Home surgery on your rat!

[tcpip]

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...

Comments

[silverblue.livejournal.com]

Oh man, the poor little guy!

[frou-frou.livejournal.com]

Yegods, please wish Rogue a speedy recovery from me...he's made of stout stuff, indeed.

For what it's worth, the Lort Smith in North Melbourne are open until midnight for emergencies. It was the sick/injured pet issue that inspired me to get a car again after we did without for a while.

[missmalice.livejournal.com]

Deb's Rat Health Guide was such a ratty life saver for our boys on many occasions.

Hope Rogue recovers quickly and without any further trauma. xo

[fwuffydragon.livejournal.com]

Hope he makes a full recovery!

Poor Little Rogue

[marushiki.livejournal.com]

Romulus and Remus send scritches to little Rogue for a speedy recovery

[stawberi.livejournal.com]

Awww, it's a little ratty version of Frankenstein's monster. <3

Oh no!

[imajica-lj.livejournal.com]

ARGH silly ratties ... poor old Rouge, please be more careful you need to play nice.
I hope the Humans in the colony are holding up ok too.
Miss you guys heaps.

[redcountess]

Aw, speedy recovery Rogue! Can you get Elizabethan collars for rats? (I'd ask A but she's just departed for Wales)

[angel80.livejournal.com]

Get well soon wishes to Rogue. Maybe rats have even more lives than cats?

[shorxrore.livejournal.com]

lol holy sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeyt

[luhtarian.livejournal.com]

Woah. Let us know how he does!

[rhapsodical78.livejournal.com]

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.

[tempusfrangit.livejournal.com]

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.

[tempusfrangit.livejournal.com]

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

[cluebyfour.livejournal.com]

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. . . .)

[madame-mage.livejournal.com]

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*..

[beingfrank.livejournal.com]

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

may he

[domiobrien.livejournal.com]

live long, and prosper... Domi

[severina-242.livejournal.com]

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

[bibsy.livejournal.com]

Eeek! D:

[darknova666.livejournal.com]

hope he gets better!

[maxxxie2.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear ratty is OK. MaxBabe tells me that superglue is a very common method of closing wounds on humans too (she's a surgical nurse, so she knows all manner of stuff like this). I hope Rogue doesn't pull out his stitches, and wish him a speedy recovery.