# Stupid, Stupid Me...



## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

The one time we can't take him to the vet any time soon I really hurt one of my babies... I feel so completely stupid. It's all my fault and all I can do right now is relieve his pain and hope... hope that those amazing ratty healing powers do their thing..
He's just three months old... he crawled into the worst thing in my room and I was too stupid to see him in there, I didn't even think to look even though I knew he was over there not too long.. why didn't I look.. I just turned it on.. who would ever think their rat would get into the fan? You think, worst case scenario, that a tail could fall between the bars and they could lose a chunk... of course it had to be so much worse for me, at the worst possible time..
I knew I should have fixed that stupid box fan so long ago.. I forgot all about the screws coming lose, allowing the front to lift off at the bottom... why would you go in there?
One huge slice.. huge, relative to his baby size.. horrible spot.. it started right in the middle of his poor mouth, right between the teeth, but veered off and missed his nose.. because it's his lip, it stays parted, I can see his little tooth on the parted part, the other is fine...
I've placed him in a small tank with some fleece, dosed out some Acetaminophen and dissolved it in the water so he could ingest it easily, and softened up some food so he could still eat.. hoping for the best.. 
I cuddled him, sobbing, just after it happened for a good few minutes, expecting him to pass. I think it was the shock of what happened that made him so still... it happened two and a half hours ago.. when I finally dabbed at it with a wet cotton ball, put a little bit of Polysporin on it in hopes of it helping to keep the lip attached, and set him up in his little tank, he just slept for a little bit. I encouraged some drinking so he would ingest the pain meds, and the melatonin I put in there to help him rest and try to sleep through any pain he is feeling. Then he just slept..
I noticed him up and moving around and checked him out about an hour later, he was acting okay, dumped the little cap of water, and he did eat a tiny bit of mushy food. The Polysporin didn't have the effect I had hoped for, but it should be helping with some pain.. I think it would heal better without the broken piece of tooth in there.. but it's attached good, I tried to use tweezers to remove it, he was very good while I was trying, but it wasn't coming out..
He's sleeping now..
I hate myself....


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## RatAtat2693 (Jan 13, 2016)

Aw darling. That's awful. Happens to the best of us, though. As a teenager, I had a litter of kittens who were about a week old. For whatever reason, I had put some fabric (not fleece) in the whelping box and it frayed. Kit got wrapped in her brother's umbilical cord and a stray string; lost her leg. Mom rejected her, and she wouldn't eat for the longest time. I'd been raising healthy pets for my entire life. You let your guard down, forget there's a hazard in your room, forget that fabric frays or they can get into a small space, and sh*t happens.

I still think about her, but you know, you can't kick yourself. It's awful, but he's still alive. I had a neighbor's dog get hit by a car. The shock put him into a daze and he looked like he wasn't going to make it. The next morning, he was up and limping around. By the sound of it, he should be okay.

If you haven't already, try for CareCredit or GoFundMe. Let me know how things go. Just stay away from blood thinners like Ibuprofen.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

It's so frustrating that it had to be right now that something like this happens. If I could get him to a vet it wouldn't be so bad. I think he could be okay if I could get that tooth out. It sliced so perfectly up the middle that the whole top right tooth can be seen, what I worry about most is it being unable to close properly, or at all, because that tooth is stuck on there in a completely weird place. Rats can survive some amazing things, and I hope this will be one of those things. I worry though, it's pretty horrific looking because the slice keeps the skin from being held together and it looks.. ugh.. I don't know what else to do right now.. it looks a lot worse than it sounds..

I've looked into CareCredit before, I think it's called something else in Canada, but my vet doesn't do it..


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

I will update in the morning, debating whether or not to take a photo..


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Oh no, I'm so sorry, that is horrible. I would give him baby liquid ibuprofen directly, not in his water. If he doesn't like the taste of the water, and he stops drinking or drink less that would be really bad. Mixed berries (I used the Walgreens brand) baby liquid ibuprofen is very tasty, and rats love it. Will you bring him to a vet tomorrow?


