# Large dried out abscess, Help!



## Spider (Mar 19, 2007)

My 2 year old Leonardo, has had a mashed grape-sized abscess for about 1 year or more. He's free range and does not like being handled and I waited for it to pop butno go.
His pattern is he gets thesenow and then, and I've dealt with them, ( they usually have a black plug caused by the dried blood forcing its way out which I usually have to help along). But this plug wouldn't develope further, the abscess was huge on his back neck-shoulder so I pried it out. No blood, just a littlle dried pus behind the plug. With a flashlight I can see the swelling is caused by huge amounts of dried pus buried deep around the now canal.
What I've been doing is; Using the hot compress to soften up everything I CAREFULLY have been diggingalong the canal walls using whatever STERILIZED sharpies fits the situation. Lots of dried CRAP comes out as well as lots of HAIRS! which makes me think ingrown.
Unbelieveably the poor guy has been really great about it, sometimes even sitting without me holding him( which is good as I'm balancing a flashlight on my shoulder as I operate. Every once and a while he lets out a squeek and looks me in the eye as if to say" hey, watch it will you!".
After I feel he's had enough I irrigate with a peroxide/water solution, squirt some bactine in the wound and roll a tiny piece of cotton into the hole to keep it open and back to the sterile cage.

What else can I do? I don't want to use antibiotics unless theres an infection.
Maybe I don't need to dig at all? will all the dried pus wash out with the peroxide mix?
I know I can't get it all, the size of the swelling has gone down,should I encourage healing now? start putting in polysporin?
Thanks for listening,you can't believe how intense doing this has been, Spider


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

I am thinking cyst instead

http://ratguide.com/health/integumentary_skin/cysts.php


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## Spider (Mar 19, 2007)

It could be, though I treated another one not quite so bad and it healed up pretty well. I think a cyst would be solid through all of it, this has the usual hole from an abscess.
anyways the treatment is the same for a non-removeable cyst; get rid of as much crap as you can flush and heal.
Trust me, I love this Rat and at the slightest worsening I'll call 911!
Spider


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