How Fast Do Abscesses Pop Up?

Cait · Jul 12, 2008

Er, maybe better phrasing would be "how soon"... Anyway, it's been a little over a week since "The Rat Brawl of '08" and I've been waiting for Izzie's bites to abscess... And they haven't. NOT that I want them to, it's just... I expected them to! They did when Denny gave him a chomp way back when ("Denny Beats Up Babies Hooplah '08") and they were far more minor of bites than these ones were. If he'd been a people I'd have freaked and got stitches, but I remembered what you all say about how fast their skin heals (and it does) so I didn't bother, just gave em a clean and by the next day I couldn't even find them.

Is there a timeline for these things or are they really just going to be fine? Or am I still not in the clear?

user 78 · Jul 13, 2008

90% of the time, they abscess within the week of being healed. Some are alot deeper, though, and take time to get up to the surface enough for you to notice it. If there's nothing even hinting at an abscess, I wouldn't worry about it. If it abscesses at a later date, it'll be okay, too.

jorats · Jul 13, 2008

My rats hardly abscess after a bite or scratch... but when they did, it was almost immediately.

Shelley · Jul 13, 2008

I know with a few of mine, it took a few days after a scratch/bite before an abcess showed (if at all). I'd say between 2-3 days after, but I've only dealt with a couple of abscesses so far.

Cait · Jul 14, 2008

Jo, I thought they were really prone to abscessing, especially with bites? Is it not really as common as it seems?

No hints or even a scab where the bites were at... I'm going to take it as me and Izzers got lucky (woo!) and have escaped the lovely drama of dealing with an abscess.

And if they do pop up... We'll have fun dealing. Abscesses are my *favorite*. (Note sarcasm.

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Thanks guys!!

lilspaz68 · Jul 14, 2008

You will often feel a thickening in the skin that could mean an abscess forming, and this can take up to a week to come to a head. If you felt nothing, you lucked out