# OMG he ATE himself!! help! help!! HELP!!-pics



## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

chop suey is getting to be a bit of a worry. i go away and come back and there's always something wrong. this time he ATE a HOLE in is abdomen. he has a hole in his skin. i can see right in past his skin. i can move the skin and see the edges move over the underskin or muscle or whatever that layer is called under the skin. the hole is about the size of my thumb! he's moving around fine, he;s active and doesn't seem in pain but he had a HOLE in his belly! its right where he had a cyst by his penis as a result of the neuter. i'm afraid to touch the area because there is a HOLE there. the vet of course is closed! i can't get him until tomorrow morning. what do i do?? he was going to get a bath to go along with the spraying of the cage for the mites but obviously he'll be exempt from that. it wasn't a requirement but i thought a bath would be a good idea and they are due for one anyway. well the rest will have their's anyhow. but what the heck do i do with chop suey?? what will the vet do when she sees him tomorrow?? HELP!!


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## Stace87 (Jun 24, 2008)

*Re: OMG he ATE himself!! help! help!! HELP!!*

Oh my 8O I hope he's ok! There isn't a chance the cyst could have came back and he's slighty nibbled at it is there (or overly nibbled...). 

Good luck at the vets tomorrow.


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## Randi (May 25, 2008)

*Re: OMG he ATE himself!! help! help!! HELP!!*

Wow, that's scary... I'm very sorry, I have no clue what to tell you! I just wanted to post in order to send good vibes his way for the vet visit tomorrow!

Since you're spraying the cage, are you planning on keeping him in a separate cage until his vet visit tomorrow? That's the only possible suggestion I can think of for the situation.


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## ration1802 (Sep 25, 2007)

*Re: OMG he ATE himself!! help! help!! HELP!!*

Blimey.

You're sure he chewed vs an argument with another cagemate?

It may be that something has irritated him in that area and he's done the only thing he knows how to .. removing the irritant.

As for the wound .. it'll depend on the vet. some will close it .. others will say to leave it. The best thing I've found with holes like these is Intrasite Gel .. amazing stuff .. it keeps the area hydrated and encourages the growth of new skin. I've dealt with a few holes like that now .. and although they look very nasty they usually heal quite quickly. Due to the sensitive location though .. maybe a bit of surgical glue will do just fine

Until then, like Randi says .. I'd keep him separates on clean bedding and just wait for the verdict.


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

*Re: OMG he ATE himself!! help! help!! HELP!!*

ive put him in the hospital cage on all fabric. i'll pick up the poops and chuck them. i don't want YN dust on the wound anymore then there already has been. 

it doesn't look like a battle wound. i've dealt with those that required skin glueing. no, it looks like someone, either himself or it is possible someone else, has chewed a hole. its no small either. easily the size of my thumb. 

i'm going to clean it out with a saline solution too. 

so much for his bath tonight... 


the spraying of the cage is to treat for lice. zen was heavily infested with them but we didn't notice until after he had passed on. once its dry its supposed to be safe for the ratties. it doesn't make a difference for chop suey as he's on his own tonight in the hospital cage, but for clarification sake.


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

*Re: OMG he ATE himself!! help! help!! HELP!!*

pictures-pre saline











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Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
Show Content


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

*Re: OMG he ATE himself!! help! help!! HELP!!*

ok, so maybe not quite as big as my thumb but close enough to it!


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## Stace87 (Jun 24, 2008)

*Re: OMG he ATE himself!! help! help!! HELP!!*

Ouchy  Poor Chop Suey *gives him heal quick cuddle*


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## Poppyseed (Feb 1, 2007)

Perhaps that wasn't a cyst but an abscess that he popped? That's what it looks like to me. Bert had some neuter abscesses a little lower than that but they became pretty huge like that. And he had it a while after his neuter as well. Needless to say I chose another vet for neutering my other male.

I would say continue with the clean environment, saline washes, etc and if he seems like he is in no pain he probably will be alright. Definately get him into a vet asap. I have heard of packing large wounds with sugar but I personally have avoided doing that with rats as I fear they would find it tasty and eat at it 

I think it probably looks worse than it is.

I hope everything will turn out alright.


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## pauline (Jul 19, 2008)

oh you poor thing that does look quite nasty does the area smell or is there any discharge coming from the area? like some yellow or clear gunge it doea look as if there was an abcess there.


