First Aid Kit for Rats
October 12, 2009 by RatsRatsRats
Filed under Rat Health
It’s a great idea to make sure you have a few essential items in a first aid kit for your pet rat. Although we all try to avoid illness and accidents, occasionally they do happen.
Iodine Solution – You can use this to disinfect small wounds. Dilute a teaspoon of iodine solution in a litre of water, before applying.
Cotton Balls – To apply iodine solution or water.
Calendula Balm – use to help heal scabs and wounds.
Salt Solution – dilute and use to gently clean your rats eyes. This will need to be changed daily.
Pain Killer – Ask your vet for a rat pain killer.
Wormer – There are many different brands. Have some wormer available and use it every 21 days to keep worms at bay. You can use horse wormer paste, but only use a tiny bit, the size of a grain of rice.
Sodium Bicarbonate – Useful to clean open abscesses.
Nutrigel – This is a wonderful and yummy vitamin supplement. You just need a pea sized amount twice a day to supplement the diet of a sick rat.
Udder balm - Good for scabs and wounds.
Sterile gauze - for open wounds.
Syringe with no needle – to give water, food and medicine.
Tweezers – to remove splinters.
Cotton Buds (Q-Tips) - to gently clean eyes and ears and to apply ointment.
Toothbrush – If you need to clean your rat’s tail.
Baby nail clippers – For trimming your rat’s nails. Be careful not to cut too far. Look where the quik (red vein running through nail) starts and stop there.
Wash cloth – to clean your rat.
Jar of baby food – In case your rat is too ill to eat solids, you may give this by syringe.
Heating pad and towel – when your rat is ill, he is more likely to get cold. Make sure the heat pad in only under half of the rat cage, so your rat can move to a cooler area.
Bottle of Ice - your rat can cool down on a cool bottle in hot weather.
Rat treats – These are good to distract your rat if you need to apply ointment etc.
You can buy some of these essentials, as well as lots of other great ratty stuff from our online Rat Store.
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