foot is extremely swollen

[_ratowner]

Dose #5 done

He did extremely well with this dose. He actually licked it up instead of having me basically force it into his mouth. I will attach an updated photo of how is foot is looking.

He didn’t seem as mopey, he even scooted up to one of my cats that was laying on the bed just watching to say hi. Before anyone freaks out, I was watching them very closely and moved him away from her immediately although she wouldn’t have done anything to hurt him, she didn’t even react when he came up to her.

I’ve been wiping down both his belly/groin area and the bottom of his cage yet he himself still smells very strongly of urine. Is there anything I could do about that? It’s just his belly/groin area that smells. He absolutely despises baths and literally screams the whole time but if that is what I need to do then I guess I may have to.

 

[lilspaz68]

You will probably need to bathe his undercarriage since he is just soaking up the urine. Try a sitz bath in a few inches of water with gentle soap. Make it as fast as possible and give him treats after.

 

[_ratowner]

Dose #6 done

I will wash his undercarriage when I clean his cage . It just makes more sense than doing it right now. Clean cage, clean rat.

 

[_ratowner]

Dose #7 done

 

[_ratowner]

Dose #8 done

I am really dumb and didn’t realize that I hadn’t done the proper laundry to be able to clean the whole cage. I will still give him a wash and clean the bottom level of the cage as that is the only level he has been using and is using at the moment. I will do the proper laundry tomorrow and do a full cleaning of the cage then.

 

[_ratowner]

I gave him a wash on his undercarriage but his genitals still have a very strong smell (yes, I smelt it, shhhh) and it is orange around it. I will attach a photo for reference. He is wrapped in a towel and still drying off, that is why he is damp. I don’t know why the quality drops when I upload a photo but you can kind of see what I mean.

 

[lilspaz68]

You can probably stop the ibuprofen and see if the swelling stays down. Have you checked him for penis plugs since he's unable to?

 

[lilspaz68]

You also may want to treat for a urinary tract infection just in case. Do you have any leftover antibiotics in your med cupboard? Amoxicillin, ciprofloxacin?

 

[_ratowner]

Alright, I was just going to ask if that was advisable for me to do. I’ll make sure to check on his foot every once and a while when I get the chance to see how it is doing.

I’ve tried massaging (I don’treally know what other word I could use to describe it) around the area but nothing had come out or anything.

I’m sorry for my constant questions but, is it alright to treat for something even if there is a chance they may not have it? I understand doing it as a precaution in case he does and I will treat him if you suggest I should, I am just curious.

I am not too sure what is in my medicine cabinet if I am being completely honest. I will have to go check what I have available.

 

[_ratowner]

When I went to check up on him he was basically drenched in pee so I decided to give him another bath but clean everything except his head this time. I was able to focus more on his groin area and did a little squeezing around. Let me tell you, the amount of build up that came out was absolutely disgusting and the smell was so foul I just about threw up. I am so glad I was able to figure it out. I believe that is where the disgusting smell was coming from before. I think it just took a little moisture for it to slide out nicely.

He is a photo of my little burrito after his bath. He seems much more happy now that all the gunk is out.

 

[lilspaz68]

Oh dear he must've had a blockage, lets hope it didn't cause an infection.

 

[_ratowner]

I will definitely be keeping an eye on it

 

[_ratowner]

I gave him another wash because I saw something white in his genitals and just assumed it was a plug. After not being able to get it out I thought that it may just be it’s his genitals so did some reaserach just in case and realized that it in fact was not. I got it out eventually after poking around a bit with a cloth, it wasn’t too big. I know I shouldn’t be washing him often but that is the only way I am able to get the gunk out somewhat smoothly.

He does seem to quite enjoy some of the belly rubs he is getting during washing and he seems quite content sitting on my lap wrapped in a towel cleaning himself while I write updates for the thread.

Update on his foot, it looks a teeny tiny bit swollen. I don’t know if it is still swollen or just flared up a bit. He bit my phone in the process of me trying to take photos

 

[mwp051699]

I'm in the dark as to what's the issue here. But I kept reading about a foul smell, and then you squeezed his abdomen and gunk came out of somewhere. Was it his penis? Are you aware of penis plugs and that inactive or paralysed rats need help with removing them daily,Cor more like after every extended sleep period? Lmk what you are doing and what is happening, it sounds like his peeing is occurring without vhim moving, and you're washing up after it. I've done same for my last paralysed boy, and am again now for my current paralysed boy. And you need to pop his penis out and gently pull the plug out, and either wear gloves or wash hands very well before and after so you don't cause an infection in his sheath. I occasional put a bit of Silverdene or Bacitracin on there while it's out also, cuz when they do it they lick at it to lubricate it and they know when they're doing it but when you do it they don't and it's dry and kinda stuck in there, so popping it out it pretty rough on it, and doing it often will cause some discomfort and abrasiveness, leading to an injury, and opportunistic infection.