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## pauline (Jul 19, 2008)

you could always try and take the hairs out of the wound as it looks as if they are agrivating the area, if he will sit still


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## 2boysloose (Jun 27, 2008)

Oh WOW. *heal quick cuddles* Shaving the area might irritate it more, and just clipping the hairs off might result in you clipping some skin. Poor BABY!!!! :'(


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## pauline (Jul 19, 2008)

you wouldn't shave the area for just that reason, I've had cats before with wounds and you need to take the hairs out of the wound to prevent infection, of course you wouldn't do this if you were not confident and your pet wouldn't sit still incase of nipping the skin but of course i can't see or know the person that has this poor animal or know if they are able to clip the area it is only suggestions, the vet will deal with the wound in the morning


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## A1APassion (Jul 29, 2007)

that is definitely an abscess that has erupted

If these are reoccurring from the neuter than how long ago was the neuter?


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

the neuter was may 30. normally this vet is very good with neuters. i've had other rats neutered by her before without any complications. but its not reoccurring. it occurring. he had an abscess in his scrotum area a few weeks ago, it ruptured on its own (it was small enough that we didn't know it was there until it had ruptured)and with abs it cleared up on its own. the other lump developed just before i got him on abs but didn't change any with the abs. the vet felt it and thought it was just a cyst as it dodn't really feel like an abscess to her and had not responded to abs at all for the week he was on them (while the other abscess cleared up). so they didn't show up again and again. just the one time at 2 spots. i don't know, i hope that made sense. its been a long day... 

those pictures were taken before i cleaned him up. i doused the area and the wound in warm saline then spot mopped up the excess. i was able to push the hair out of the way but there is no way chop suey would sit still long enough for me to clip hair, i'd end up stabbing him for sure.


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## pauline (Jul 19, 2008)

thats a fair enough reason i'm a very new rat owner and learning all the time, though i do have 5 cats 1 dog 2 tanks of fish and 3 horses and all of the animals are treated differently. Is there any way that the vet could give him antibiotics ?do they give rats antibiotics


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## Stace87 (Jun 24, 2008)

pauline said:


> Is there any way that the vet could give him antibiotics ?do they give rats antibiotics


Yeah they do give rats antibiotics Pauline. When Spike had an abscess a couple of months ago he was given Baytril after they burst it. I think he has another one now  back at vets tomorrow.


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## pauline (Jul 19, 2008)

so how do you give an antibiotic to a rat if ever i need it my boys are only 12 wks ish and getting 2 dumbo rats 2moro i cant wait going to pick them up after my night shift


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## Stace87 (Jun 24, 2008)

pauline said:


> so how do you give an antibiotic to a rat if ever i need it my boys are only 12 wks ish and getting 2 dumbo rats 2moro i cant wait going to pick them up after my night shift


I mixed Spike's in a bit jam, worked really well, he loved it :lol:. Awww dumbo rats, they're cute.


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## pauline (Jul 19, 2008)

yes i seen them in pets at home a while ago then then the opportunity came up to get a couple of them the two of them are black so this will be interesting introducing them to my other rats well i'll keep you posted on the new rats need to go back to work now


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

i put chop on the amoxil i have here for twix. its flavored so i don't have much trouble if i dose while they are in the cage. they think its a treat! :lol:


alright, my reg vet is still on vacation, my foster vet isn't open today. so i've got a appointment with the clinic my reg vet works for with her boss!it was either the guy i've never dealt with or the other vet that loves to charge but either knows nothing and pretend she does or she just wants to charge a lot... i don't trust her opinion in the slightest. so i went with the older vet the owns the clinic. i don't know him, but i'm hoping he knows something about rats. i can't get in until 3:30 though. he does his horse appointments in the morning. if there is a cancellation and i can get in there sooner they're goning to call.

as for chop suey, he's as fine as he ever was. he's not bugging at the area, he's eating and drinking well. he's torn apart the hospital cage in his boredom... the only where is it supposed to be is the hammock, likely because he hasn't figured to chew it down yet... he chewed off the hanging corner litter pan (hung up and stuffed with fabric to act as a level)... he's bunched up the fabric lining the bottom his food dish has disappeared (likely in the huge ball of fabric which his nose is sticking out of... he's bored. normally he's not that destructive with his cage and seems content to let me place things where i see fit... silly boy. but at least he's feeling fine during all this...


