Injured Breeder

As a former rat mama I spent... oh... at least $300 on vet care (I'm friggin' lucky my husband loves me!) One of our girls had recurrent abscesses on her belly and we treated it with amoxi and holding a warm wet wash cloth on the abcess for a bit each day (I'm sorry I can't remember specifics, it was 5 or 6 years ago now). We might have also kept her separated from the other girls for a bit and kept her on paper towels or rags to keep gunk out of the wound. She healed up fine each time.

Sorry I'm not more helpful. I hope you're able to make it better. It's amazing how much you can get attached to such a little thing.

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

Cervical location

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Should have said, cervical dislocation.

If it were me, I would gas her.

I know this is Morphie's thread, but I said thanks for the educational feedback that enabled me to learn also.

I have no problems gassing my rats, I can't stand to see any animal in pain and prefer that they go "gently into the night" than to suffer. Then when I read all the emotional appeals that some post, it makes me feel badly. But I know that if I were dragging around with a hole in my back or teats full of cancer and swollen, I would BEG ON MY KNEES:please: for someone to put me out of my misery, can I respect them any less?

It is only humans that try to hold on to things past their time (this is not aimed at you, Morphie).

Just to add a differing perspective. I happen to have a vet who loves rats. One of my original trio of breeders developed a tumor right at her shoulder last year. I let her finish nursing her last litter (I noticed it when she dropped her last litter) and then I took her into my vet to have her euthanized.

From past discussions, he has told me that if I ever need to put a rat down, he'd do it for free. He took a look at her, did a needle aspiration and said "I can pop that right on out for you if you'd like, no need to put a good rat down".

He charged me $20 to do the surgery necessary to remove the tumor, and a year later, she's still tumor free, and my only pet rat. She still "works" in the colony by being placed with new moms when they have their litters as a "nanny". She's so good with babies and helping new moms care for their first litters.

If you can find a vet who won't charge inflated prices, she may be able to be saved and put on pain medication, if you're that attached to her.

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Originally Posted by Clear

I hope thats not your humane way of killing rodents.

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I cull all of my feeders in a CO2 chamber, but as 'Morphie' said that she didn't have a CO2 chamber, I suggested cervical dislocation as the next most humane method. The tumours suffered by rats are often filled with blood which burst easily if Cheryl's method is used.

If the absess is relatively minor you can try treating it by rinsing it with warm chlorhexadine/novalsan twice per day. The best way to do this is with a syringe so that you can squirt the liquid into the area with some pressure in order to clean it out well.

If it really is huge as you describe I would recommend getting her to a vet asap or putting her down via a CO2 chamber.