Open wound, please help!

by Flower Fri 05 May 2017, 8:20 am

Hello! My girl, Popcorn has an open wound on her shoulder about half the size of a pinky fingernail. I named her Popcorn before I knew, but she is obese and I assume the yellow colour on her rump is an indication that she carries the trait in her genes. Her skin has always been a little pink around her face and neck, but she has never seemed irritated by it. So I was thinking that maybe it's possible that this is a skin condition?

As soon as I noticed the wound, I cleaned their aquarium, replacing all of the bedding. The wound was healing quite quickly and was starting to scab over. I've just noticed that the scab seems to have been scratched off and the wound has been made a little deeper. It's about 1mm deep now. She isn't behaving any differently though and she doesn't seem to be in a lot of pain.

Do I need to isolate her? She is quite skittish and insecure despite her sisters being quite tame. I don't want to stress her out to the extent that it only makes things worse. If I should isolate her, is it best that I use paper towel as bedding?

I think this wound has been caused by a fight with her sisters, although they rarely ever fight. I used to have 4, but one died recently from a respiratory infection we suspect. I rushed her to the vet but she died moments after being seen. (I feel very bad for stressing her out by driving to the vets, but I underestimated how bad it was.) There is only one vet in my state that treats mice, and I want to know if there's a way I can help Popcorn before I can take her to see a vet. For a wound this size is it necessary to take her to a vet? I was hopeful that that wouldn't be the case judging by how quickly the wound started to form a scab.

Should I treat it with betadine or saline solution or is there a kind of antibiotic that would be safe for me to use on her? If so, how do I apply them? As I mentioned before she is quite skittish and it's unlikely she would stay still. I have tea tree ointment as well, would that help?

Apologies for the disorganisation, probably unnecessary detail and all the questions, any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

by scaredymouse Fri 05 May 2017, 9:35 am

Can you get a picture? I knows she's jumpy but I've found the best way to get a pic is to wait for them to eat or sleep. You can put Neosporin on the wound if it is still open but if it has a nice scan, let it be.

The bigger concern is how she got the wound. Do your girls fight a lot? How long have they lived together? What kind of bedding are they on? Have they ever been treated for mites? Does she seem itchy?

If the wound doesn't show any signs of infection, based on your description it doesn't sound like it needs a vet. If you notice an odor, any discharge, swelling around the edges, its time to see the vet.

by Flower Fri 05 May 2017, 6:52 pm

scaredymouse wrote:Can you get a picture? I knows she's jumpy but I've found the best way to get a pic is to wait for them to eat or sleep. You can put Neosporin on the wound if it is still open but if it has a nice scan, let it be.

The bigger concern is how she got the wound. Do your girls fight a lot? How long have they lived together? What kind of bedding are they on? Have they ever been treated for mites? Does she seem itchy?

If the wound doesn't show any signs of infection, based on your description it doesn't sound like it needs a vet. If you notice an odor, any discharge, swelling around the edges, its time to see the vet.

Thank you for your reply! I've never seen the girls fight. I've heard a few tiny squeaks, but it seems to happen when they're grooming each other. They've been together for 7 months. They're on CareFresh natural and they've never been treated for mites. She doesn't seem itchy despite the slightly irritated looking pink skin.

Her left eyelid (the ring around her eye) is looking slightly larger and more red than her right and almost like there is a bald patch. Maybe it's indicative of a skin issue?

The others are showing interest in the wound and try to lick it. Sometimes she evades it. Is it possible that them licking it will make it worse? I'm thinking that their grooming is what caused the initial scab to come off.

We don't have neosporin where I live unfortunately.

by scaredymouse Fri 05 May 2017, 7:20 pm

Aw, what a cute little chunk! In the pictures, it doesn't look too awful bad. Do you have bacitracin where you are? Although, I might just let it be a little longer. Sometimes when you put ointment on a wound, it just makes them want to lick it more. It's natural for her sisters to want to groom it for her. I'm glad to hear they get along, it doesn't sound like this is the result is a fight. She could have hurt herself on something in the tank or had a little cyst/lump that she clawed at. If this hasn't been going on too awful long, I would monitor it a little longer..as long a there are no signs of infection.

by Flower Fri 05 May 2017, 9:35 pm

scaredymouse wrote:Aw, what a cute little chunk! In the pictures, it doesn't look too awful bad. Do you have bacitracin where you are? Although, I might just let it be a little longer. Sometimes when you put ointment on a wound, it just makes them want to lick it more. It's natural for her sisters to want to groom it for her. I'm glad to hear they get along, it doesn't sound like this is the result is a fight. She could have hurt herself on something in the tank or had a little cyst/lump that she clawed at. If this hasn't been going on too awful long, I would monitor it a little longer..as long a there are no signs of infection.

I've seen a bacitracin pill, but I can't see an ointment just from looking online. I'll order some neosporin online in case something like this happens again and I'll watch her for a little while longer. Thank you so much for the help, I feel so much better about it now! If it starts to look infected I'll take her to the vet Smile

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