Help! Rat fight?? - update 04/15, she's gone... :'(

[Shelley]

I thought my two rats Molly and Pickles were getting along, she had a few scratches originally which I expected from minor normal scuffles. But yesterday I came downstairs in the evening and found Molly a complete mess. I took her out and let her rest in her own cage (she hasn't been back in with him since), and I feel horrible I haven't checked on her until this afternoon and ... oh jeez!! I think they got into a fight or Molly was attacked, she looks completely awful and is miserable. Her face is swollen like a balloon and she's scabbed/scratched all over.

I don't know what happened to her yesterday, I really can't believe how much of a mess she is. All the fur on her spine/back is gone. They got along great for almost 2 weeks, and now this? Pickles doesn't even have a single scratch on him. I think he might have attacked her??

I need some suggestions on how to help her. I have baytril, metacam, and doxy available. The blood is dried up into her fur. She looked bad last night, but today she looks 10x worse. I don't know what happened between her and Pickles.

Injured Face

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[Moon]

Oh my god Shelley, what a shock!

 

[Shelley]

I can't believe how much worse she looks today! Yesterday she had lots of scratches, and I cleaned them up, but I'm in total shock when I took her out just now. I can't believe how much fur has fallen out and how swollen she is. :cry4:

 

[Willow Bean]

:cry4: Oh my GOD!!! My eyes are tearing up and I just feel sick! That poor girl! I hope something gets figured out soon! :sad3:

 

[Happi Wolf]

Wow, those pictures are shocking! That must have been one serious fight. I would make sure to keep the wounds/scratches clean to fight infection. I hope she feels better!

 

[jorats]

Oh god... something else is going on with her I think.
How old is she? How long has she not been with Pickles?

 

[jorats]

That also looks like it could be a very severe case of mites.

 

[Dahlas]

I think I would have a heart attack if I saw that. Poor you and poor Molly....you both must be so upset.
That looks terrible.......I have some idea what I would start doing but I'm certainly not an expert in this so I will let one of our more experienced rat owners to advise you.....
Poor girl....please give her some gentle kisses from me.

 

[Shelley]

I gave her a quick soak in some warm water and it helped clean her up a little, but not much. The only good thing is that the scratches will heal up easily, especially the small ones on her back. I'm trying to clean the dried up blood out of her fur, but its no easy task. The only injuries that have me more concerned are the face bite(s). The large gashes are all scabbed over and have stopped bleeding, so those I know will heal up. I just don't know what to do about her poor face swelling :sad3:

Her other side has hardly any injuries and her underside is fine. Her legs are alright, she has a few toenails she must have ripped off or hit, but for the most part the injuries are on her back and face. Most are more minor - but with that many scratches it looks terrible!

Jo - she's about a year and a half. This came on suddenly, in less than 2 days. She was with Pickles about two weeks, I took her out last night. She had been living alone for about 5 months now? Never anything like this before. I also saw the end of the last fight yesterday, which is the one where the large gashes occured. She has another couple of larger gashes that were from the day before.

I have no idea what happened other than that one scuffle I saw.

 

[jorats]

And there's nothing on Pickles? The hair loss can't be from the fight. If she's got something going on, Pickles might attack her.
Definitely keep Pickles away from her for now. I'd get her on Baytril asap and also revolution.
My Sophie is 17 months old and she's got some hair loss but not that severe.
Molly is also very skinny as well, she's not well.

 

[Shelley]

Pickles is spotless, no injuries or scratches whatsoever. There was no hairloss until the scratches appeared, but I don't understand how they relate yet. =/

Okay, definitely will be starting the baytril. She definitely has been getting thin lately, and we've been working to get her weight up. We thought it was associated with her aging, as she has been seeming to act like an older rat. Been giving her baby cereal with olive oil and avocado. There definitely has to be something else going on, I don't know why her hair would have fallen out like that. I'm really worried about her now. Her weight loss must be associated with it too. Gah, this is all we need right now!

It's my moms birthday today... Now I'm just going to be worrying all day.

 

[Shelley]

I'm thinking she might have some sort of disease? If it took a turn for the worse, maybe that is why Pickles suddenly is attacking her? Oh god... I feel horrible right now. She's been showing me signs she wasn't well, but I misinterpreted them as aging. Weight loss and loss of activity, and now hairloss/irritation from the scratches. Gah... :cry:

I feel like a terrible owner right now. :cry3:

 

[mamarat]

Poor sweet Molly, this is so sad. Sending healing vibes.

