# Emergency: Possibly deep wound



## cookiebear<3 (Aug 2, 2013)

My boys, Bentley and Jasper, just turned seven months. Behaviorally they nose off at each other but have never had any problems since being together since birth. They free range 95% of the time as well as living in a dcn with fleece bedding and on oxbow regal rat as well as fresh foods/eggs/whatever I have to supplement. They were free ranging at the time playing on the floor while I was doing things. Bentley squeaked and did the turn-push that rats do when they don't want to play anymore but he squeaked louder than usual so I grabbed Jasper and cuddled him for a minute to distract him while Bentley climbed onto my bed and sat on top of my laptop. Once I put Jasper down I walked over to my bed and saw BLOOD all over and panicked and carried him while I found septic powder but it wasn't bleeding at this point. He perked back up and let me look a little and I saw a small wound on his tail and assumed the high concentration of vessels in the area accounted for the blood. He's been acting normal but I noticed something so I looked and something looked off so I picked him up and he gets fussy when I try to look which isn't normal for him and I think he has a deep wound on his haunch (like that upper thigh area not too close to his spine but well above the joint) and it looks like the skin and fur is separated showing the muscle underneath?! I might be over reacting because I can't get a good look and I tend to over react, but I'm freaking out and the roads are bad right now with ice and my vet is an hour away and closes before I could get there even if the car was here, I can get in tomorrow but f he needs stitches I know there's a point when it isn't advisable to perform for abscess risk.. How soon is that and how do I keep him comfortable in the meantime? I usually use baby aspirin but I don't want to use that for bleeding risk even though he hasn't been bleeding at all and aside from not wanting me to touch it he's acting normal.. I have prescription meloxicam for me and a scale so that's possible if someone knows the dosage per pound please I'm really upset. Should I cover it with gauze? Do I put him in a quarantine cage with clean fleece or paper towels? Jasper isn't acting aggressive and he never has do I need to keep him in a cage away from Bentley?

Please even if you don't know the answer I'd appreciate anything anyone knows I'm freaking out


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

If it isns't bleeding anymore it is probably a small wound that doesn't require any stitches. I believe it is only when a wound is more than 1 inch (maybe 2 inches, I can't quite remember now) that a rat might need stitches. If you have betadine on hands, do a very diluted solution with water (it should look pale pink) and use it to clean the wound. If you have medical glue/liquid bandage you could use that too, but likely unnecessary. If you have a pic, you can post it so we can see what is really going on. I wouldn't worry though, rats heal very fast, and it looks like it is a rather small wound.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

I wouldn't give him any aspirin for blood clotting reason, just to be extra careful. He probably doesn't need metacam either. As far as metacam is concerned, here are how to dose it. Is your metacam liquid or a tablet? Let us know if you need help figuring out the dosage. Here is how much metacam you can give your rat:http://ratguide.com/meds/nsaids/meloxicam.php


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## cookiebear<3 (Aug 2, 2013)

It's not big, but seems big in comparison to his body. It's not inch, it's just that I think I see smooth muscle. He's acting normal, aside from this and not wanting it touched or messed with


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

He will be fine without stitches. Do you have medical/liquid surgical glue on hands? You can buy some at Walgreens by the bandages/first aid stuff. Keep it clean, and make sure his cage is extra clean for the next 5 days.


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## BlackoutCat (Jan 23, 2016)

Rats heal incredibly fast. If the skin is still intact and the edges touch naturally the wound might even have sealed up by tomorrow. If you have a sterile cleaning agent like Betadine on hand you can clean the wound to prevent infection. If the husbandry is clean however the likelihood of infection is relatively low. Infected wounds will smell, may display unusual colours, and will hurt to touch. Properly healing wounds will be pink and red and should seal quickly. It's unlikely he'll need stitches and by the time you get him to the vet it may be unwise to opt for stitches as you would have to disrupt the healing that has already begun by lifting the new growth, trimming the edges to fresh cells and then stitching the wound shut to begin the process anew. It may leave a hairless scar.

It may have happened as an accident from play. Bently moved too fast and jasper going for a playful nip wound up plunging his teeth too far in and the subsequent rise of panic made Bently tear the hole larger. It happens and it's not a huge deal. Rats have very few nerve endings in their skin and muscle tissue, they concentrate around the ears, feet, tail and eyes. He might act completely normal after the fact. You can leave them together unless they are picking at each other in which case separation until the surface wound closes is best. I wouldn't worry overly much. Keep an eye on him and if anything seems abnormal take him to the vet, but you can relax. From those pictures he looks like he'll be just fine.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

If using betadine, dilute it first to a pink color. The New Skin liquid bandage can be used to prevent infection. I would use it, but he is probably ok without it too.


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## BlackoutCat (Jan 23, 2016)

Yes yes I knew I forgot something. Gribouilli is right. Only use the betadine diluted, I get mine from the vet clinic I used to volunteer at and they dilute it for me so I'm used to the stuff just being pink straight from the bottle. It's really great to keep on hand if you don't already have it.

IMO I don't do well writing with a sense of urgency.


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## cookiebear<3 (Aug 2, 2013)

I obtained some medical supplies and made sure it's clean. I don't like betadine so I used a sterile saline rinse and a topical antibiotic, then a butterfly suture and used something similar to liquid band-aid. I'll be into the vet if anything seems off. Thank you so much guys


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Sound great! Let us know how it goes


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

I call these tension slices, the skin is sliced open down to the muscle but the skin tension holds it open. There's usually little blood or pain, and these can heal incredibly fast, some seem to disappear overnight! They rarely get infected, won't abscess (those are usually puncture wounds where bacteria gets deep inside) and mostly heal uneventfully with no nursing care


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## cookiebear<3 (Aug 2, 2013)

That's a perfect way to describe it. He formed a nice clean scab quickly with no discharge and it's healing beautifully. It's almost completely gone now and he had absolutely no signs of pain since the occurrence. He seems slightly more hesitant to jump than before but then again he's always been kinda reckless ;D Thanks so much


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Great news


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