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Yes you should put some pics. I hope your rat will be ok. You didn't mean it, it happens


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Would your vet take PayPal Credit? If he does there is no interest for everything above $99 gir 6 months if paid in full before the 6 months mark.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

I decided against taking a photo lastnight, I had already poked and prodded so much and didn't want to disturb him again. 
It looks like it's coming together slowly, it's very swollen, so I think that's working against it a bit along with the tooth. 
The boyfriend is the one with the job, as I finish school, and nobody in my family would waste their money on "just a rat". Due to stuff... the boyfriend can't be here for the next month so I have no money or a ride.. I'll talk to him when he wakes up and see if there's anything we can do. That's why this is the worst time for something to happen...
What would be the best anti-inflammatory? 
I'm going to give him a warm bath so I can more easily clean it, apply the Polysporin, and give him his medicated water and mushy food. He does have normal water in there as well.


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## JAnimal (Jul 23, 2014)

Aww poor baby. Its not your fault you didn't see him. Besides pain meds I don't know what a vet would really do. So just make sure that he is eating and drinking and he should heal up just fine. Rats really do have crazy fast healing.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

Well I know the other tooth works okay, did some anxiety bruxing in the sink. If I could just get that stupid tooth out I think he could heal up very well..


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

*sigh*.. no. I have to find a way to get him to a vet, there's no way I can keep an infection out of there, there likely already is one. I HAVE to find a way.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

Probably going to have to go down and talk to the local, crappy vet and see if they'll let me surrender him to them...


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

Will talk with the boyfriend when he wakes up.. if we can't think of a solution by three today, I'm walking up to the vet and talking with them..


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Ibuprofen is an anti inflammatory. All NSAID are- I know ibuprofen is ok for rats, I don't know for other NSAIDs. An anti inflammatory would help with the swelling too, not just the pain.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

Gribouilli said:


> Ibuprofen is an anti inflammatory. All NSAID are- I know ibuprofen is ok for rats, I don't know for other NSAIDs. An anti inflammatory would help with the swelling too, not just the pain.


Yeah that's why I was asking what anti-inflammatory would be good, I thought Ibuprofen was just pain relied. Stupid boyfriend is still sleeping, ugh. He works at 2:30 so he better get back to me soon so we can discuss this.


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## RatAtat2693 (Jan 13, 2016)

You could use the Ibuprofen, but I would call your vet and ask them. The only reason I said no earlier was because I thought he was still bleeding.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

He wasn't bleeding much, even when it happened. It was bloody, but it wasn't dripping off the split or anything.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Be sure to give her the ibuprofen (check correct dosage with her weight) directly, NOT in the water. Very important.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

I need to get my hands on some. We only keep Tylenol here, my aunt might have some, she's got young children. Perhaps my granny has some cash to spare, seeing as it is useful for future occurrences.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

My aunt has liquid Advil for toddlers, 2+. Is this okay?


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Fraido said:


> My aunt has liquid Advil for toddlers, 2+. Is this okay?


Yes, that will work. Do you know your rat's weight?


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

I've got a kitchen gram scale, I know it will work for his size. Haven't weighed him with it yet, but I can when I get home.
Something I've just thought about is the facial bone structure, what if it cut right through any of that? I have not seen anything sticking out, will have to take a good look deep in the split when I get home. 
How can I help prevent, or possibly treat, an infection for the time being? That's my main concern, as he eats and sleeps it's very open to infection, and I wouldn't doubt it if evidence is there by the time I'm home.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

First thing you can do is to clean his cage EACH day. It must stay very clean to avoid infection. You can desinfect the wound with a VERY DILUTED solution of betadine. I must be light pink. Obviously don't use anything that would sting.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

****. Even if it would help in the long run? I've only got a peroxide spray. My dad has betadine, I asked him about it earlier but he said he's probably going to need it. Maybe I can use it first, get him to bring it in tomorrow.
I think I'm going to end up needing something that will help with an already present infection before it gets bad. He's probably got one already.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

You will need oral antibiotics if it looks infected. For now, I think you I'll be ok with super clean cage and diluted betadine. Do you have saline? Very good to flush out the wound. You can make it at home with distilled water and salt, I never did it though. I got saline at Walgreens, probably about $3. If you do it at home, you would still need a bottle with a hole in it so it can flush the wound- won't work well otherwise. You could use surgical glue (Walgreens by the regular bandages) to keep the wound clean. Not sure if the surgical glue would work in your case though, since it is so close to her mouth.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

I wouldn't use peroxide as peroxide also attack healthy tissue. Also hydrogen peroxide stings.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

I have a vet appointment! Boyfriend's mom is being wonderful and driving, boyfriend has the money. 3:40pm tomorrow, he just has to hold on until then, we've just got to fight off infection for one more day. Hang in there Pippin!

