Small bite from pet rat, how serious

Small bite from pet rat, how serious

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Discussion

dazwalsh

Original Poster:

6,095 posts

140 months

Friday 6th January 2017
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So my OH is looking after her stupid friend's pet rats whilst they are on holiday. Clean healthy and well cared for rats i must add.

My 2 yr old has just wandered over to cage and one of then has bitten him on end of finger.

It pierced the skin very slightly and he stopped crying after 30 seconds.

Of course a Google search brings up all sorts of possible outcomes, including death.

How worried ahould I be? And how do I monitor it over the next few hours? Or should I just head down to A+E for a tetanus jab for him just to make sure?

I would rather not head to A+E, purely because its Bradford royal infirmary, about the worst sthole of a place imaginable.




Big Al.

68,799 posts

257 months

Friday 6th January 2017
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Tetanus Jab required ASAP.

dazwalsh

Original Poster:

6,095 posts

140 months

Friday 6th January 2017
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Never mind, 111 said to bring him to A+E, urgghh better to be safe than sorry I suppose

Mothersruin

8,573 posts

98 months

Friday 6th January 2017
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Is the Rat halal?

Anyway - What's wrong with the A&E there?

Edited by Mothersruin on Friday 6th January 20:13

CoolHands

18,498 posts

194 months

Friday 6th January 2017
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A fun Friday night! thumbup

Turn7

23,504 posts

220 months

Friday 6th January 2017
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I thought Rats were supposed to be non bitey as pets ?

dazwalsh

Original Poster:

6,095 posts

140 months

Friday 6th January 2017
quotequote all
CoolHands said:
A fun Friday night! thumbup
Sat in waiting area now, half full of people coughing and crying, the other half with a police officer sat next to some pisshead/nutjob.

Oh the joys...

Roscco

276 posts

221 months

Friday 6th January 2017
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Turn7 said:
I thought Rats were supposed to be non bitey as pets ?
They aren't (bitey) as far as rodents go.

HOWEVER if tou stick fingers through bars as with any rodent expect a nibble.

Don't panic and don't bother A & E. They're incredibly clean animals, domestic rats anyway.
Lesson learned for the wee one.
Rats are like little dogs, mine was name respondant and happily came into town in a hoody with me. He was epic, it's a shame the only live a few years 😐

Boosted LS1

21,167 posts

259 months

Friday 6th January 2017
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dazwalsh said:
CoolHands said:
A fun Friday night! thumbup
Sat in waiting area now, half full of people coughing and crying, the other half with a police officer sat next to some pisshead/nutjob.

Oh the joys...
The bite will probably be fine. The tetanus jab could be painful. The long wait will be boring. The parking fees will be annoying. The risk of some other infection such as TB from a 'local' who went home could be there. Ah, the joys of A&E, I'd only go if my life depended on it or if I had broken limbs. It's the best place to pick up an infection from around the world.

bexVN

14,682 posts

210 months

Friday 6th January 2017
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Domestic rat will very unlikely cause an issue tbh. I would not have worried going to A&E if it were my child, I assume your child has had tetanus jabs as a baby. I would have sought medical help if finger swelled a lot or seemed very painful though.

It is wild rats that are the danger.

As for being bitey, they tend to only bite of you stick your finger in the cage as they think it is food.

98elise

26,381 posts

160 months

Saturday 7th January 2017
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Roscco said:
Turn7 said:
I thought Rats were supposed to be non bitey as pets ?
They aren't (bitey) as far as rodents go.

HOWEVER if tou stick fingers through bars as with any rodent expect a nibble.

Don't panic and don't bother A & E. They're incredibly clean animals, domestic rats anyway.
Lesson learned for the wee one.
Rats are like little dogs, mine was name respondant and happily came into town in a hoody with me. He was epic, it's a shame the only live a few years ??
Agreed, we have chinchillas (fluffy rats!) and they will always have a nibble at a finger checking for food. They can chomp through wood with ease so if it was a bite you would know about it smile

dazwalsh

Original Poster:

6,095 posts

140 months

Saturday 7th January 2017
quotequote all
I think more precaution than anything they gave him a course of antibiotics, so that was the outcome, was glad to get to bed that night.

227bhp

10,203 posts

127 months

Saturday 7th January 2017
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It's when they bite and then piss on you you need to be worried. wink

Boosted LS1

21,167 posts

259 months

Saturday 7th January 2017
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227bhp said:
It's when they bite and then piss on you you need to be worried. wink
Especially if they've been drinking canal juice.

227bhp

10,203 posts

127 months

Saturday 7th January 2017
quotequote all
Boosted LS1 said:
227bhp said:
It's when they bite and then piss on you you need to be worried. wink
Especially if they've been drinking anal juice.
Indeed.

Dr Mike Oxgreen

4,101 posts

164 months

Monday 9th January 2017
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The rat's intention wouldn't have been to 'bite' as such. They use their teeth to grab things, so the rat misinterpreted the offer of a finger and thought it was food. They are usually fairly gentle when doing this; seems like this rat misjudged it.

If you frequently put your fingers into their cage, they'll soon learn to tell the difference, but perhaps this rat wasn't accustomed to fingers through the bars.

A well socialised rat will never bite out of aggression, and even when being injected at the vets my rats never bit.

As far as hygiene is concerned, I wouldn't worry. Rats' teeth are a yellowy-orange colour, but this isn't a sign of decay or bacteria as it would be in human teeth - rats' teeth are not made of the same material.


Edited by Dr Mike Oxgreen on Monday 9th January 07:45

martinnitram

244 posts

200 months

Tuesday 10th January 2017
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The little en will be fine, try getting bitten by a ferret, now that's a bite.

toastybase

2,220 posts

207 months

Tuesday 10th January 2017
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Out of hours go onsteas?

Boosted LS1

21,167 posts

259 months

Wednesday 11th January 2017
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How's the rat? ;-)

Ms R.Saucy

284 posts

89 months

Wednesday 11th January 2017
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dazwalsh said:
I would rather not head to A+E, purely because its Bradford royal infirmary, about the worst sthole of a place imaginable.
which side of Bratfud are you ? might a run out to Airedale or the MIU at Wharfdale have been an option ... or from the south of Bratfud, Middleton MIU or Dewsbury A+E ?