# Abscess appeared...again!!!



## watry (Feb 14, 2013)

My poor Oscar (who is probably 1-1.5 years...its hard to tell because he is a rescue), had an abscess that became almost golf ball sized the first time before it popped (I used warm compresses and a vet gave me oral antibiotics once it popped), and it healed and then it started coming back again a month later! It is located on his abdomen right above his penis and I'm wondering if anyone has any idea how this could have started? He is neutered and was living alone for a long time until I adopted him and paired him up with two females, but I have no idea how this could have started in the first place since they never get into any scuffles or anything like that! He was pretty chubby when I got him but, with your guy's advice, I just put him on a healthy food (oxbow) at unlimited quantities and offered him plenty of fresh fruit and veggies and his tummy does look more proportionate to the rest of his body now which is good! 

Now I decided that I will keep him on paper bedding for good now and hope this prevents it from coming back, but are there any other tips that you guys could give me that will hopefully prevent this from coming back? I have been washing his cage every day and I have been washing his belly every day with a warm saline solution to hopefully wash out any bad bacteria that could be living in this huge crater in his abdomen.

Thankfully, it is not infected and it has been rapidly healing...it is just really gross. It is also good that he LOVES his medicine. I can't wait for him to be able to live with his girlfriends again, but I want to make sure I am doing the right things to prevent this from happening again. My vet has not been helpful in this department and I don't want another huge abscess to threaten his life. It gets almost golf ball sized before it opens up even with the warm compresses!


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## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

This is a preputial gland abscess, they have 2 little glands over there penises that are linked with scent marking. Unfortunately they are one of those prone spots for male abscesses. An abscess reoccurs for a couple f reasons normally. The first is that the original infection never properly cleared, the second that the site has become re-infected, either due to the same cause as the first time or a susceptible immune system.

This form of abscess is one I’ve had a lot of experience with, and I’ve seen all the above linked with it. I’ll give you a quick overview of the cases I’ve seen here

•	Wide spread group infection. I had a group of 4 brothers and had recently switched bedding suppliers when first one rat and then late 2 of its brothers got these abscesses. They then reoccurred on the other side on 2 of the rats, one rat went on to have 6 separate preputial gland abscesses over the course of 3 months generally switching side so clearly being re-infected by his surroundings. One brother remained unaffected. The contents was seriously nasty smelling (so bad the vet paraded a sample round all the vet nurses she was so impressed), thin yoghurtey consistency and pale green. I had a sample taken by the vet and sent off to the lab for analysis and it came back as a stomach bacteria of some sort, very unusual. Meanwhile I’d spoken to several experienced friends and found a possible link to a bad batch of bedding. After trying baytril, then synulux (one I’d recommend for any abscesses) and doing a full clean down and changing beddings I shifted it. One of the boys went on to have 1 further abscess there much later in life but this was probably related to a more systemic infection (he went on to get sceptic arthritis before synulux saved him).
•	1 off repeat infection from failing to heal properly (infection staying). In the above case one of the lads, Nimbus, who had 6 abcesses in total, had one that reoccurred due to lack of proper healing. The abscess I got the vet to take a sample from didn’t open up properly as a normal abscess does as the vet had a go at lancing it too. It healed over too early without proper drainage and came back in the same place a week later. This was the only abscess they had that didn’t properly heal up. I’ve always since used the method below to deal with abscesses and find it works best in terms of preventing this kind of reoccurrence.
•	Occasional 1 off infections. About 3 of my boys have had one to three preputial gland abscess in their lives, one of them neutered. These come up, are dealt with and go away. The gunk isn’t as nasty as that first experience but isn’t nice either. These rats all seem to have a slightly weaker immune system than there unaffected cagemates. They are prone to abscesses and just aren’t quite as robust, one of my current lads Sam has had 3 so far, all about 3-4 months apart, 2 on one side, one of the other, poor chap is a little bald down there now but we are both very relaxed about dealing with them now.

