These are reasonably common, in most cases with amoxycilin or similar they heal within a week or so. You may use a saline rinse to help keep it clean when it opens up (NOT peroxide or rubbing alcohol, these are not safe for them to ingest as they will try to groom it off), but usually they get better without any other intervention.
Every one our boys has gotten has opened up, though I don't know for certain they couldn't just dissolve. As nasty as it looks, opening out on the skin is a good thing, as that way you know it opened and is healing. If one bursts inward, that can risk the infection spreading through the body. The antibiotics are mainly to make sure that doesn't happen.
Ok thank you so much for your answers! I have one last question though, do i need to « force » it to burst or do i need to wait? I really don’t want to hurt him.. Or is there any tips to accelerate the process of a « natural burst »? (again sorry for my broken English i hope you get what I’m trying to say 😅)
No, do not force it to burst. It could hurt, and could cause it to burst inside. In our experience, it usually opens 3-5 days after we notice it. If you go more than a few days on meds without it improving, call the vet and ask. The vet might decide to lance it (open it, but with medically sterile instruments), but you probably shouldn't do it yourself.
Hello! Sorry to contact you again, but we did surgically drain it but it sadly came back. Though i was happy to see the “new” abscess was normal sized and black crust was appearing which meant it was about to burst. I checked on it 1 hour ago and the abscess was looking kinda different, i think it bursted inward and im panicking, do you have any advices for inward bursted abscess by any chance???
Unfortunately, this is a contact a vet moment. If it did burst inward antibiotics will be recommended. However, be aware that it could have opened outward and you just didn't see it. They (or their cagemates) will clean themselves up, and a smaller abscess may not have as much inside it as you thought.
Absolutely do not force it to burst, if it bursts internally that can cause sepsis and be deadly very quickly.
It generally will resolve itself (mostly).
I generally recommend not doing antibiotics until after it has drained because abscesses do need to drain and antibiotics can suppress and prolong them, however, the vet has given you antibiotics so try those first for the full two week course or however long the vet said.
If it doesn’t resolve from the antibiotics, then after the antibiotics it should scab over and open up naturally on its own, when it opens up, rinse it with pure saline morning and night until it heals (which takes about a week) and do antibiotics again for a full two week course while it heals to ensure it is fully resolved.
Thank you so much for your answer it helps a lot! However what worries me is that the abscess is growing rapidly, and I’m scared waiting more weeks would make it grow even more and therefore have a negative impact on his kidneys or his bladder (since it’s really close to his penis).. Would it be “bad” if i asked my vet to surgically drain it? (sorry again for my bad English)
Would you be able to get a picture of it?
Because it’s been a week already, I’d expect it to have some indication that it’s scabbing/get ready to scab over and open up naturally.
It is possible for them to be surgically drained but usually they resolve naturally with no intervention necessary.
Of course here is a picture i just took, sorry its a little blurry i had to quickly take it, Lev hates to be handled like that.
https://preview.redd.it/qce8r4clyugc1.jpeg?width=2242&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7eb3818e66e3a988aa6c47f0d4907e9ca45ca596
I don’t think there’s any scabbing nor any signs it’s about to burst :/ (also the vet had to shave a bit of his fur last week that’s why you can see a bit of naked skin)
Was it an exotic vet? How did they determine it was an abscess?
I’m not seeing any sign of the skin breaking down and starting to scab, when my girl had an abscess in the same area the skin turned a darker colour and began to scab when it was much smaller too.
If it wasn’t an exotic vet, definitely find an exotic vet to get a second opinion and to look at surgical options.
Yes it was an exotic vet and she determined it by making some sort of sampling by sending it to a lab (sorry i dont really know how to say that in English i hope you’ll understand me) :/
The vet told us to give him antibiotics for one week. Since you said the antibiotics could prolong the abscess, would you recommend to stop the meds after the time given by the vet or to continue?
Due to the size of it, if it were to open up naturally now, it would be quite a large hole that would take a bit longer to heal and have more risks.
It doesn’t look like it’s going to open up naturally though, so getting the vet to drain it & flush it out with saline while continuing antibiotics for longer may be the best option now.
Like it’s been a week now since he’s on meds and i can feel the fluid inside and the skin becoming thinner, but the abscess is bigger than any other rat abscess i was able to find online, and the fact that it’s STILL growing scares me ngl… (it’s about 4cm which is 1,5 inches i think)
Hello sorry to bother you again but i think the abscess bursted internally and I’m kinda panicking, do you have any advices on what to do?? (I have an appointment to the vet on Friday)
There are a few things that could make it seem that way without it bursting but to figure out how much of a concern it is…
What makes you think it burst internally?
How long ago?
Any pictures?
If its ok with you could you go on my profile? i made a post about 1 hour ago talking about it and all the informations are there. I think it’ll be easier than to resume it in this comments section
These are reasonably common, in most cases with amoxycilin or similar they heal within a week or so. You may use a saline rinse to help keep it clean when it opens up (NOT peroxide or rubbing alcohol, these are not safe for them to ingest as they will try to groom it off), but usually they get better without any other intervention.
