tcpip | 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...

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lol holy sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeyt

Woah. Let us know how he does!

Oh dear god. That's awful. You did well in nursing him through it though.

There's also a 24 hr vet in Mt Waverly if you ever need one again. It should only be a 20 minute drive from you, I would think.

Deb Rat Lady is amazing. I had the honor of meeting her when I lived in California last time. She helped Delirium (rip) and Riff Raff (rip). They wouldn't have had nearly as long if it weren't for her.

I didn't mean to forget to wish your little one well. :\ Blah.

Ouch. Here's to your little buddy making a speedy recovery.

Still, the power-sharing arrangement seems tailor-made for further conflict. Wouldn't it be more peaceful if there was a single "alpha rat", so to speak? (I'm just speculating; I have no idea how social structures in rat-dom work. . . .)

I am sooo getting that book!

Poor little guy! my heart twitched. I really do have a soft spot in my spirit for tough little snots like Rogue. I absolutely adore him already.

My son's pets Indiana Rat comes to mind as well as Gunga Din, I'm surprised they survived as well as they did..I could have really used that information at the time!

Just reading about your Cute little fur kids, inspires me to get a pair. Miss 'em I really do!
*makes a mental note to call the manager in a few days*..

Crazy crazy rat. I'm glad he's ok.

live long, and prosper... Domi

*nods* He is a very crazy rat. But it is his total disregard for his own safety that leads him to have so many interesting adventures...

This one however is the closest he's come to causing serious harm to himself.

Holy crap! BTW, there's a Vet Hospital at Highett, which is a lot closer than Werribee - the RSPCA put me onto them.

*nods* It is a good book; useful, but very terse.

I've noticed a certain toughness among all of them.

Make sure you get some! They're a lot of fun to have around!

You're quite right; usually there is a "top rat", which interestingly enough is apparently not so much based on who can bully the others around, but rather who knows the environment best.

The problem, as I see it, is that Scoundrel (the youngest) recognises Ragamuffin's authority as an elder and Ragamuffin recognises Rogue as the indigenous inhabitant, but Scoundrel hasn't worked that out - and he's physically the strongest!

The following site can give you a wealth of knowledge on the rather sophisticated social structures of the rat world:

http://www.ratbehavior.org/

He's doing just fine... I'm pretty sure he's going to get through this OK, although he's pretty depressed with the collar and elastoplast!

Understandable! :( Poor thing. :( I would share some of my garlic shrimp with him if I could. :(

She well-qualified in animal nursing in general and she has a special interest in our rodent allies. Certainly she provides some of the best information I have read on matters of care.

Cool; now we have Highett, Mt Waverly and North Melbourne as options before Werribee (thank goodness).

Eeek! D:

maybe his pain receptors got severed?

According to the Rat Health Guide they have very few pain receptors on their skin; so they're able to take a hell of an injury with little distress.

I mean this guy was wandering around, grooming himself and eating whilst his skull was open to the elements. It was totally bizarre from a human perspective.

well, he's pretty close to the longest lived rat I've had so far, and he's showing no signs of slowing down.. as for prosperity! well!

I know it is kind of funny and yet so very scary at the same time...

I was quite scary and distressing and yet at the same time his complete indifference to the wound was quite comic in a macabre sort of way..

Thanks for the Mt Waverly advice; we're collecting quite a list!

He's doing well; this particular rodent certainly seems to have taken his quotient in luck!

Will do; so far he's coping quite well...

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