# Neutered boy won't leave incision alone.



## Finnebon (Jul 15, 2013)

Charlie and Berki came back from the vet just now! Charlie is very perky already and wants to run around, and Berki is still a litle groggy and sleeping off his medicine. I'm so happy they are ok!! They are doing lots and lots of "Owwie stretches" though so I know they feel pretty uncomfortable  








I'm going to call the vet tomorrow and ask what I can give for pain medicine if it's still bothering them. Charlie is constantly trying to lick/nibble at his incision. The vet used glue so there are no stitches to worry about him ripping out, but one side of one the incisions is looking a little bit bloody and I definitely don't want him to tear it open. I tried wrapping a self adhesive bandage around his waist so he can't bend down to reach the incision, but he is always able to wiggle out of it. So now I have him in his carry crate and am watching him super carefully and interrupting him whenever he bends down. Does anyone have any other good suggestions to get him to leave it alone?








You can see on the left here that that incision is a little irritated.

And here's a picture of Berki because he was so sleepy and sweet, and didn't mind me taking a picture at all. (and I love taking pictures of my babies and sharing them with other ratty people!  )









I hope they heal up and feel better really soon. And I hope that swelling goes down too, it looks like nothing was removed because of how swollen they are down there! I can't wait to start introductions with the girls in a couple weeks ;D


----------



## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

It doesn't look bad to me, to be honest. I don't see any excess irritation aside from the fact that it is a fresh incision. Look for specific red and raised edges along the incision as the general swelling goes down.


----------



## Crezzard (Jul 20, 2013)

If it does open up (one if my boys did) the vet will just put a little more glue on for you. Xxx 
Also, the swelling takes about a week to go down. As it's healing you'll see orangey coloured scabs forming. I think it's normal for them to mess with them though. Both my boys did. They had stitches though that's why yoshi had to go back for glue 

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Finnebon (Jul 15, 2013)

Would holding them on top of something cold (like an icepack wrapped with a towel) be good for helping the swelling? Or should I just let their bodies naturally handle it?

I wasn't given any pain meds or antibiotics, but was told they didn't need it unless it for somereason got infected.

Hopefully he doesn't open it up!! It was a little freshly bloody and fussed at when I picked him up so I know he was probably actually nibbling at the glue, but he's calmed down a bit more now so I'm not as worried.

Silly boys!! Making me worry so much over them! I've never had a rat neutered (or spayed) before so this is an interesting situation compared to a rabbit or dog!


----------



## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

I would definitely ask for pain meds and maybe a general antibiotic just to make sure they fight any infection off prematurely. My boy was given a pain med injection and antibiotics to administer at home. 

Try to entertain him. Maybe when Berki perks up he will stop being a butt. 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Chuck (Jul 15, 2013)

When Simon was neutered he would not leave his incisions alone. I took him back and had the incision reglued but he ripped them open. The vet left them open, gave him 2 weeks of antibiotics and the incisions healed up without any infection. If he's not on any antibiotics you may want to get him on some. You may also want to get some pain meds/anti-inflammatory like metacam.


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Voltage (May 15, 2013)

Holy smokes... That looks really painful. I think I'm going to stick with one gender indefinitely to try and avoid ever having to put one of my rats through a spay or nueter o_o
I hope their incisions heal without complication

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Crezzard (Jul 20, 2013)

My vet told me that frozen stuff is a bad idea to put on. Just let it run it's course all you need to look out for is infection. If your abit worried about pain then you can give him ibuprofen for kids. Look online for correct dosage x 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Nathan4d (Feb 17, 2013)

Looks quite bruised! Bless them! Mine weren't too bad with them, the one pulled the stitches out straight away but vets said was only external so to just keep an eye on it x


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Finnebon (Jul 15, 2013)

They're doing really well today, back to normal. They're sleeping a lot, but the second I open the cage door they try to quickly zoom out! The vet called today to check on them too and I gave her the good news.

Hm yeah the pictures do look a bit graphic and scary, but they're not actually bruised at all. Just a little bit purple-ish from the swelling so you can see the blood under the skin, but I don't think it's bruising. The yellow/orange is just staining from the iodine type of sanitization they used for surgery prep and to prevent infection.

Both boys were given pain med injections before we left which is why Berki was still so knocked out since his surgery was after Charlie's. 

Charlie is thankfully leaving them alone now! The blood I saw yesterday is now all dried up and it looks better, on both of them.

Since everything worked out well and the anasthesia didn't seem to effect their tummies too much, I'm really glad I decided to have the neuters. They seem 100% back to their normal selves. Even late last night they seemed back to normal. When Berki was still sleepy, I let Mouse (their sister who gets defensive when the boys are on top of their cage) wander around him and sniff while I gently held him in case he got up, and they both sniffed each other and seemed totally fine. I can't wait until I can start real intros with them soon! I think I will wait at least 10 instead of 8 days until letting them together though, just to be safe. Maybe 2 weeks. We'll see how long I can wait!


----------

