My rattie thread

[flowerfairy]

Poor Rosie. Eight pounds sounds like a great price for a vet visit. Hope her wound stays closed. How lucky that you are so quick to spot when things are wrong.

[RubyDG]

Glad it went well, holding thumbs the glue does the trick! Do you know how she got the cut, did she have a scuffle with the other girls?

[hrl20100]

Originally Posted by Piebald

Oh poor Rosie! What do you think happened? That was nice of the vet not to charge you as much as they could have.
Maybe you can borrow a cage from a rescue place for the moment?
Sending Rosie loving thoughts. xxxxxxxxxxx

I think she must have had a scuffle with one of the others. It would make sense for them to start picking on her cause shes weaker than them... Just don't know who did it.
I have a cage for her now! Very pleased, I went to my local petshop to see what they had available and I found a plain wire hamster cage (not suitable for hamsters though!) that was reduced from £45 down to just £10! All because it didnt have the tubes that came with it. I have blocked off the holes and its perfect for her! She looks adorable in it :') Nice purple colour too!

Originally Posted by flowerfairy

Poor Rosie. Eight pounds sounds like a great price for a vet visit. Hope her wound stays closed. How lucky that you are so quick to spot when things are wrong.

I was honestly shocked when I found out the price. I was expecting atleast £30! I don't think they charge me consultation fees... I have been to the vets a lot and they are always cheap. I think for small animals the consultation is free... Not sure. I was so scared when I went in, was preparing for the worst!

Originally Posted by RubyDG

Glad it went well, holding thumbs the glue does the trick! Do you know how she got the cut, did she have a scuffle with the other girls?

I'm hoping it will be okay. She can't get to it because of her back legs not working properly so isnt able to scratch it or anything, luckily. So I am hoping she'll leave it alone and it has time to heal!
The vet thinks one of the others must have nipped her and as she pulled away, the skin ripped. Because of her old age, the skin is very weak and delicate. It doesn't help that she has a very thin coat of fur, so not much protection from nails and teeth!

I am debating putting up photos of her wound... Is that allowed? Its not pretty. Was going to do a before and after photo so you guys can see what its looking like now its been glued.

[RubyDG]

Ooooh score on the cage - gotta love a bargin!

As for Rosie's cut it might be good to show the progress of the wound as it heals. You could maybe put it in a seperate thread with a graphic image warning in the title if you think it may gross out some people. We've certainly seen post operation pictures and injuries etc on the forum though so I guess it's a judgement call on that.

[hrl20100]

Originally Posted by RubyDG

Ooooh score on the cage - gotta love a bargin!

As for Rosie's cut it might be good to show the progress of the wound as it heals. You could maybe put it in a seperate thread with a graphic image warning in the title if you think it may gross out some people. We've certainly seen post operation pictures and injuries etc on the forum though so I guess it's a judgement call on that.

I think i'll post the photos on this thread. Its not really a rat forum so putting them in the healthcare section may get the post removed! I'll give warning before the photos and we'll see what happens. If its not allowed its not allowed I guess!

[hrl20100]

Right here are photos of her wound...
GRAPHIC IMAGES

This is it when she doesn't move her neck to look down...


And this is it when she does...
Like I said... massive hole


That was what it looked like last night. Today it was stuck together so it just looked like a massive scratch. The vet opened it back up again to give it a good clean and then glued it.
Here is what it looks like now. You can see how thin her coat is too


On a happier note, here she is in her new home!
A small hamster cage, but perfect for her! Total bargain as well at only £10, reduced from £45!

[RubyDG]

Poor Rosie, I hope she's not too sore . The wound looks like it's literally just gone straight through her skin but without cutting into her muscle. At her age the skin would be frail and thin like you said. That's good though, it should heal quicker than a deep laceration into the muscle, it's just a case of not getting her to open up the cut again. Which I suppose is sometimes easier said than done. She's going to need lots and lots of cuddle therapy!

[hrl20100]

Originally Posted by RubyDG

Poor Rosie, I hope she's not too sore . The wound looks like it's literally just gone straight through her skin but without cutting into her muscle. At her age the skin would be frail and thin like you said. That's good though, it should heal quicker than a deep laceration into the muscle, it's just a case of not getting her to open up the cut again. Which I suppose is sometimes easier said than done. She's going to need lots and lots of cuddle therapy!

She doesn't seem bothered by the wound, the vet didnt give her pain meds or anything. Luckily for her, it was just skin that got damaged, didnt go any further! Which is why the vet thought one of the others must have nipped her like they would normally have done, but her old age and delicate skin made it much worse than it would have been on a younger rat.

Hopefully it will stay closed! She can't lift her back legs high enough to scratch up there due to her arthritis so hopefully she'll leave it alone to heal. So far she hasn't got at it! Fingers crossed!

[RubyDG]

Think happy thoughts and lots of cuddles! The main thing is that she's comfortable and not in any pain

[Piebald]

Thank you for taking such good care of her. It does look like it is only skin deep so that's good. Of course the risk of infection is worrying but since you were so good and took her to the vet right away you've done everything you can.
Love the new set up for her retirement home! Now she can relax. xx