on? He will need strong ones.

 

[temblabamomo]

Sending lots of healing vibes to your sweetie. I really hope the meds help and he starts feeling better soon. Keep us posted!

 

[cbrown92390]

He must be aging fast then...watch that breathing though, these are the rats that will flare up into URI's once they get older. When you rat phone him, do you hear any roughness or crackles at all?

The pic doesn't show the actual abscess very well, so its early stages yet...the inner ear infection with pus coming from it is very worrying. What antibiotics did you put him on? He will need strong ones.

He is on .5 mg of baytril which he takes orally once a day and then I directly insert a few drops of baytril otic into his infected ear.

 

[cbrown92390]

He must be aging fast then...watch that breathing though, these are the rats that will flare up into URI's once they get older. When you rat phone him, do you hear any roughness or crackles at all?

The pic doesn't show the actual abscess very well, so its early stages yet...the inner ear infection with pus coming from it is very worrying. What antibiotics did you put him on? He will need strong ones.

He is on .5 mg of baytril which he takes orally once a day and then I directly insert a few drops of baytril otic into his infected ear.

Also forgot to mention that when I rat phone him his brother and their two cage mates I hear no wheezing or rasping.

 

[ratkin412]

Your poor little rattie. I feel really bad for him. Can you get a top-down shot of him so we can see how and where he is swollen? The swelling seems to be distorting the whole shape of his little head in the photos you posted. My heart goes out to you both. Hopefully the baytril will ease the infection, but right now he doesn't look like a happy camper. He is a handsome rat, though - very manly looking.

 

[lilspaz68]

You may also want to consider adding metacam for pain and inflammation

 

[ratkin412]

any update on Artemis?

 

[cbrown92390]

any update on Artemis?

Hi All, I just wanted to let you know that Artemis had to be put to sleep today. His first abscess eventually ruptured but then a second one grew, which the vet was able to lance and drain, then a third one grew on his soft palate which blocked his air ways and forced his bottom jaw to go painfully to the right (you could see where his bottom incisors were to the right of his top ones and they were touching his upper lip. It was too painful for him to eat even the softest of food, too painful for him to move, and yet to the very end he still licked my hand. He and his brother were my very first rat pair, and he is the first I have had to say good bye too. At the end I held him and told him about the rainbow bridge and I promised him that it would not hurt anymore. His birthday would have been tomorrow, and its tough to know that he didn't even make it to 2.

 

[mamarat]

I'm so sorry. :hugs: