Too much Birthday - Mr. H.'s foot healing well

[M0onkist]

No idea how it happened, beyond Tim's report (and he was a bit distracted because he got bit - explanation to follow).

I was asleep when Tim yanked me out of bed to get Mr. Honeycomb out from under the cage. Basically what happened was Tim heard rats *really* screaming (not the usual 'get off me you oaf' but 'HELP!'). He decided to intervene, and Mr. Honeycomb bit down hard on Tim's pinky, and held on as Tim yanked his hand back - hence Mr. H. falling out of the cage. He scuttled undernearth and so I was (understandably) sent to retrieve the shaken rat. Got him out with no fuss...

Until I noticed the almost inch-long gash on one of his poor little hind feet. I did as best a check as I could and had to stumble back to bed (because I'm on a sleep med).

Today the ankle is swollen but not too terrible. He's definitely ginger with it, it feels warm but not hot, and it's scabbed over very nicely. Only problem is I have no idea how deeply he was bit, if it hit a joint or bone or something.

I bathed it with epsom salts, but should I be doing more (like a round of bay/doxy)?

 

[victoria]

It looks pretty swollen, maybe pain killers would help. I would take him to the vet and put him on abs just in case because of his age, but that's just me.

 

[crumbilina]

Awwwww! Poor Mr. H!!!

He was bitten?

Poor guy! Sending healing vibes. Other then that, I would be posting on what to do too!

Good Luck!

ETA: Poor Tim too!!!!

 

[Joanne]

How is his foot otherwise? There would be some question of how he got the cut; if it was the ruckus that Tim heard, or if his foot got injured when he fell. I would be concerned about a fracture, although I guess they probably don't do anything for it anyway? If it is fresh, I wouldn't soak it as if it's deep then the water would get inside the wound, which may not be the best thing. I hope he heals up quickly, and your honey too!

 

[lilspaz68]

It doesn't look like a bite to me...it looks more like he caught it on something and struggled to free himself. Get him on at least ibu for the swelling and then evaluate the damage when its not as painful for him.

 

[M0onkist]

Will put him on ibu asap. Tim's thrilled that we have rats (although he was before!) - his sister got bit by her dog around Christmas, and immediately got infected. Tim's finger isn't even swollen or hot, and isn't hurting. He's no fan of bites, of course, but he much prefers a rat bite to a dog bite!

I didn't soak so much as use a damp cloth in a lightly saline solution to make sure his foot was clean. It is scabbed over and looks pretty good, despite the frightening length of it. I'll check on it in an hour or so and post an update.

Could have been cut when he fell - technically anything is possible.

 

[PitLuvs]

Personally, I would check your cage over. Rats usually only scream bloody murder when they are in pain and panicing. Sounds to me that he got stuck or hung up and ripped his leg open struggling to get loose. Hense the reason Tim would get bit, in fear that Tim was doing this to him
I have a 3 inch scar on my hand from my ferret Peek, when she got caught in a level years ago. This doesnt sound like a bite to me, also that cut is too clean.

 

[lilspaz68]

You have him in a CN right and he has HED? Do you have the ramp wraps too?

 

[M0onkist]

Ramp wraps I'm making tonight (part of his birthday present, he also got a handmade cube). It's a single CN, with two half-levels. I'll ask Tim when he wakes up what level Mr. Honeycomb was on - I'm guessing that it might have been the lower level.

I'm going to do a full sweep of the cage. Mr. Honeycomb seems to be comfy tonight. I'll have to do photos tomorrow on his leg, as the flash would wake up Tim (who's utterly exhausted).

 

[M0onkist]

Sorry - had to do some sort of salivary gland test early this morning (including radioactive injection!) so I haven't been able to get back to this until now.

Mr. H. is doing a ton better - his foot isn't swollen anymore, the cut is healing amazingly fast, and he's walking around on it like normal (well, as much as he can with the HED). I didn't like the way the ramps were configured, so I figured out a way around it - normal CNs have rather sharp turns at the bottom of the ramp (basically a perpendicular turn in tight confines to then go up the ramp). What I did was took the ramps from there, flattened the hooks ever so slightly, and stuck them through the bars at the back of the cage - as the CN is a lot deeper than the ramp (for the height of the levels), it gives Mr. H. a lot of room to face the ramp head-on, with a far gentler turn to get onto the level itself.

Currently however he is eschewing the open-vent cube I made for him for his birthday (he's an oldie now, yay!) in favor of a paper bag - he HATES it when I redecorate (considers it a personal affront to his manly decorating decisions). Tim was falling over laughing as I cleaned the cage - Mr. H. was in the travel cage on the top of the CN giving me the *dirtiest* looks while I cleaned the cage!

 

[Joanne]

Glad to hear he's healing well!

 

[M0onkist]

It's incredible just how fast rats heal...

He's gotten over his little pet and has taken to living like Hugh Hefner in his 'PlayRat' mansion - I gave it extra padding on the bottom so he'd be perfectly comfortable, and boy does he love it! The girls love it too - there's just enough room for all of them, or if one wants they sleep on the top, with two inside with Mr. Honeycomb (thus the Hugh Hefner!).