I also weighed him, he's 75g give or take a gram.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

That's great. Is he eating and drinking? It is very important that he stays hydrated.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

He is so tiny, losing any weight could be bad too.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

I know he is eating, or at least trying to. He nibbles at the food, it could be painful. I checked out his other tooth again and the swelling I noticed on that side of his mouth has gone down considerably. His gums around the good tooth were SO swollen, there was barely any tooth poking through. Now it is back to normal.
I have not seen him drink yet, but I will make sure he doesn't get dehydrated. How much of the Advil should I give him at his weight?


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

Looks like both his teeth will need to be dealt with. I didn't look closely enough and I see now that the "good" tooth was shifted, it's got a good angle to it now, it's definitely in the wrong place. How is this likely to turn out? Can the tooth be reset? Or will it probably have to be pulled? If they pull it will it grow back?


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## JAnimal (Jul 23, 2014)

I don't know about it growing back but they do grow. If they pull the root then I don't think it with grow back. Im happy you can take him to the vet though. Your boyfriend is one nice person!


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

ADVIL for toddler: 100mg/5ml so 20mg/1ml

On Rat Guide it says to give 15mg/lb to 60 mg/lb (higher dose for anti- inflammation which is what you want here- it will still take care of the pain, obviously).

I would start him at 40mg/lb, and see if it takes care of some of the swelling- if not you can try a higher dose but no more than 60mg/lb.

So at 40mg/lb: your rat is 75g or 0.165 lb. (0.165*40)=6.6mg (that's the dose for your rat). Since there is 20mg/ml, your rat will need 0.33 ml. I would give him 0.3ml and if not better you can go up to 0.4 ml every 4 hours. You should see a difference after two doses.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Get him some baby food so he gets some calories and fluids. It is very unlikely he is able to eat any solid food. If you have a syringe (no needle) try to get him to drink some water with a little honey or sugar so it is more appealing.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

JAnimal said:


> I don't know about it growing back but they do grow. If they pull the root then I don't think it with grow back. Im happy you can take him to the vet though. Your boyfriend is one nice person!


Thank you! Yes he is. I'm happy as well, I didn't want to have to surrender him.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

Thanks Grib! I can't go anywhere tonight, I will continue to give him the mushiest block I can and pick up some baby food when we take him to the vet. I think I've got some applesauce I could treat him with for now, he might like that. I shall also make him some sugar water and give him some water with the syringe.
Just to make sure, a mL is a cc right?


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## catty-ratty (Feb 21, 2016)

Yes, 1 ml = 1 cc.

Don't know if you done it, but I wanted to mention that if you make a saline solution, be sure to boil the water first. 

If you can possibly do this, and if others here think it would be okay, I would keep something cold next to her mouth. The coolness will help with swelling and slowdown the growth of bacteria causing infections. 

I'm super glad you're going to be able to take her to the doctor!


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

Why is everybody calling him a her, lol.

Catty, I haven't done it yet, because I can't go get Distilled water. I assume you boil the water if it's not already distilled?
I thought about the cold thing as well, I figured I wouldn't want to give her a chill, maybe unintentionally give her a URI to worry about on top of the split.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

Here's a photo I took early this morning, you can see the tooth there. It looks better now, less swollen, more together. I can't wait to get him to the vet tomorrow. It looks so much worse in the photo. It was after I bathed him.


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## Ratloved (Oct 4, 2015)

Poor baby! He is lucky you are taking good care of him, he is very cute. I hope it goes well at the vets tomorrow! Good luck!


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## CourteesRatties (Feb 23, 2016)

I swear it looks worse than it is i flipped when half my rats tail necroed and it was just had boned and a little blood sticking out these guys are little diesels, your vet might put a stitch but might not cause these guys love to pull stitches. I hope this little guy is ok hes adorable despite the injury and DO NOT BLAME YOURSELF these guys will go anywhere i had one climb into a hole in my dresser behind a drawer that had stoppers that wouldn't let me pull the drawer out and had to tear my dresser apart!!!!!!


