# HELP! My pupp accidentally nicked my baby rat's tail - what should I do?



## vudupins (Oct 14, 2010)

I found a two-week-old rat today, brought it to the vet to see if he was alright, and then brought him home. I was just playing with him and didn't hear my 15-month-old puppy come in behind me and he launched himself at my hand. I pulled the rat out of the way just in time, but my pup nicked the tip of its tail and it's bleeding. The skin is gone, revealing the bone (or is it cartilage? It's very flexible and string-like). What should I do? I can't rush him to the ER because I can't leave my puppy (he just had surgery and has to be supervised at all times). He's not bleeding profusely, it's pretty minor now, but I'm worried about the exposed bone/cartilage. The poor guy is obviously shaken up, but he only squeaks in pain when I pinch his tail with a cold paper towel (to stop the bleeding). I'm of course going to take him to the vet tomorrow, but what should I do in the mean time?


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

Keep him on towel bedding, keep his house very clean. Pick up some child's liquid pain relief to keep him some what comfortable til you can see the vet and find out the extent of the injuries. Don't handle him, keep the dog in a separate room to him (as the smell of him may stress him out more) and keep his cage in a quiet dimly lit place where the rat will feel secure. 

It sounds like the tail has been de-gloved. So what your seeing is the exposed bone. Your rat should be okay, but will still need to see the vet for an assessment. He will need pain meds and possible antibiotics to help with healing and prevent secondary infection. If the tail is badly injured it may need to be removed.

Also two weeks old? The baby still needs feeding around the clock - every 2-3 hours. Needs to be stimulated to go the bathroom and kept warm etc.


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## vudupins (Oct 14, 2010)

Are you sure I can give him human pain medication, even if it's for children? And if so, how much?

I also had a question about that - the vet told me the same thing about stimulating him to go to the bathroom, but on the way back from the vet earlier today he went by himself. When I fed him a couple hours earlier I tried to stimulate him by using a warm cotton ball but he wouldn't go. I tried about 3 times. Does this mean he's old enough to go by himself? The vet is only estimating he's two weeks, we're not sure exactly how old he is. He's pretty furry and can open his eyes a bit (it looks like he's squinting a little). But the fact that he peed by himself - does that mean I don't have to stimulate him?

Also, do you think the poor guy is scarred for life? He still lets me handle and pet him (although he's so small he doesn't really have much say), but I would hate for him to forever have a fear of me or people in general. Do you think he might?


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

Pick up some child's liquid ibuprofen and yes often the same drugs are used between humans/animals just in different forms/brands. Having been a rescue in the past, I have used it countless times with minor injuries/sprains etc - its the best way to keep your rat comfortable until he/she can see a vet. Since hes a baby you would only need to give him the tiniest amount, like the size of a pin head. I have never had to treat a baby so young, but I have given it to a 5 week old bub with neck trauma. 

I'd guess your vet pinned him at two weeks old because his eyes are just opening and his size... but if he is going the bathroom himself he may be a little older and just slow to develop due to poor nutrition. I'd guess around 2.5 weeks. Hes likely learned to go the bathroom himself because mom wasn't around to do that and he needed to go - they are amazing little animals even at this young age. Still stimulate him, give him a minute or two after feedings to digest and if he doesn't go when you do.. wait another few minutes and try again sort of thing. Keep doing this until his eyes are open and hes moving around well - even if he continues to go by himself. 

No I don't think hes scarred for life. They recover and adjust quite well from these kind of things, esp since hes still so young. you need to start training your dog before you attempt to reintroduce them or even let the dog in the same room as the rat. You can do this by getting an object the rat has used such as a hammock and teach the dog to be calm around it for the few weeks don't let your dog touch it. He can smell, but no touch. This teaches them what frame of mind to be in, and to be respectful around the rats scent.


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## vudupins (Oct 14, 2010)

Thank you!

But now I have another problem... I thought the bleeding had stopped, but I just checked on him and he's bleeding again. It's not gushing, but he is bleeding a bit very slowly. What is the best way to stop the bleeding? Should I tie a string around it as a tourniquet...?


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

Dip his tail in flour, but be prepared for it to get messy - but should help with the bleeding enough for it to clot. Hes going to move around, clean it etc so he may keep making it bleed due to its awkward location.... until you can get him the vet. Some pain medication may help convince him to leave it alone in the mean time!


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## vudupins (Oct 14, 2010)

Just put the flour on, and it did a great job of stopping the bleeding, thank you! That's a handy trick! But of course like you said, he felt awkward and kept cleaning it off, but it's at least not bleeding as much. (Unfortunately I don't have liquid pain relievers of any kind, and it's so late I don't think anywhere near me would be open.) I dunked his tail in twice so he's got a good amount on there. It may not stop the bleeding entirely, but it's at least cutting it down.

When rats' tails are "de-gloved," what exactly happens if the vet says it doesn't need to be cut off? How can they walk around with their bones exposed? Or does the exposed part of the tail fall off by itself?


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

Yeah the flour trick is good one, rats being so small tend to bleed easily - esp nicked toes and ears! If it starts to bleed again, wipe away excess flour and sprinkle it over the cut - try get a clot to form to protect the wound. 

What kind of other pain relief do you have? I'd have to check to see if anything else can be used. 

