Home surgery on your rat!

Last night Rogue was involved in a "dominance scuffle"* with the new members of the colony under the couch; it would seem, that upon a backwards leap on to a sharp part of the metal base, he almost managed to kill himself. The result was a extremely deep and wide cut that severed all the muscles down to the skull, which was distressingly quite visible.

We rushed the little guy to the local pharmacy who instantly started looking up 24-hour emergency vets; the closest apparently was Werribee, somewhat difficult with public transport in the middle of the night. Purchasing some steri-strips we returned home, made an attempt to patch his gaping wound, and started reading through the Rat Health Guide by Deb Ducommun.

The guide duly informed us that rats can cope with large wounds, up to 1.5" (which was about the size of Rogue's) - any larger one should use Superglue (glue your rat back together!), but there is a risk of infection. So, with my steady surgeon's hands, I went about putting some topical antibacterial into his skull. caseopaya was a most helpful (although very distressed) nurse in the proceedings.

Cleaning his house with vinegar (as a disinfectant), he stayed in our room overnight. This morning, with an OK from work, I took him to Elsternwick Vet Clinic, who after marvelling at his resilience, put him under general anaesthetic (Rogue is 2.5 years; in his sixties in rat-years) and gave him the requisite stitches. Elastoplast is on his paws (which he's not happy with) to ensure that he doesn't dig them out.

Oh, it should be mentioned that during all these proceedings, Rogue acted as if there was nothing wrong at all...

* It seems to be Rogue has authority over Ragamuffin, Ragamuffin over Scoundrel and Scoundrel over Rogue. Quite egalitarian in a way...