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

Thanks guys



CourteesRatties said:


> I swear it looks worse than it is i flipped when half my rats tail necroed and it was just had boned and a little blood sticking out these guys are little diesels, your vet might put a stitch but might not cause these guys love to pull stitches. I hope this little guy is ok hes adorable despite the injury and DO NOT BLAME YOURSELF these guys will go anywhere i had one climb into a hole in my dresser behind a drawer that had stoppers that wouldn't let me pull the drawer out and had to tear my dresser apart!!!!!!


They really are such troopers. It's amazing what injuries they can recover from! It's just so frustrating because I KNEW he was in that area, I knew he had ran behind the fan, half an hour later I looked around the stand the fan is on to see if he was still around, and I had just assumed he went to explore another part of my room. I didn't think to look IN the fan. *sigh* I'm expecting a decent bill from the vet, I'm expecting them to fix both teeth (the one NEEDS to be removed, the other is out of place so I'm not sure what they're going to do about that one), and give me antibiotics and pain meds, and possibly stitches.


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## catty-ratty (Feb 21, 2016)

I have used plain water from the sink to make saline solution. My understanding is that it's fine to use for making saline. Boiling it first will kill any possible bacteria that might cause problems. I forget what the ratio of salt to water is, but it's a relatively small amount of salt. I personally prefer to make my own saline because store bought ones always seem to have other ingredients, preservatives and buffers. As long as the saline is fresh, it's fine to use.

I saw someone refer to him as a she and assumed they knew from some other post I haven't seen. But looking back at your first post in the thread, I see that you said 'He'. Hm...


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

I get that, why pay money for it when you can just make it yourself, anyways?

Lol it's fine, I keep calling him a girl, for some reason my brain associates the name Pippin with a she. Haha


It's looking pretty gross this morning, so happy he's getting to the vet this afternoon. I can't tell if it's just getting all scabby inside the split, or what is going on. It's probably infected. He loves the liquid Advil, it's grape flavoured! He also loves the applesauce, and mowing on his softened blocks. He does really good with the blocks, surprisingly. I put a small chunk in a cap with water and just keep putting more water in as it's sucked up, he starts at it real quick and if it stay soft enough he'll finish the block. 

Ugh I don't know how they're going to work with his poor mouth.:/ I wish I could have taken him in when it happened, it would have been a much easier fix than now when it's probably infected and trying to heal.


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## Simons_mom (Mar 25, 2016)

Poor Pippin! Hope his vet visit goes well!


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

I hope it goes well, fingers crossed. Yep, he will need antibiotics and a very clean cage for the next few weeks. What cage is he in and what do you use as litter/liners?


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## catty-ratty (Feb 21, 2016)

I was thinking Pippin was a he. Lord of the Rings.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

catty-ratty said:


> I was thinking Pippin was a he. Lord of the Rings.


 That's exactly where the name came from, so I'm baffled as to why I keep saying she whenever I'm talking about him.. it's a struggle.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

Thanks guys. I hope that if they can do anything for him, they can do it today, as I won't be able to bring him again until next weekend.

Grib, I've got him in a very small tank, as my dad took my tiny cage a long time ago. It's got to be only like, five gallons, but it works fine for a hospital cage for him for now. I'm using fleece.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

The vet appointment went well. She looked at his face, she mentioned that his upper jaw was fractured and shifted slightly. She said the tooth definitely needed to be removed, as I suspected. 
So, we had two options: Light, general anesthesia, they would remove the tooth and send us home with antibiotics and the hope would be that it heals on its own.. or they would put him right under and stitch it back up and remove the tooth, and send us home with antibiotics.
We chose the second option so he would be more likely to heal, and sooner. Hopefully all goes well. He's at the vets for the night and, unless something goes wrong, we will get a call in the morning to arrange a time to pick him up. Fingers crossed!


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Fraido said:


> The vet appointment went well. She looked at his face, she mentioned that his upper jaw was fractured and shifted slightly. She said the tooth definitely needed to be removed, as I suspected. So, we had two options: Light, general anesthesia, they would remove the tooth and send us home with antibiotics and the hope would be that it heals on its own.. or they would put him right under and stitch it back up and remove the tooth, and send us home with antibiotics.We chose the second option so he would be more likely to heal, and sooner. Hopefully all goes well. He's at the vets for the night and, unless something goes wrong, we will get a call in the morning to arrange a time to pick him up. Fingers crossed!