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## pauline (Jul 19, 2008)

I'm so glad he has been great overnight sounds like he will make a good recovery, hopefully the horse vet knows how to deal with chop suey and gives him the proper treatment without you being too much out of pocket. lets us know how he gets on at the vets


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## xampx (Dec 31, 2006)

This looks just like when Carrot had an abscess after her hernia ruptured. He needs to go to a vet to be on the safe side. Make sure you can't see any of his insides, they have 3 layers of skins/tissues, and its vital that the 3rd one is in tact. I could see her intestines and there was a risk she would bite through them 

The good news - once he is cleaned up and on antibiotics and some painkiller would help too, (I would suggest a cone as he seems to be interested in cleaning it a lot) he should heal up quick. Carrot went from massive hole to perfect skin in about 10-12 days.

Good luck!


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## xampx (Dec 31, 2006)

Also, if it is an abscess I wouldnt let the vet stitch it up as it will reform, it needs time to air out and the anti-biotics (baytril and/or flagyl) should stop it getting infected.


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## mopydream44 (Jun 10, 2007)

oh twitch that looked very nasty. I would have completely flipped out if I saw that. Let us know how it goes at the vet!


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## Suzuks (Jun 25, 2008)

I'm a first time rattie owner and this is by far the scariest thing I've ever seen - please let us know how it goes at the vet!


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

i'm away so i'm borrowing the comp while others are asleep. chop suey came with me on vacation so i can keep an eye on him and keep him cleaned. he's doing fine. hates it when i clean him up but is not being unduely clean-y-nee with the area. its look better then it did too. the vet said that it was a ruptured abscess and that i was doing all that i could for him and that he would be fine. he's didn't charge me for reassering me, which was nice. some of the other pet owners acted rather foolishly that i had a rat there, but i don't care. chop suey is fine, if bored being on his own. i won't be back home until saturday. and chop won't be going back to the main cage until he's all healed up (i don't want to the other rats trying to help suey too much in keeping it clean, and without the litter pan in the hosp cage there's not litter dust for him to get dirty in). so he's going to be bored for a while. but he'll get through fine. i'll update with pictures when we get home.


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## Brizzle (Mar 26, 2008)

I'm glad he's okay. Poor little guy. 

Rats heal amazingly fast. So it shouldn't be too long before he can be with his buddies again.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Make sure Chop has Out time with his old gang, so they remember him and you don't have to do a complete intro again 

Glad to hear its healing well.


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## tdnrat (Jul 23, 2008)

Oh those pictures make me cry, I'm so sorry...


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## geebus (Jun 23, 2008)

tdnrat said:


> Oh those pictures make me cry, I'm so sorry...


I also cried -


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## kalamazoo (Jul 25, 2008)

geebus said:


> tdnrat said:
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> > Oh those pictures make me cry, I'm so sorry...
> ...


Same here. It's hursts to see a rattie in that kind of pain. :'(


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## Stace87 (Jun 24, 2008)

kalamazoo said:


> geebus said:
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> > tdnrat said:
> ...


I don't think abscesses are particularly painful (if at all). Spike has had two now and hasn't flinched when it's been touched before or after it burst. I think they look a lot worse than they are.


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## kalamazoo (Jul 25, 2008)

I hope so. It looks like it would e really painful to have a hole in your tummy, but if it isn't as bad as it looks, then that's a plus.


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## PiggieRats (Jul 25, 2008)

I've had surgery and have had quarter size infected holes in my body from it. They don't hurt as bad as people think, but they look NASTY. Its totally weird looking into your own body.


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

chop suey was never bothered by it so i guess it couldn't have hurt too bad. in any case, it is completely healed already. it only took a week! i wish i could heal that fast.... *pouts* he'll be going back to the main cage today after a playtime with everyone to make sure he wasn't forgotten about.


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## SILENTbutRATTIE (Jul 26, 2008)

OFMG ITS SELF CANNIBLSUM!


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## ration1802 (Sep 25, 2007)

SILENTbutRATTIE said:


> OFMG ITS SELF CANNIBLSUM!


Uh, it is?


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## Catherine (Jul 28, 2008)

Stace87 said:


> kalamazoo said:
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> > geebus said:
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