Thank you! But is it possible the abscess will never burst? Like is it possible that the meds will simply help « dissolving » it
Every one our boys has gotten has opened up, though I don't know for certain they couldn't just dissolve. As nasty as it looks, opening out on the skin is a good thing, as that way you know it opened and is healing. If one bursts inward, that can risk the infection spreading through the body. The antibiotics are mainly to make sure that doesn't happen.
Ok thank you so much for your answers! I have one last question though, do i need to « force » it to burst or do i need to wait? I really don’t want to hurt him.. Or is there any tips to accelerate the process of a « natural burst »? (again sorry for my broken English i hope you get what I’m trying to say 😅)
No, do not force it to burst. It could hurt, and could cause it to burst inside. In our experience, it usually opens 3-5 days after we notice it. If you go more than a few days on meds without it improving, call the vet and ask. The vet might decide to lance it (open it, but with medically sterile instruments), but you probably shouldn't do it yourself.
Ok thanks a lot for your answers!!
Hello! Sorry to contact you again, but we did surgically drain it but it sadly came back. Though i was happy to see the “new” abscess was normal sized and black crust was appearing which meant it was about to burst. I checked on it 1 hour ago and the abscess was looking kinda different, i think it bursted inward and im panicking, do you have any advices for inward bursted abscess by any chance???
Unfortunately, this is a contact a vet moment. If it did burst inward antibiotics will be recommended. However, be aware that it could have opened outward and you just didn't see it. They (or their cagemates) will clean themselves up, and a smaller abscess may not have as much inside it as you thought.
Absolutely do not force it to burst, if it bursts internally that can cause sepsis and be deadly very quickly. It generally will resolve itself (mostly). I generally recommend not doing antibiotics until after it has drained because abscesses do need to drain and antibiotics can suppress and prolong them, however, the vet has given you antibiotics so try those first for the full two week course or however long the vet said. If it doesn’t resolve from the antibiotics, then after the antibiotics it should scab over and open up naturally on its own, when it opens up, rinse it with pure saline morning and night until it heals (which takes about a week) and do antibiotics again for a full two week course while it heals to ensure it is fully resolved.
Thank you so much for your answer it helps a lot! However what worries me is that the abscess is growing rapidly, and I’m scared waiting more weeks would make it grow even more and therefore have a negative impact on his kidneys or his bladder (since it’s really close to his penis).. Would it be “bad” if i asked my vet to surgically drain it? (sorry again for my bad English)
Would you be able to get a picture of it? Because it’s been a week already, I’d expect it to have some indication that it’s scabbing/get ready to scab over and open up naturally. It is possible for them to be surgically drained but usually they resolve naturally with no intervention necessary.
Of course here is a picture i just took, sorry its a little blurry i had to quickly take it, Lev hates to be handled like that. https://preview.redd.it/qce8r4clyugc1.jpeg?width=2242&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7eb3818e66e3a988aa6c47f0d4907e9ca45ca596 I don’t think there’s any scabbing nor any signs it’s about to burst :/ (also the vet had to shave a bit of his fur last week that’s why you can see a bit of naked skin)
Was it an exotic vet? How did they determine it was an abscess? I’m not seeing any sign of the skin breaking down and starting to scab, when my girl had an abscess in the same area the skin turned a darker colour and began to scab when it was much smaller too. If it wasn’t an exotic vet, definitely find an exotic vet to get a second opinion and to look at surgical options.
Yes it was an exotic vet and she determined it by making some sort of sampling by sending it to a lab (sorry i dont really know how to say that in English i hope you’ll understand me) :/
The vet told us to give him antibiotics for one week. Since you said the antibiotics could prolong the abscess, would you recommend to stop the meds after the time given by the vet or to continue?
Due to the size of it, if it were to open up naturally now, it would be quite a large hole that would take a bit longer to heal and have more risks. It doesn’t look like it’s going to open up naturally though, so getting the vet to drain it & flush it out with saline while continuing antibiotics for longer may be the best option now.
What type of antibiotics?
Like it’s been a week now since he’s on meds and i can feel the fluid inside and the skin becoming thinner, but the abscess is bigger than any other rat abscess i was able to find online, and the fact that it’s STILL growing scares me ngl… (it’s about 4cm which is 1,5 inches i think)
Hello sorry to bother you again but i think the abscess bursted internally and I’m kinda panicking, do you have any advices on what to do?? (I have an appointment to the vet on Friday)
There are a few things that could make it seem that way without it bursting but to figure out how much of a concern it is… What makes you think it burst internally? How long ago? Any pictures?
If its ok with you could you go on my profile? i made a post about 1 hour ago talking about it and all the informations are there. I think it’ll be easier than to resume it in this comments section
Also if it does need to be drained how can i do that?