 

[raindrop]

You are not a terrible rat owner, Shelley. Just try and do as much as you can now to get her well. The two things that Jo suggested is a good start. Are you going to take her to the vet?

Ann

 

[Shelley]

I'm going to see how she is doing first, I have to take myself to the hospital tomorrow, so I won't be able to get her to a vet until Wed. at the earliest. I'll be trying both things suggested, just trying to get the right dosage first but my internet is being a pain in the butt.

ETA: Finally managed to get onto the website and figure out dosage, gave her the drugs. Guess it is a wait and see game for now. I can't help but feel like I've failed my pets whenever they get sick or anything happens - even if I know its ridiculous at times. Freak accidents or illnesses.. it doesn't matter, I always feel like I've somehow failed them even if its not true. Molly ate the medicine very happily and is grooming herself, she looks bad but is actually acting fairly happy right now. Her fur is all curly from her bath, it looks really cute :giggle:

 

[Cityratt]

I'm thinking she might have some sort of disease? If it took a turn for the worse, maybe that is why Pickles suddenly is attacking her? Oh god... I feel horrible right now. She's been showing me signs she wasn't well, but I misinterpreted them as aging. Weight loss and loss of activity, and now hairloss/irritation from the scratches. Gah... :cry:

I feel like a terrible owner right now. :cry3:

Awe Shelley please dont beat yourself up over it. You are not a horrable owner. Anyone could have made that misinterperatation ok?
You are medicating her and keeping an eye on the situation now - which is more than many would do (not here of course but in the grand scheme of things). Shes got you looking after her - she needs some mommy lovin which you're providing for her.

I cant see the pictures - but i cannot imagine the shock, and from the sounds of things you're handling everything as best as they can be at the moment. :hugs: please dont beat yourself up

 

[jorats]

I too would have thought part of aging. If this just happened, then we probably caught it early. :thumbup:

 

[jennifervb]

I'm thinking she might have some sort of disease? If it took a turn for the worse, maybe that is why Pickles suddenly is attacking her? Oh god... I feel horrible right now. She's been showing me signs she wasn't well, but I misinterpreted them as aging. Weight loss and loss of activity, and now hairloss/irritation from the scratches. Gah... :cry:

I feel like a terrible owner right now. :cry3:

Terrible owners, dearest Shelley, are the ones who don't care. They are the ones who think of their pocketbook before they think of their babies. They are the ones who think nothing of having their "pocket pets" euthanized because $60 is more valuable than the rat. They are the ones who don't blink an eye when deciding to cart their unwanted pets off to the animal shelter because they would rather play tennis with their friends.

Those are, to name a few, the ones who can be appropriately labeled as terrible owners. You don't fit that description Shelley. Sometimes it takes more than just a "sign" for us to realize that something is terribly wrong with our furmels. They can't spell it out and we can't always, immediately, comprehend what we are seeing because there are various possibilities.

What matters is that you are responsive to her situation and are making every conceivable effort to pinpoint the problem. Remember that Molly is a rat. She has the kind of resiliency that many humans lack. She will push on until her time comes to go. I am certain that she knew that mom would figure it out. Guess what? Mom did! Molly is on her meds and appears to be feeling better.

Shelley cares.... that is the screaming difference between a lousy owner and a great one. :heart:

Perk up the pretty head, Shelley. It doesn't suck to be you. :hugs:

 

[Shelley]

Thankyou so much everyone, I feel much better now. Sometimes its so hard to understand what is happening with your pets - they can't tell you and they are excellent at hiding the signs until it's later on. Molly is definitely getting lots of extra cuddles, and I just bought her a bunch more baby cereal and brought her home some pasta and chicken from when we took my mom out to dinner. :cuddle:

I;m not sure why the pictures aren't working now?? I'll check my photobucket and see if maybe something got moved or changed. I was trying to fix options earlier but the internet kept cutting out, so I wouldn't be surprised if I changed something.

 

[bruxxy]

Oh my god Shelley! I just saw those pictures and I am absolutely in shock! I can't beleive Pickle would do such a thing to Molly. I don't even know what to say right now other than I am so sorry this happen to your sweet little girl.

Your clearly doing the best you can and although its hard not to beat yourself up over it, you know its not your fault and these things happen. Its a part of having pets, and it's a major part of rescues since their health is never certain and they often carry so many different types of illnesses that even expereinced rat owners don't always see.

I just hope Molly recovers and her and Pickle can go back to being the adorable couple they were. :heart:

((hugs)) to you, Molly and Pickle too.