Well it really depends on the extent of the injury, the vet may clip the exposed bone off and leave whats left of the tail to heal. Or he may decide it will dry up and drop off by itself... 
Heres a link for you to check out with case studies: http://ratguide.com/health/wounds/degloving_injury.php


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## vudupins (Oct 14, 2010)

He seems fine now, the exposed part of the tail still has dried blood on it but at least the bleeding's totally stopped. Now it just looks really dried up and gross. He doesn't seem to be in pain or uncomfortable, but I read online that rats are naturally really tough and rarely ever show that they're in pain because in the wild showing that weakness would get them killed, so I'm wondering if he's in a lot of pain but just toughing it out. I'm bringing him to the vet in about 30 minutes anyway just to make sure he's alright.

Thank you for all your help! That flour trick was a really life saver! ;D


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

I'm glad to hear the bleeding has fully stopped, but yeah I'd guess he was in pain as there are nerves around the spine and like you said they hide pain pretty well. Let us know how it goes at the vets, can you take before and after pictures at all?


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## vudupins (Oct 14, 2010)

Lucky (as I've come to call him) is doing great! He's on antibiotics just to make sure he doesn't develop an infection, but other than that the vet didn't touch the tail. She said the expose part with likely dry up and fall off, and she didn't think he was in any pain. I'd post pictures but I'm not sure how to use these image tags. :-\

Thank you for all your help! But unfortunately, I can't permanently keep Lucky, even though I'd really like to since he's such a sweetheart. As you can see, I have a pretty rambunctious 70lb puppy, and I just don't feel right keeping Lucky knowing that there's always a chance something terrible could happen when I'm not there. I'd feel much better if he were in a loving home where he didn't have to worry about his safety and possibly have other rat buddies to play with. You seem to know quite a bit about rats, so I was wondering if maybe you could point me in the right direction for putting Lucky up for adoption? I'm going to continue weening him and when he's fully weened in about a month he'll be ready to go to his forever home.


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

Aw thats too bad that you can't keep him, where are you located? you could contact a rat rescue in your area or post on rat forums and try to rehome him yourself. 

goosemoose.com I believe gets the most traffic to their adoption part. This forum.. not so much.


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## vudupins (Oct 14, 2010)

I'm in New York City and I contacted the New England rat rescue group (not sure of the exact name, but it was the only group that works in NY), and they said they'd love to help but technically Lucky is a "wild" animal and legally they're not allowed to accept wild animals.  I put a post up on goosemoose, so far no replies but fingers crossed!


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

Well I can understand that, most wild rats despite constant handling.. resort back to their wild ways and will need a special experienced home with someone who can neuter/spay him or her and work with them lots. You could try a wild life rescue.. or other rat rescues. 

If I was closer... I'd take him in a heart beat!


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## vudupins (Oct 14, 2010)

Well if you know anyone who's relatively close, please let me know! I'd have to be able to get back the same day for my puppy, but I'd be willing to drive 3-4 hours to get Lucky to a good home. In fact next weekend I'm driving up to Ithaca, NY. Do you know anyone up there?

I'm worried to take him to the ASPCA because I'm worried people won't adopt him because's he's "wild," and then they'd probably euthanized...  I don't wanna put him in the hands of any organization that might euthanize him.


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

I'll try search for some options for you...

Wild life rescues in NYS - http://www.nyswrc.org/rehabbers.html

Mainly Rat Rescue: http://mainelyratrescue.org/rattieblog2/?page_id=18
Not sure where they are located, but they mentioned NY... they have loads of fosters there. They may be able to help you. 

Kims Ark - http://www.kimsarkrescue.org/
Not located in NYC but a forum mentioned they service the area regularly and had it listed under NY rescues.

I hope that helps a bit. :-\


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## vudupins (Oct 14, 2010)

Mainly Rat Rescue is the one that turned me down because he's "wild," but I'll try the others. Thank you!


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

You can also try posting on Goosemoose.com and Ratshackforum.com in their adoption section, may help get your guy better coverage. Fingers crossed you can find him a good home... 

You may have better luck with the wild life centers though!


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## vudupins (Oct 14, 2010)

I posted on Goosemoose and someone inquired about him, but they wanted to know if he was wild so I think that might scare them off. :/ I'll post on RatShack too. Thanks again!


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

No problem, I'm glad I could help. I really hope he finds a fantastic home.

Let them know he will require a neuter to stay handable as an adult, and only let him go to someone experienced who can spend a lot of one on one time with him.


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## vudupins (Oct 14, 2010)

I'm so sorry to report that Lucky has passed away. It must have happened within the last 30 minutes because he's still slightly warm and hasn't gone into rigamortis yet. I have no idea why he suddenly passed, he was absolutely fine a couple hours ago when I checked on him, this is so random. He was on an antibiotic for his tail just out of safety so I don't think he died from that, but I guess maybe he was sick this whole time? But that doesn't really make sense either because he showed absolutely NO signs of illness, the vet said he looked fine.

I'm so deeply saddened by this, especially since I'd just lined up a home for him a couple hours ago. But I guess I can rest assured knowing that I did what I could for him and his last couple days - with the exception of my puppy nicking his tail - were filled with love and comfort. The position I found him in looked like he was comfortable and passed peacefully. I hope that was the case.

Thank you so much, with your help he was able to have a good last couple days.


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

I'm so sorry he didn't make it :'( you could be right... he may of had an under lying heart issue or something because their moms will often leave them to die when they know they won't survive - so they don't waste their 'resources' on them. Thank you for everything you did for this little one, you went above and beyond in providing for his needs and setting him up to have a good ratty life. I hope the little one is playing hard at the bridge.


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## vudupins (Oct 14, 2010)

I hope so too. :'(


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