# Tempy broke his nail, what do I do about it?



## Dan203 (Jul 10, 2014)

Tonight I went to let the boys out of their cage and I noticed Tempy was favoring a front paw. I examined it and it looks like he broke one of his nails. There's a bit of dry blood under it and it looks like it's angled up a little. What do we do about it? Do we just leave it alone? Or do we need to cut it off? If we do need to cut it off are there special clippers we need to use? We're going on vacation for a week in a few days, so if there is something special I need to do we need to do it before we leave.

Thanks,
Dan


----------



## Dan203 (Jul 10, 2014)

Now I'm not so sure it's his nail. What I thought was dried blood could just be dirt. What else could he have done to injure his paw? He's limping really bad and balling it up like a fist when he's standing still.


----------



## Bronte18 (Jun 2, 2014)

Oh sounds painful, my little guys have had bad luck with toes and feet recently. Metacam is a good anti inflammatory so I suggest getting that to stop the pain. Keep an eye on it and if it starts to look infected he may need some antibiotics, just make sure to keep it clean in a saline solution.


----------



## Bronte18 (Jun 2, 2014)

Also don't cut it, it could make it worse, he will probably bite it off himself when he's grooming but I highly suggest getting some metacam, you can also use baby iboprufin (spelling?) if you can't get any metacam. These injuries can be really painful for them.


----------



## Dan203 (Jul 10, 2014)

You can see in this photo he's walking funny. He's my skittish one so he wont really hold still when I hold him to try and look at it. But I keep hearing squeaks from the cage, I think Buddy is taking the opportunity to win a few squabbles. But I feel bad for Tempy. I don't want him to get hurt even more. Should I separate them?


----------



## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

That sounds like a normal torn nail. They do this when they catch a long nail on something and break it. A rats nail has a quick or vein running through part of it and if it tears too low it can be quite sore and bleed a bit. It sounds like the blood has dried so i would recommend cutting off the loose tip (so it doesnt catch and cause him more pain). And keeping on eye on him. He may find it a bit sore but you dont want him to use it too much, so avoid antiinflammatory/painkiller for now. If the toe starts swelling up then i would put him on an anti inflamatory like metacam or kids ibuprofen and an antibioitic to be safe. It will likley sort itself out inside of a week.

Probably worth noting that this is why i try and keep my boys nails trimmed regularly, this helps minimise the chance of them cathcing them. Giving pleanty of wood to climb cna help with this too. Also some fabrics like towelling are more easy to catch than others so keep an eye on them.


----------



## Dan203 (Jul 10, 2014)

We put a flat rock (half a paving stone) under their food and water cause we read that would help keep their nails short. We actually had Buddy's nails trimmed when we were at the vet and they messed one up and he was limping like that for a week, so we didn't want to put Tempy through it. But now I'm not sure it was a nail. One of his toes looks red. Can they break a toe easily? If it is a broken toe is there anything we can do?


----------



## Bronte18 (Jun 2, 2014)

I'd definitely give him a painkiller, you don't want your animal in that much pain especially if he's limping or hurt. My vet advises me to give my rats a dose of metacam if they hurt or catch a nail since it's been a reoccurring issue here.


----------



## Dan203 (Jul 10, 2014)

I coaxed it to the edge and he put his foot out flat and I could see his nails good. None of them look broken, so I was wrong with my initial diagnosis. There must be some other problem. I held him and inspected him for bites/wounds as best I could while he struggled, and didn't see anything. Could he have broke or sprained his foot/leg? If so do I need to take him to the vet?

I don't currently have any metacam or childrens advil, so I'll have to run to the store when I get done with work. But if he needs a vet then I need to take him quickly because we're going on vacation on Saturday and we'll be gone for a week.


----------



## ratbasket (Apr 26, 2014)

With rats a sprained leg or foot will often just fix itself, it think. If you are really worried about him getting around with it then you could make sure the cage has all the ramps in it to make it so he doesn't have to climb the bars to go between levels (if you took the ladders out) or you could put him in a one story hospital cage on his own.


----------



## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

He could have caught his toe or foot and sprained or broken it. I would keep an eye on it and if it doesnt improve in a few days take him along to the vet as it may need further looking at.

I only give the rats painkillers if they are being bothered by the pain, so sitting uncomfortably hunched, seemingly not themselves or off there food. For a minor sprain where they might limp or squeak when putting weight on it i would not give it. In part to stop them from using it too much (if they cant feel it they can cause more damage without realising it), and in part because both metacam, paracetamol and ibuprofene based pain killers do put quite a load on the kidneys. This is one of the weaker organs a rat has and if they dont really need the med they are better off not having it.


----------



## Dan203 (Jul 10, 2014)

He's improved a lot. He's still favoring it a little, but he's climbing again and walking almost normally. He must have just sprained it.


----------