I hope it goes well. I would have chose that option too. I'm looking forward to hear more about the surgery tomorrow.


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## catty-ratty (Feb 21, 2016)

I'm so glad you were able to get him to the doctor! Will his tooth grow back after pulling it? May seem like a dumb question, but their teeth never stop growing.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

catty-ratty said:


> I'm so glad you were able to get him to the doctor! Will his tooth grow back after pulling it? May seem like a dumb question, but their teeth never stop growing.


It isn't a stupid question. I think that if the root is pulled out, teeth won't grow back. That will be a problem with the lower incisors, since a rat need both (upper and lower incisors) to be perfectly aligned to be able to wear them down. If the upper incisors are pulled out, I believe the lower incisors would need to be regularly trimmed.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

I will have to ask more when I go pick him up, I'm not sure if the tooth was broken off or or completely ripped out, so the root may still be in there. The "good" tooth was gone this morning, I think it was just broken off but I can't be too sure. I will ask all this tomorrow.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

Vet called this morning, will be going to go pick him up in about an hour. All went good and he was awake. Not looking forward to paying the rest of the bill plus antibiotics/pain meds. Lol I was worried it would be an outrageous bill, but it wasn't too bad. $268 for the vist, sleepy gas, and minor facial reconstruction. There will be more for the antibiotics and what-not once we pick him up, hopefully not too much, it was only $50 bucks or so when I got my cat spayed.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

How is he doing? It isn't cheap, but frankly I thought it would be at least twice that much.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

He's doing good, they weren't going to send me home with antibiotics, told me to just give them a call if it looks off and we can get some, but I told the lady that I wouldn't be able to get it in to get the antibiotics if it became necessary. So they dosed some out and gave it to me. There's like, six or so pre-dosed syringes. I'm to give it to him every 12 hours until they're gone. I think the stitches could have been done better, though I imagine it was difficult to do.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

I'm happy they gave you some antibiotics! Keep us updated on how it heals. Did they pulled out any tooth?


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

Only the one was still in there, the one attached to the "flap" had to be removed. I tried to ask if the root of either teeth were still in there and the teeth were just broken off, but it was a lady I hadn't talked to before and all she said was that you'd have to really pull back the gums to see if it was still in there and that they grow continuously, which wasn't helpful since I knew that already. So I guess I'm just going to have to see if the teeth grow back or not. I think at least the tooth that broke off before we got there is growing out, since they said he was eating okay. I gave them some food for him for the night, and they gave me one block back, so I assume he ate the rest if they say he was eating okay? I suspect that they didn't soften any if I got a block back. Her only suggestion was to give him smaller food to make it easier.

I wasn't able to get baby food, but I have wet cat food, as well as dry, and can continue to soften his blocks.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Is he drinking on his own?


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

If you don't mind posting a pic every few days to document his recovery, I would be interested to see them


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

He drinks perfectly fine. I think I definitely should be softening his food, he struggles trying to eat the blocks, I don't think he can manage just yet. Hopefully he'll have at least the one tooth to help grind down those bottom teeth. I never thought to look for it when I cleaned his little tank, it would have helped me to know whether or not it just broke off or was completely ripped out. (Though teeth not in the mouth makes me gag. *bleh*) I can tell he wants those blocks, he tries so hard to eat them. He'll be getting his first dose of antibiotics in about an hour, seven is a decent time to do it as I get up at that time for school and am obviously up at that time in the evening so it works good!

I was thinking what I could so is offer him wet cat food, and mushy blocks, and keep some hard blocks in there on standby so I can see when he starts being able to eat them? 

I can definitely document with pictures! I'll try to get one every day, will attempt in a little bit to get a photo for today.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

It tried to get decent photos. All I have is my phone to take them with, though, and it's pretty crappy. So, day one of stitched face!

My cruel humor is almost making me want to rename him Blade.......


