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What a naked rat week.
After three weeks of good healing with my two naked neuter recipient boys we had a complication. On Friday last, I let the rats out to free range in the living room. Melon goes tearing by me and I saw a flash of something that looked out of place on his neutered bum.
Upon closer inspection I find an open and oozing green ulcer about the size of a small skittle lying against the left side of his penis sheath. On the right side of his penis where his right testicle used to be, was a hard swelling the size of a dime. He was fine two days prior that I saw, but obviously there was something going on under the surface that I hadn't detected then.
It looked like the infection started on one side, and worked its way to the surface and ate its way out on the other side.
Needless to say, I took both neutered boys back to the vet that same day. I also did a search on the internet for complications w/ neuters. Between the two it was determined that he had an inflammatory reaction to the dissolving inner sutures. According to what I found online it is apparently very common for rats to have reactions like this to dissolving sutures. The vet said he hadn't had a problem in the hundreds of neuters he'd done before, but he also said these were the first two hairless rats he'd performed the surgery on.
He looked at both boys, and not only Melon had a problem, but Skinner had a small hard swelling on his testicle area too. He gassed both boys, and drained the infection out and cleaned Melon's ulcer thoroughly. He sent me home with antibiotics for both and told me to call him if anything else looked wrong. The swelling is completely gone as of today, and the ulcer is the size of a seed bead and looks close to being cleanly healed.
So phew.
But, Sunday night I am doctoring the rat boys, and when I put them away as I closed the cage I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye, and big black brother Jeffrey looked down at me from on top of the cage. I put him back in the cage to a scolding from my husband for being careless.
Next morning, I doctored them again, and did a head count to be sure. I came home after work and was napping on the couch. I heard a noise that was out of place and opened one eye. A foot from my face was Melon, sitting on his hind legs looking at me while trying to decide if he could make the leap onto my head from the floor. Apparently, he'd slipped out that morning and I didn't even know it. He'd been out all day long.
I still don't know how he did it.
After three weeks of good healing with my two naked neuter recipient boys we had a complication. On Friday last, I let the rats out to free range in the living room. Melon goes tearing by me and I saw a flash of something that looked out of place on his neutered bum.
Upon closer inspection I find an open and oozing green ulcer about the size of a small skittle lying against the left side of his penis sheath. On the right side of his penis where his right testicle used to be, was a hard swelling the size of a dime. He was fine two days prior that I saw, but obviously there was something going on under the surface that I hadn't detected then.
It looked like the infection started on one side, and worked its way to the surface and ate its way out on the other side.
Needless to say, I took both neutered boys back to the vet that same day. I also did a search on the internet for complications w/ neuters. Between the two it was determined that he had an inflammatory reaction to the dissolving inner sutures. According to what I found online it is apparently very common for rats to have reactions like this to dissolving sutures. The vet said he hadn't had a problem in the hundreds of neuters he'd done before, but he also said these were the first two hairless rats he'd performed the surgery on.
He looked at both boys, and not only Melon had a problem, but Skinner had a small hard swelling on his testicle area too. He gassed both boys, and drained the infection out and cleaned Melon's ulcer thoroughly. He sent me home with antibiotics for both and told me to call him if anything else looked wrong. The swelling is completely gone as of today, and the ulcer is the size of a seed bead and looks close to being cleanly healed.
So phew.
But, Sunday night I am doctoring the rat boys, and when I put them away as I closed the cage I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye, and big black brother Jeffrey looked down at me from on top of the cage. I put him back in the cage to a scolding from my husband for being careless.
Next morning, I doctored them again, and did a head count to be sure. I came home after work and was napping on the couch. I heard a noise that was out of place and opened one eye. A foot from my face was Melon, sitting on his hind legs looking at me while trying to decide if he could make the leap onto my head from the floor. Apparently, he'd slipped out that morning and I didn't even know it. He'd been out all day long.
I still don't know how he did it.
