Critter City
By Sandra Conti of Allexperts.com
My rat has a swollen foot!!!!
Out of the blue you see your rat limping and with closer inspection you notice his entire foot has swollen three times its normal size. You cant imagine what he did. Did he break it? Twist it? What is wrong? Many times you turn to the vet who takes a guess at it (because he doesnt know himself!!) and thinks it may be a break or nasty sprain.
The truth is.....if it looks like the photos below, it is none of the above and as usual, the vet that guesses his way through exams is wrong and your rat needs prompt antibiotic treatment for one nasty infection caused by, you guessed it, Bumble foot. Now your really confused, because the bumblefoot your used to seeing starts out slowly as small little nodules on the heels of the rats feet. This doesnt look a thing like that, but trust me, it is indeed a very acute infection and it is indeed another form of Ulcerative pododermatitis, or "bumblefoot"! However, since it is not ulcerative, this condition is not typical textbook form of bumblefoot and the condition may be referred to simply as "pododermatitis".
The important thing now is treating it. Treatment is not complicated at all and consists of trimethoprim-sulfa for at least 10 to 14 days. For severe edema, prednisone should be prescribed. Since this condition causes significant discomfort, oral narcotic pain medication such as torbugesic should be given as well.
Poor Francy has a nasty case of it. Note the difference in size of the infected foot!
.......and another case in the little guy featured below:
***Thank you to my readers for allowing me to share the photos with other rat fanciers!
