Help! Constantine has a bubble and a scab?!

[Rattus]

Constantine was out playing today and then he fell asleep in his fish snuggy. I went over to see him and noticed a faint funny smell..thought maybe the fish needed a wash but then i noticed it was him. I checked him out and he has a bubble near his groin and there is I think a scab or a hardened piece of flesh, its hard to see because he wont stay still and theres hair on top but its dark red and black and its big, it feels hard. I get paid this friday OF COURSE EVERYTHING IS HAPPENING WHEN I RUN OUT OF MONEY :gaah:

What do you think it may be and any advice until I get paid?

 

[Joanne]

Sounds like an abscess...
I think the experienced ones would say - soak it, warm salt water compresses to get the scab off so the infection can drain. No topical antibiotic ointment because you don't want the surface skin to heal, you want it to heal from the inside out. Sterile saline rinses after the scab comes off. Keep it clean, no wood chips or anything like that in the cage. See the vet - he may need antibiotics...
Anything else oh wise ones?

 

[Ewa]

I agree , keep it clean until you can get him to a vet ! He will most likely need some meds , maybe a drain. Good luck :hugs:

 

[Rattus]

I have a tiny bit of Baytril, but not much. But still its something until friday! Thats for the advice . I figured that was what it was from reading others issues on it but I just wanted a second opinion.

 

[xxchelle]

Everything Joanne said was great, it does look like an abscess to me.

Another thing you might have to do is "flush" it, use a syringe to suck up some saline solution, and squirt the water directly into the open abscess to get the pus to drain out. You might need to take a q-tip and wipe away some of the pus as well. Absolutely NO Polysporin or anything topical. Fleece bedding only - no loose bedding that could get stuck in it or irritate it.

To get it to pop, you can try soaking a cloth in warm water and gently squeezing/pushing on the abscess.

Make sure your Baytril is not expired before giving it. When did you get the Baytril? If it was over two weeks ago, I wouldn't use it.

 

[Rattus]

I just recently got it. My other ratty has been sick, still is so i'll have to back anyway for more.

 

[Rattus]

Are abscess's overly painful for rats do you know? I was trying to touch it earlier when trying to figure out what it was and he just got mad that i was annoying him but it didnt seem to hurt. im just wondering, when we soften it and try to pop it, should we be expecting our little guy to freak out?

 

[lindsayfawn]

oh yeah that looks like an abscess that hasn't burst yet. What everyone else said for the warm compress and getting that scab off. He won't like it but it shouldn't hurt him too badly. You need to pick the scab to get the puss out.
It's pretty gross lol but he'll feel soooooooooo much better! Like everyone else said make sure to flush it with salt water, you'll probably have to do this a few times a day to make sure you get all that gunk out.

Seems like everyone is getting abscess lately

 

[jorats]

On my rats, I have seen abscesses not be very painful except for the facial ones.

edited cause I like to omit words once in a while. :emb:

 

[Rattus]

bad news for our sweety then. Hopefully it doesnt hurt him too much. Hes our most timid rat so this is saddening and will be frustrating, poor boy. Tonight will be the hardest trying to soak it until its moist because he hates water & being held long but he'll have to tough it out!

Thanks for the Advice everyone! :nod:

 

[jorats]

Oh crap, I wrote that wrong. It's not very painful unless it's facial. Sorry!!

bad news for our sweety then. Hopefully it doesnt hurt him too much. Hes our most timid rat so this is saddening and will be frustrating, poor boy. Tonight will be the hardest trying to soak it until its moist because he hates water & being held long but he'll have to tough it out!

Thanks for the Advice everyone! :nod:

 

[Rattus]

Ok, thats better news! lol

 

[Rattus]

After a lot of patience lol i managed to pop the abscess(it was one thankfully) a lot of puss came out and it was very stinky :sick2: but once it popped he seemed very interested in it and his attention was focused so it became a lot easier.... most of the puss is out but I couldnt get the friggin piece of flesh off.. its not a scab, just dead skin and its still really attatched to the rest of him :? I gave him some baytril and I'm going to try to see if it will come off tomorrow.