# My rat broke her toe, what can I do?



## katansi (Jan 29, 2016)

So they were wrestling around and somehow she got her foot caught in a corner "seam" of the cage and it's definitely broken. I'm not even sure how she managed to get it in there because the cage join looks flush. I got her unstuck as quickly as possible but it has a very tiny cut and actually a little mangled looking. 

What do you do for broken rat toes? If she were a person I'd do a buddy tape but I'm betting that would not go over well with her. Can a vet even do anything for toes that small? What's safe to clean cuts with and should I even try? She is not profusely bleeding thankfully but it hurts her and she's limping.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

You can disinfect her toe with diluted betadine (diluted to a light pink color)- it WON'T sting. For pain you can use BABY liquid ibuprofen. I used the Walgreens brand mixed berries- was like a treat to my rat. I don't think a vet could do anything except prescribing a better pain killer and better anti inflammatory drug- although ibuprofen will do both too. Rats heal very quickly and I believe she will be fine. What kind of cage is she in? It would be beneficial to take out hammocks and climbing opportunities for 10 days or more so it heals faster and better.


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## katansi (Jan 29, 2016)

Ok. It's just one of those big black metal multilevel rat cages. It was the best we could get in a pinch because the bars on the first cage was too far apart. She went and crawled into her fleece tube and is grooming which I think is a good sign. She's not much of a climber more of a burrower, she mostly goes down a level to get food and water and then hangs out in the middle. She likes being under things when she's out. I'll remove extra toys though. 

Do you know what dose for the baby ibuprofen?


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

15 mg/lb to 60 mg/lb, PO, q4hrs (low dose for analgesia, high dose for anti-inflammatory effect). I would start with 40mg/lb and if she still looks like she is in pain, increase it up to 60mg/lb the first 3 days. http://ratguide.com/meds/nsaids/ibuprofen.php


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

To know how much to give her, I need to know her weight and how many mg/ml there is in whatever baby ibuprofen you want to get


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## RatAtat2693 (Jan 13, 2016)

Yeah, there's not much to do for broken human toes. I broke two and they taped me and gave me pain meds. Forget rats.


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## katansi (Jan 29, 2016)

I think I have a food scale somewhere and maybe if I'm lucky I kept an oral syringe around. Thanks for all your help. I feel so bad about her poor toe and I hope she didn't twist anything else trying to free it.


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## katansi (Jan 29, 2016)

Yeah that's what I figured but I'd rather know than assume. I'm worried about pain and infection since they do stand in their own poop between cage cleanings.


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## RatAtat2693 (Jan 13, 2016)

katansi said:


> Yeah that's what I figured but I'd rather know than assume. I'm worried about pain and infection since they do stand in their own poop between cage cleanings.


Now is probably a good of time as ever to try litterbox training, if you haven't already.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Have you got the baby ibuprofen yet?


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## katansi (Jan 29, 2016)

Yes, and had to buy a food scale. Her foot is bruised and swollen but the toe looks better than yesterday regarding the mangled appearance. She is moving fairly normally with limping but I'm going to give her a dose a few hours before I go to bed so I can see if it at least looks like it helps.


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## katansi (Jan 29, 2016)

They've had a litter box for about three weeks now and they use it 99% of the time. But even with that she still has to walk in it. It was a rear toe.


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## Sal (Mar 21, 2016)

How is she recovering?


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## Simons_mom (Mar 25, 2016)

Poor baby.. hope her toe is on the mend soon!


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## catty-ratty (Feb 21, 2016)

I'm sure you know rats are climbers. It might be worth finding something esle to keep her in that can't be climbed until her toe heals.


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## katansi (Jan 29, 2016)

She's active! Which is good. Every once in a while she'll jump or something and you can see her kind of walk it off but she's up and moving normally and the toe/foot is almost back to normal pink color and the tiny cut isn't visible. No more signs of swelling and no sign of infection. Toe still looks a little funky shape wise but less so than where it started.


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## katansi (Jan 29, 2016)

Yeah getting a spare cage for quarantine/moving purposes is on the list but unfortunately not going to happen right now. Her toe seems to be doing much better though despite climbing. She's thankfully the less adventurous one so most of her activities are hiding under things rather than going over them.


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