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

Well this morning's antibiotics was a total failure, the syringes feel spring loaded.. lol. It's difficult to push down and you try to push it down niiice and slooow, but you have to push fairly hard to get it to move and when you do... it's very sudden, all at once! So I think most of the antibiotics were squirted onto my finger, I did my best to get him to be interested in the liquid on my finger.. alas, tonight will have to be better. 

It's a little swollen, and scabby. He's not letting the stitching stay very well! I tried to get a look at his top teeth area, his left tooth is definitely coming back in, I think all is lost for the right tooth. Think he'll be able to manage to grind those two bottom teeth with just that one? I imagine it's possible, since they move their bottom jaw around it would grind both.


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## RatAtat2693 (Jan 13, 2016)

He might be able to grind it, but only time will tell. If the other tooth was really knocked out, it might take a bit for it to grow. But again, that's up to time.

They make a food that's already in powder form. I'm guessing it's what the blocks look like before they get compressed.

I don't know what the deal with Canada might be, but you can find it here:

http://mainelyratrescue.org/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=48

It's Native Earth, which from what I've heard is pretty much the same as Harlan Teklad. But I could be wrong.

Oh, and I use the syringe to squirt warm water before administering meds. Makes the whole thing work better. But I think you said yours were pre-loaded?


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## catty-ratty (Feb 21, 2016)

Fraido said:


> It's difficult to push down and you try to push it down niiice and slooow, but you have to push fairly hard to get it to move and when you do... it's very sudden, all at once!


I've had syringes that do that. Usually old ones. The rubber won't glide like it did when it was new. I have a trick for that, but it might have to be tweaked in your situation. 

Before I use the syringe, I put vegetable oil on the rubber tip of plunger. Put the plunger back in the syringe and slide it up and down a few times to make sure everything is lubricated. Then I draw up the meds. The only thing I can think to do differently in your situation is to put the antibiotic in another dish and then draw it back up. 

Or, hopefully the other syringes won't stick. That would be optimal.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

It looks like the vet did good. Great suggestions above for administrating the antibiotics. I put the antibiotics in baby food for Gribouilli or use bread as a sponge to hold the meds in- both methods worked great for us.


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## catty-ratty (Feb 21, 2016)

I think I'd go with the baby food, or something he can eat anyway. As long as it won't effect the taste of the food in such a way that he won't eat it.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

RatAtat2693 said:


> He might be able to grind it, but only time will tell. If the other tooth was really knocked out, it might take a bit for it to grow. But again, that's up to time.
> 
> They make a food that's already in powder form. I'm guessing it's what the blocks look like before they get compressed.
> 
> ...


I currently can't get anything else but what I have, but yeah they are pre-loaded so I can't really do that, otherwise I definitely would. It's super frustrating.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

Using some kind of food to give it to him would work, it's only two mils so it's difficult to squirt out and draw back into the syringe. It's difficult enough to get the whole two mils out sometimes, it kind of sits in the tip a bit.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

This morning's dose went perfect, I realized it's just because the syringe has been sitting in that one spot it gets kind of "stuck". I figured out how to deal with it. It's looking good today, scabby but looks like it's healing. His one tooth is really there now, and it appears to be growing out properly he should be able to eat. His right tooth is nada, I assume that one was actually ripped out from the very root. So hopefully he'll be able to manage with just the one.

From analyzing the wound, the fan obviously hit him coming down. So if you look at a picture of a rat skull, you can see it came down on an angle, just beside the nose, and coming out between the teeth. Completely tearing out the right tooth, and leaving the other one broken and out of place, but still there. Given all this, I think it was definitely the whole tooth that was removed on the right, as it would have been growing out improperly through the healing tissue which would create another issue.

Tl;dr: I'm positive he has, and will only have, one top tooth. 

I haven't taken a photo yet, Petguide is being a pain and not letting me post photos on any of the forums I'm on. One day it will post the photo, the next it will tell me there was a problem, and then later it will finally post it. It's been doing this the last few days. I suspected I'm running out of free picture space, but it was a little suspicious that it was doing it on all four or five forums regardless of the space pictures are taking up, and because it wouldn't work and then work again. I'll take a photo in a little bit and try posting it then.