In terms of dealing with an abscess it does depend on the situation. In most cases now I don’t go to the vet, they are simple to deal with and generally it’s a lot less stress for the rats if I sort it. The cases where I would always consult a vet though are; where an abscess remains without coming to a head on its own for over a month (most take 2-3 weeks at most), this carries a risk of blood poisoning, and where a rat or group of rats have several within a short spell of time, this is well worth sending off to be analysed so you can target the bug specifically. Also if you notice that the abcess is filled with a cottage cheesy type gunk it is well worth monitoring your others, this is commonly associated with CK, which is a nasty bug that can cause a rat to get very very ill after a shock or significant stress (silent respiratory sysmptoms). It tends not to bother those that get the abcesses though. If it’s a facial abcess I would always go to the vet and get antibiotics, these are not to be messed with and need taking out fast, as theres a high risk of bone infection or a tumour being at the bottom of them. Normally though antibiotics are only needed in stubborn or reoccurring infections or those that are internal and cant come to a head outside.

In a normal run of the mill abcess this is my process;
1.	Spot abcess, monitor it for a few days until it feels firm and taught (when its first growing there’s little you can do to encourage it to pop), kind of like a balloon. If your good at spotting them early on this can take up to a week or even two. 
2.	Once it feels like this take the rat, some kitchen roll or cotton wool and some water as warm as you can hold your hand in (rats have a higher body temperature so are able to take it a little hotter but you don’t want to hurt them) and a towel. Sit down in an unfamiliar place (bathroom works for me) and sit the rat on your knee on the towel. Press the cotton wool soaked in the warm water against the preputial area with one hand whilst keeping the rat roughly still with the other. Hold this as long as possible. Your effectively applying a hot compress to the abscess in the hope of drawing it to the surface and coming to a head quicker. They can have a wander for a while, and scritches help settle them, but generally keep the compress pressed to the abscess. Give it as long as you both can stand, unless the abcess decides to pop, and then put them back (with a treat).
3.	When a scab forms (known as coming to a head) do the same as the above, but with back up kitchen/toilet role to hand. Soak it until you see the scab starting to soften. At this point you will probably start to smell it (if you’ve not already) and you may see it oozing out of the sides of the scab. Sit the rat up so there back is against you and you have good access to there belly. You can lightly press it (not hard, the last thing you want is to force it inwards), or even try lifting the edge of the scab with a pair of tweezers. At this point a lot of gunk comes out, be ready to get it in the kitchen role etc. its normally now that the rat finally gets what you were doing as the relief of all that pressure being gone sinks in, they will normally calm and in some cases start helping you. Once the initial flow is gone continue to soak to try and lift the scab off entirely. Normally with a bit of help it will come off, or be a very loose flap. Try squirting some water in to flush out any remaining gunk, gentle manipulation of an open abscess can help too, just never squeeze or put lots of pressure on it. In stubborn cases you can squirt the antibiotic directly into the crater at this point, this is much more effective than treating them orally as often abscesses are well walled off from the blood supply.
4.	Allow the rat to finish cleaning it itself (which often includes trimming off the rest of the scab, very gross but effective). Check twice a day, soaking the scab off again if it reforms, flushing it if it seems gunky. Leave it as an open crater as long as possible. It should dry out then begin to heal from the back, leaving a small scar at the end.


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## watry (Feb 14, 2013)

Thank you so much! Hopefully it doesn't come back after this second time. I have been washing it every day and keeping it open, and it seems to be healing better than how it was healing last time. These things appear and heal so quickly it is kind of crazy!


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## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

Rats are amazing healers. We once had a pair of brothers starying here for a few weeks, one turned into a hormonal terror and cut open his brothers shoulder. You could see the muscle underneath, he wasnt bothered and despite mild panic it fixed itself within days, well with a bit of cream but I think that was more to make us feel like we were doing something lol


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## lmkrats (Dec 15, 2021)

Isamurat said:


> This is a preputial gland abscess, they have 2 little glands over there penises that are linked with scent marking. Unfortunately they are one of those prone spots for male abscesses. An abscess reoccurs for a couple f reasons normally. The first is that the original infection never properly cleared, the second that the site has become re-infected, either due to the same cause as the first time or a susceptible immune system.
> 
> This form of abscess is one I’ve had a lot of experience with, and I’ve seen all the above linked with it. I’ll give you a quick overview of the cases I’ve seen here
> 
> ...


Could you please look at my discussion? Your advice here seems really good but I’m not 100% what I should apply for my own pet rat. Hopefully you’re still active. Thank you!!!


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