 

[mwp051699]

Alright, I was just going to ask if that was advisable for me to do. I’ll make sure to check on his foot every once and a while when I get the chance to see how it is doing.

I’ve tried massaging (I don’treally know what other word I could use to describe it) around the area but nothing had come out or anything.

I’m sorry for my constant questions but, is it alright to treat for something even if there is a chance they may not have it? I understand doing it as a precaution in case he does and I will treat him if you suggest I should, I am just curious.

I am not too sure what is in my medicine cabinet if I am being completely honest. I will have to go check what I have available.

Yes, you can treat proactively. Rats lives are too short to worry about the negative aspects of being proactive, like developing immunities to meds for example. Best luck with him

 

[mwp051699]

Ok, read more. To check for penis plugs you use both fore fingers place the ends of both fingers on each side of his penis while he sits on your lap while you have him in your hands, facing away from you. Gently push down while also sort of spreading your fingers apart, or away, from his penis. This will pop his penis up and out. If you also slowly use massaging motions while pressing and spreading, it will definitely "appear". If you see a relatively large, off white, horrible smelling crusty type of formation at the end of his penis, blocking his urine stream, then either knock it off by pushing against the side if it, or pull it off. I like to knock it away since pulling it seems to be like pulling a cork out of a bottle, a sort of suction develops that pulls on his pee pee. Whereas knocking it off breaks that, um, connection and it comes off without that extra little bit of roughness to his sensitive little pee pee, lol. Sorry, just trying to inject a bit of light-hearted humor to this disgusting topic. When your done, just kind of massage the area around his penis to help it retract back in to the protective sheath. Without his licking to lubricate things, it tends to get a bit stuck out of the sheath, which can be painful and cause infection if you just put him down with it still somewhat exposed. Again, I use a Q-tip and apply a bit of a sterile lubricant. I use Silverdene, but that's just the best thing I have on hand. Bet you never thought you'd be removing his penis from hiding so you could pull off his smegma, LOLOL!!!

 

[mwp051699]

How's his foot doing? And how's the plug removal going? Not fun I know, but its just one of those things that must be done, and you know what they say...."It's no fun but somebody's gotta do it". LOLOL, unfortunately, that somebody is you, hahaha. But I shouldn't laugh, I have to do it for my senior paralysed rattie Meeka, who is finally used to it and allows me to with no protesting, especially since he can't do it himself anymore.

 

[mwp051699]

How's his foot doing? And how's the plug removal going? Not fun I know, but its just one of those things that must be done, and you know what they say...."It's no fun but somebody's gotta do it". LOLOL, unfortunately, that somebody is you, hahaha. But I shouldn't laugh, I have to do it for my senior paralysed rattie Meeka, who is finally used to it and allows me to with no protesting, especially since he can't do it himself anymore. View attachment 14175

Oh, if you're wondering why he is bald in places, he's a Rex with very bad buckgrease production (from his insane testosterone levels) and it ends up clogging his pores and matting down his fur so bad that his hairs end up coming out very easily in clumps. I used to give him baths twice a week, once to wash it from his skin (easy on a Rex) and then again a few days later to get what's left in his fur. Unfortunately, the severity of it causes more than a few patches of hair loss, and the clumps of sticky, stuck, matted fur often just fall out while washing. He's the biggest, most hostile male (thanks to his massively over-excessive hormonal production.) I've ever seen. Poor boy has dealt with it his entire life.

 

[_ratowner]

Hi mwp051699,

Sorry for not responding, I swear I’m not ignoring you. Your replies are just a lot for me to read and respond to at the moment but I will answer you as soon as I get the chance. I really appreciate all of the information and help you are providing Thank you !

 

[mwp051699]

Hi mwp051699,

Sorry for not responding, I swear I’m not ignoring you. Your replies are just a lot for me to read and respond to at the moment but I will answer you as soon as I get the chance. I really appreciate all of the information and help you are providing Thank you !

No worries, just wondering how he is