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## InuLing (Dec 26, 2015)

I've been having the same issue with pet guide. If I'm home I'll just put the pics on my comp and upload from there but it's still a pain.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

I use photobucket which is free too. Is the single upper tooth well aligned or out of place too? Great the antibiotics were easy to administer this time Rats heal really fast so he will be ok. Are you still giving him some toddler ibuprofen for pain and swelling?


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

InuLing said:


> I've been having the same issue with pet guide. If I'm home I'll just put the pics on my comp and upload from there but it's still a pain.


It's getting on my nerves, I was happy because I was able to upload unlimited photos!


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

Gribouilli said:


> I use photobucket which is free too. Is the single upper tooth well aligned or out of place too? Great the antibiotics were easy to administer this time
> 
> 
> 
> ...


It appears to be aligned properly! I had to give back the Advil, I wasn't sure if it was okay to give with the antibiotics? He doesn't appear to be in much discomfort.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Yes Advil can be given with antibiotics. I personally would give it a few hours apart, but it is ok to give it together too.


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## JAnimal (Jul 23, 2014)

If he is moving around, eating and drinking by himself than he shouldn't need the advil. If he can't really move around I would consider it. Not eating and/or drinking are usually signs of pain.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

JAnimal said:


> If he is moving around, eating and drinking by himself than he shouldn't need the advil. If he can't really move around I would consider it. Not eating and/or drinking are usually signs of pain.


That's what I figured, he doesn't really have the space to do much, but he is acting normal. I can tell he is eating, he licks the wet cat food and was eating it after, and I can see crumbs from gnawing on the blocks. I also know he's drinking. So I think we're all good. He's currently out and about with all the other boys while I am doing a big clean of my room.


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## RatAtat2693 (Jan 13, 2016)

Fraido said:


> Using some kind of food to give it to him would work, it's only two mils so it's difficult to squirt out and draw back into the syringe. It's difficult enough to get the whole two mils out sometimes, it kind of sits in the tip a bit.


2 mls? That's a lot of meds! Did you mean .2 ml?


Gribouilli said:


> I use photobucket which is free too. Is the single upper tooth well aligned or out of place too? Great the antibiotics were easy to administer this time Rats heal really fast so he will be ok. Are you still giving him some toddler ibuprofen for pain and swelling?


Photobucket is a pain if you're on mobile. I have to use it for the rescue pics, and dear lord I have lived three lifetimes waiting for that thing to upload to the correct folder.


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## RatAtat2693 (Jan 13, 2016)

Gribouilli said:


> I use photobucket which is free too. Is the single upper tooth well aligned or out of place too? Great the antibiotics were easy to administer this time Rats heal really fast so he will be ok. Are you still giving him some toddler ibuprofen for pain and swelling?


Photobucket is a pain if you're on mobile. I have to use it for the rescue pics, and dear lord I have lived three lifetimes waiting for that thing to upload to the correct folder.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

Lol, I actually mean .1! I'm great at reading.(; I can only imagine having to get him to take a whole mL, nevermind two!

I've never considered using any other method of posting photos since it's so simple with my phone. Haha


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

RatAtat2693 said:


> Photobucket is a pain if you're on mobile. I have to use it for the rescue pics, and dear lord I have lived three lifetimes waiting for that thing to upload to the correct folder.


Oh really, it loads fine on my iPhone. Do you do rat rescue?


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

Looking real good this morning. I put him back in with the boys, he was very unhappy and shoved all the fleece into the water bowl, so I let him back in the big cage. He popcorned around for a minute when I put him in there, hahah.


I'm checking up on his tooth every day, the wound is skewing my perception of what is proper and what isn't. It's hard to tell, but I think it's okay.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

I took a photo, but Petguide is still being a pain and I don't want to have to use my slow laptop. Lol I will eventually.. He was having NONE of his antibiotics this evening, he didn't put up a fuss or anything, but he looked up just as I squirted it and it just went on his chin and dripped off onto my finger. Tried to get him to lick it up but he didn't want to, so I attempted to just kind of rub it on his face.....


