Rat:1 , Human: 0

[adizziedoll]

So I go to get some rat weanlings, and daddy got defensive and *WAP* got my pointer fingerjust below the last joint.


No biggie - ive been nailed by rattie teeth before.

20 minutes later, i noticed some swelling. It's cool. Nothing a little ice wont help.

Yah, well, 5 hours later im sitting here looking like I have some form of elephantitis. My finger is so swollen it bearly bends, and half of the back of my hand looks like I just got the latest tennis ball implant that everyone is raving about. And it hurts.


What gives??? Anyone have a bad experience with rat bites? Im about to go to the hossy.

[Nate]

been bitten before...but never swollen like that...it just made me a little happier to see my snake eat

[aaajohnson]

Wow, nothing like that. Almost sounds like you are having an allergic reation. The hospital sounds like a good idea ... sorry you got bit ...

Neil

[adizziedoll]

When I get scratched it itches and swells slightly. I also have to wear a mask when I clean the rats because if I dont, it aggitates my asthma hardcore.

So, I guess logically, an allergic reaction makes a heck of a lot of sense.

[Kagez28]

ever heard of "Rat" Scratch Fever?

[adizziedoll]

Yeah I saw that - but the symptoms of that show up up to like 10 days after the rat bite.

[rabernet]

Sorry about the bite, I hope it gets better! You keep dad in with the babies?

[juddb]

It sounds like how i am with cats. Im allergic to cat dander, and ive noticed rats clean themselves too, but i never had an allergic reaction to rats. I dont know if this helps but allergic reaction sounds right.

[frankykeno]

Oh that does sounds painful! Rats always seem to nail you on a joint of your fingers for some reason. Hope it heals properly, you may well need to see a doctor if you are having this sort of problem.

What I do for rat bites is immediately run the bite under water as hot as I can stand for a few minutes and let it bleed freely, then wipe it and squeeze it to bring more clean blood to the surface of the cut (my grandmother always taught me to do that, something about blood cleaning itself), then wipe that away, apply a good gob of triple antibiotic and a bandaid. So far I've never had a rat bite go nasty on me. Until it's fully healed you do want to wear a glove or finger protector when cleaning the rats or snakes....you do not want fecal matter getting into any exposed cut.

[Freakie_frog]

let it bleed freely, then wipe it and squeeze it to bring more clean blood to the surface of the cut (my grandmother always taught me to do that, something about blood cleaning itself),

Good point. It brings white blood cells to the site.