Lots of open sores on swollen foot - view for all details

[Mom of Sanchez]

I have had rats for almost 9 years. I have always kept very good care of them. My rat, Caesar, was a rescue and when I got him he had 1 really big and hard ankle. The shelter vet said it was arthritis and game me pain meds for his bad days.
He only had one bad day (where he refused to use that leg) for the first 6 months. Then all of a sudden, his leg started swelling. It was squishy, not hard like before.
I took him back to the vet who said its probably an infection and gave me antibiotics. The antibiotics helped for a bit but not for long.
I went back to the vet, she gave me prednisone. Didn't help.
then she said to give him both (and im thinking...where did she go to vet school?) but I tried it, again it worked for a few days and then stopped. She told me to keep going anyway so I did for a while but Caesar hated his meds so much and it was getting to the point where there was no way to get him out of his cage, and he totally lost trust in me. So him and I came to the agreement that I would stop giving him his meds cuz that weren't working anyway and he would would stop hating me and hopefully have at least a little better quality of life while living with this problem.

That was about 1 month ago and now his leg is still swollen AND has a bunch of little open sores all over it. I try to wrap them and keep them clean and it doesn't help. maybe even getting worse. He kinda just drags his leg behind him.
The vet is "not a rodent specialist" and I can not find one in my area. She is out of ideas on how to treat.

He does not have a wire cage, I clean their cage every 3 days usually but upped it to every 2 days to try to keep him from more infection. They are all litter trained. I am out of ideas to help him. I can't find this type of problem on the internet (neither could the vet) and I really need some help. Also he kinda looks like he is losing weight but its nothing dramatic (yet).

Is there anyone out there who knows what I can do, or has any ideas??? Or an idea of an expert I could contact? He has been injured since I got him and I feel terrible. It doesn't look like bumblefoot to me. I will post a picture.

I would love any help!
Thank you!!!

By mysticaddiction at 2011-10-24

By mysticaddiction at 2011-10-24

 

[lilspaz68]

Poor baby.

What antibiotics did your vet give you?

I would possibly suggest metronidazole for internal infection and metacam for pain. Is that the largest size of the pics you have? Its hard to see the details with pics that small. is his foot swollen and the skin really tight?? What does his foot smell like? Infection?

 

[Mom of Sanchez]

The antibiotics were Baytril Oral Suspension. 0.15mls twice daily (eventually it was supposed to drop to once daily but it never did cuz it didn't work long enough)

Unfortunately this is the largest photo I have, the picture was taken with my phone, I know its not great. He was putting up quite the fight about having his pic taken. I am going to post the other one that I have, its at a slightly different angle and is most likely harder to see than the first one. lol.
Yes, the foot swollen and the skin is very tight. On the bottom of his foot it looks like the skin is very thin and it covers a lot of fluid. The other day it looked like it popped but it ballooned up again very quickly.
His foot really just smells like the rest of him right now. I never smelled it before you mentioned it so maybe at times it smells like infection? I don't know.

By mysticaddiction at 2011-10-24

 

[xio]

Strange, poor guy. My rat had an infection from a torn off nail and his foot looked like

Took like 3 days to get that bad. It cleared up very fast with antibiotics and epsom salt soaks. Unfortunately I don't remember what kind of antibiotics.

 

[lilspaz68]

The antibiotics were Baytril Oral Suspension. 0.15mls twice daily (eventually it was supposed to drop to once daily but it never did cuz it didn't work long enough)

Unfortunately this is the largest photo I have, the picture was taken with my phone, I know its not great. He was putting up quite the fight about having his pic taken. I am going to post the other one that I have, its at a slightly different angle and is most likely harder to see than the first one. lol.
Yes, the foot swollen and the skin is very tight. On the bottom of his foot it looks like the skin is very thin and it covers a lot of fluid. The other day it looked like it popped but it ballooned up again very quickly.
His foot really just smells like the rest of him right now. I never smelled it before you mentioned it so maybe at times it smells like infection? I don't know.

By mysticaddiction at 2011-10-24

The fact that it doesn't smell like infection is a good thing, but that swelling needs to come down, will your vet give you metacam (an amazing anti-inflammatory and pain med) and metronidazole (also known as Flagyl) to try?