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

I keep watching his tooth, it looks like it could be in a strange place, but it looks like it could be fine, it almost looks like it's growing out in a way that may make it easier for him to grind both bottom teeth with it? I don't know, I'll keep watching for the next couple weeks, make sure it doesn't get out of hand or the bottom teeth seem to be overgrowing. We'll probably take him to the vet just to give us an opinion, but won't be able to do so until after the 18th, if I realize it is getting bad I'll talk to the boyfriend and try to figure something out. He does not appear to be losing weight, I tried to weigh him, and it looked like he was just over 100g. Mind you, he would not stop moving.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

I can see the right tooth! We will definitely have to go for a vet visit when we can, hopefully he can hold until the 18th. It's definitely not in the proper spot, I had to sort of lift the split lip and I could see it, I don't want it causing problems.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Fraido said:


> I can see the right tooth! We will definitely have to go for a vet visit when we can, hopefully he can hold until the 18th. It's definitely not in the proper spot, I had to sort of lift the split lip and I could see it, I don't want it causing problems.


I hope he will be fine. Does he have chew toys, it might help.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

They've got lots to chew on, I don't think the tooth is able to be used where it is coming through, it's THAT far over.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

False alarm on the right tooth, I thought I saw it coming through but I don't see anything anymore. He's looking so good! The other tooth has grown in oddly, but it's grown to work with the two bottom teeth. The way it grinds on the bottom teeth does make it a lot more sharp, though. It doesn't appear like any of his teeth are over growing. Clearly he is still eating, and everything. He acts normal, he will still popcorn around and go crazy when you play with him.

We will likely take him to the vet at the end of the month just to get their opinion on it.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

Here's Pip now!


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## JAnimal (Jul 23, 2014)

It looks so much better!


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## rottengirl (Mar 16, 2016)

Looking so good now!! I can barely even tell anymore  Good job caring for him, and thank you for continuing to update us all.


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## cookiebear<3 (Aug 2, 2013)

Woo! That looks fantastic! I really wondered if you were going to lose him, but rats and their magical healing powers.. ;D


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## catty-ratty (Feb 21, 2016)

You can barely see that anything ever happened. Unless I knew where to look, I don't think I would notice anything!

What's the news on his tooth?


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

Thanks guys!  I'm glad it healed so well.

As for the tooth, definitely on a wonky angle, no signs of pain though, and none of his teeth are overgrowing, so all is well!


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

Well, Pip is going to be due for a vet appointment. His other tooth came poking through about a week ago! He's going to have to get it corrected eventually. I am currently watching to see how it grows in, maybe it will push the other tooth back to the proper spot and all will be well, we'll see!


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## smoteymote (May 28, 2016)

Oh my gosh, I just read through this whole story - how horrifying but I'm so glad that it has a happy ending! He looks wonderful now and I hope you get that new tooth growing in resolved! What a little trooper - and thank you for giving him so much TLC!


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

Thank you! It was all super stressful, and I'm glad he's okay now. :3 Still watching the tooth, hopefully it doesn't need any intervention, but if it does oh well, whatever Pippin needs he'll get!


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## RatAtat2693 (Jan 13, 2016)

Gribouilli said:


> RatAtat2693 said:
> 
> 
> > Photobucket is a pain if you're on mobile. I have to use it for the rescue pics, and dear lord I have lived three lifetimes waiting for that thing to upload to the correct folder.
> ...


Oh sheesh. Sorry I missed this. But for an answer two months late, yeah, I am a foster home and inadvertently ended up as the rehab program for Mainely Rat Rescue. I also do some sewing for them, though I'm having some issues with tension on my machine, so we'll see how things go.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

Here's a Pippin update!







Just took these photos of Pip, tonight. His teeth never fully straightened out, so a couple months ago he went to the vet and had them trimmed, they are now perfectly straight little teefies and this is what his cute little face looks like now.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Whoa it healed really well and the teeth are great now too. Your vet did a really good job, and so did you!


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

It looks like a mini bunny mouth, it is very cute


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

Thanks! I'm really pleased with how the whole situation turned out. When we got his teeth trimmed I was a little skeptical, it didn't really look like the vet fixed anything, but after a couple weeks they looked perfect and I was super happy!

He does have a sort of bunny look to him now, haha! I wonder if I can make him a little bunny costume.. LOL

Sent from my LG-H812 using Tapatalk


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## catty-ratty (Feb 21, 2016)

What a cute little ratty! I'm glad he's recovered so well. 

He looks like a really happy ratty!


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

As am I! What a horrible experience for the little guy. 😣

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