Injured rat tail? Will it heal?

[ratnewbie]

Hi guys I noticed that one of my three boys had a knick on his tail. My girlfriend was actually the one who pointed It out and noticed when it was bleeding the area has thus scabbed over and I figured it was fine as i read and learned rats heal on their own. Is this something that will fix on it's on or does it need veterinary treatment?
Idk how it happened whether it was another boy who couldve done this, or if it snagged somewhere n the cage.

 

[ViciousCurse]

That looks like a constriction wound. I would recommend veterinary treatment for that type of wound, just to make sure the internal structures are okay. If not, the vet can amputate that part of the tail so the rat doesn't have to feel his tail tip slowly dying. Constriction wounds have a nasty tendency of looking fine and then very quickly getting worse because of swelling. Necrotic tissue can be deadly to rats.

Please remove any hammocks, liners, etc. that have loose threads. Towels are notorious for wrapping around toes and tails.

 

[ratnewbie]

That looks like a constriction wound. I would recommend veterinary treatment for that type of wound, just to make sure the internal structures are okay. If not, the vet can amputate that part of the tail so the rat doesn't have to feel his tail tip slowly dying. Constriction wounds have a nasty tendency of looking fine and then very quickly getting worse because of swelling. Necrotic tissue can be deadly to rats.

Please remove any hammocks, liners, etc. that have loose threads. Towels are notorious for wrapping around toes and tails.

Thank you so much for your reply! I had no idea! I panicked when I saw ur message this morning and have this made an appointment got him treated and had the tip cut off and my little gizmo is quarantined until further notice. I appreciate ur help!
It was a pricey visit but it needed to be done hes on painkillers and antibiotics.
For anyone wondering
Bill was $175
Included check up
Tip removal
Bandage
Antibiotics
Pain killers

 

[ViciousCurse]

Aww, what a lucky baby! I'm so glad he's okay. I'm sorry for the terrible scare!
$175 is a super low price for what I would have expected for all of those services. Sounds like a great trip!

Don't be afraid to put a stuffed animal in the cage with each rat so neither feel lonely. Nothing with pieces they can swallow (beads for eyes or stuffing are a good example). IKEA rats are a great stuffed animal buddy!

What are you giving him/what's the dosage? I'm not too well versed in dosages, but some more experienced members can give theit input.

 

[Dena]

Omg what a cutie! He looks so sad! That tail bandage though! Omg! He kinda looks like my pepper did! Glad he's doing better. Make sure you check their cage for anything with strings, or if you have long hair, or anyone else in the house does, make sure none gets in their cage. Hairs are notorious for this kind of thing on baby's feet, so I'd think the same for rats could happen. Did they say what was wrapped around the tip?

 

[ViciousCurse]

I couldn't see the photos too well because I was on my phone last night, but that bandage is hilariously adorable! He doesn't look pleased with it either lol

Also, a tip I have for myself is, if the rats' nails get caught in the material routinely, it will probably fray and wrap around their tails, toes, or whatever else. I don't know that it's necessarily true, but I just also don't like watching my rats get their little feet stuck.
I never knew about hair, but that definitely makes sense, Dena.

 

[Fidget]

Poor baby, no, he doesn't look too happy, but at least it's only temporary and he'll be alright. Good job mom, just gotta figure out what wrapped around his tail now..

 

[ratnewbie]

Thank you everyone who has been commenting and following the thread. I was advised by the vet to remove his bandage yesterday which was the most stressful thing in my life but I snapped more pictures of him before removing it since everyone thought it his bandage was humorous lmao


Theres a short quirky story behind why the bandage was so excessive. After the tail snip when the nurse brought him out for us to take home she was telling me how he has a bandage on his tail but gizmo was hiding under the bedding n the carrier and so u couldn't see this bandage she mentioned so she took it upon herself to lift his tail out from under the bedding to show us this bandage and when she did the bandage just fell off and my gf and I just looked at each other and laughed and the nurse was embarrassed and was like um.... let me try one more time. LMFAO so when she came back the 2nd time she wrapped the entire tail oppose to half the tail like she had the first time

 

[ViciousCurse]

What a cute baby, with or without his funny accessory! As everyone's been mentioning, did you find what caused the wound on his tail?

You gotta hand it to the vets who get creative with our small animals.

 

[Sheldon]

How does the wound look today? Healing ok?

 

[lilspaz68]

Do you have this boy living in a cage above other rats. This wound may have been a constriction injury or it could have been a bite wound from another rat. I'll.dig out pics of Hestia who was bitten by another rat (I watched it happen). The tail trailed into

Moths cage who grabbed it. Hestia freaked and was scrambling to get free (she looked like a balloon in a windstorm) and that caused the circular wound from the teeth and her struggles to free herself.
Here was the result.

The tip became cold so I knew she had no blood flow and the tail tip was amputated. She removed the 2 stitches herself lol

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