The fluid is body fluid being forced through the skin from the pressure of the swelling inside. Even bad sprains can weep fluid.

Metacam
http://ratguide.com/meds/nsaids/meloxicam.php

Metronidazole
http://ratguide.com/meds/anti-infective ... flagyl.php

 

[Joanne]

I am sorry but have you considered that it might be cancerous? Have you thought about amputation? Four legged critters do much better than we do with one leg missing.

 

[mamarat]

Could it be cellulitis?

 

[Mom of Sanchez]

I have thought that it is cancerous, right from the beginning in fact. At first the vet said it wasn't and now, i have no idea.
My brother brought up amputation and I have gotten very strong opinions from people when i bring it up. Some say it would help and that he would thrive on 3 legs. Others think it is cruel, unusual overkill. But I can't say that I am not still considering it. My cousin, who has had rats almost as long as I have, brought up Euthanasia. Not that she was suggesting it but it was something I had to except as an option, especially if it is cancerous and he is suffering.

I will definitely ask her (the vet) about those meds and I will ask her for her opinion on amputation and if it is cancerous.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. :thankyou:

 

[Mom of Sanchez]

Could it be cellulitis?

I have never really thought about that. I am unfamiliar with it in animals but I know a bit about my own , and my families experiences with it.

What are the signs of cellulitis in ratties?

 

[handmeafish]

Why would Metro be better than baytril? It has been my (personal experience) that Metro is more for GI issues, and Baytril is more for all over issues. -- I'm just curious.

Would a warm compress be helpful? Maybe help draw out any infection that might be present...

 

[mamarat]

With my Jamz, his foot was swollen with open sores almost like little boils and was very painful. He was put on Baytril and Metacam.

 

[Mom of Sanchez]

Why would Metro be better than baytril? It has been my (personal experience) that Metro is more for GI issues, and Baytril is more for all over issues. -- I'm just curious.

Would a warm compress be helpful? Maybe help draw out any infection that might be present...

I am not sure, but the baytril isn't helping. I have read that baytril is more for resperitory infections and urinary tract infections. Im no expert though

 

[handmeafish]

Mamarat, that is just terrible!!

How long has he been on the baytril?

 

[victoria]

Why would Metro be better than baytril? It has been my (personal experience) that Metro is more for GI issues, and Baytril is more for all over issues. -- I'm just curious.

Would a warm compress be helpful? Maybe help draw out any infection that might be present...

Metro is good for GI issues and anaerobic bacteria. It worked amazingly well for a rat I had that had a necrotic tumour and kept her comfortable and the infection in check her last few weeks.

I also want to mention that it's not uncommon for a vet to prescribe and antibiotic with Prednisone - the Pred to bring down swelling and the antibiotic to treat/prevent infection. It's not uncommon to use it for PT, ear infections, or serious cases of pneumonia.

 

[mamarat]

He's passed now. He was one of my first rats back in 2002. But he was almost a month on meds before it cleared up.

 

[lilspaz68]

Why would Metro be better than baytril? It has been my (personal experience) that Metro is more for GI issues, and Baytril is more for all over issues. -- I'm just curious.

Would a warm compress be helpful? Maybe help draw out any infection that might be present...

from ratguide.com...

Metronidazole is both a powerful bactericidal agent with activity against most anaerobic bacteria (bacteria that does not require the presence of oxygen to grow)

It can get into inner infections like Shimei's infection IN her hock...only thing that worked.

 

[jorats]

I'd continue with the Baytril for now.
As for amputation... we've had a few rats on here who lived a very happy and normal life on just three legs. In fact, my mom's Sven continued to be alpha of his cage. He has his leg amputated at 23 months and lived to 34 months to the fullest.

 

[lilspaz68]

i have a 3-legged lass myself. Do a search for Inca under lilspaz68.

 

[SQ]

Swelling is extremely dangerous. As others have said, metacam will help with both pain and swelling.

 

[Mom of Sanchez]

Thank you everyone. Caesar has an appointment to see a different vet at the same clinic tomorrow morning. I am not sure how familiar with rodents he will be but I will have some ideas and suggestions for him thanks to you guys!
I will post after the appointment. [schild=45,1,4B0082,EE82EE:19a97gl2]I'll keep u posted[/schild:19a97gl2]