# Urgent! Red rash over throat



## pezlin (Dec 6, 2008)

I was up late when I heard Prickles running all over her cage, and like normal I went over to investigate. She was running around sporadically, freaking out. I tried to hold her, but she tried more than normal to escape. I thought I'd check her belly to see if there was any thing wrong post surgery (she recently was spayed following blood in her urine).

Under her neck, by her throat there's a red rash, one side seems like there's blood right under the skin. I'm freaking out a bit since she just went through a bunch of vet visits for the bloody urine. She's seemed fine in the 17 days since the surgery.

I'll take her back to the vet tomorrow, but any suggestions for now?

:| 

Any help would be appreciated. Right now I've managed to calm her down enough to hold her still, but she's still periodically freaking out.

Edit: it seems like she's very much in pain, though the only noises she's making is frantic sniffing and the occasional huff. For reference, freaking out is short for huffs, mad dashes to get away, even if that means diving off my lap (she never does that), and incredibly wide pupils/bulging eyes. I don't know what to do.


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## FiaSpice (Jan 16, 2009)

Is anything in her mouth, is she choking? The rash, does it look like it could be an alergy? Is there any swelling. I'm sorry I'm not much help but I'd bring her in ASAP to the vet.


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## pezlin (Dec 6, 2008)

She doesn't appear to be choking. She's able to eat mealworms just fine.

Here's a pic of the rash.


Sorry for the blurriness. Crappy cameraphone.


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## FiaSpice (Jan 16, 2009)

it doesn't look to me like an alergy rash, looks more like she injured herself. Do you have any clue if anything in the cage could have harmed her.


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## pezlin (Dec 6, 2008)

I doubt it. She's been in the same environment for quite a while. There's some rocks that she generally avoids climbing on, and some PVC pipe that's plenty big for her to climb through. I noticed while I had her on her back she'd try to flip over... her left most paw kept seeming to catch on that very red part of the rash - or in the least, it was rubbing up against it. I wonder if she has been scratching at it.

EDIT: I just put her back in her cage area. She's laying down under the igloo over a heating pad. Maybe the heat helps sooth the pain? She doesn't seem to be freaking out near as bad as she was when I first noticed the issue.


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## pezlin (Dec 6, 2008)

The only thing I can think of that's changed today was that I bleached her wheel... but I rinsed it off quite well before putting it back. And it doesn't smell like bleach. :-/


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## pezlin (Dec 6, 2008)

Bah, normally I hate triple posting in forums... but it's been a few hours so I guess that's ok.

After sitting up with Prickles till ~2am, I put her back in her cage. She seemed much less skittish, and even drank some water and ate some hard food - but mostly just chilled out under her igloo on a heating pad. 

I checked her this morning and it looks like she scratched herself on the one side, but I don't really know how. I'm going to keep her in a separate cage for a while with minimum objects to see if this continues. And I'm calling my vet this morning to get her opinion.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

It almost looks like she's been chewing at herself there. Could she have gotten a bug bite?


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## Hedgiepets (Aug 21, 2008)

I am gonna suggest that maybe she has mites. The stress of surgery could have caused a mite bloom. I would definitely get her to the vet.


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## pezlin (Dec 6, 2008)

Update:

Called the vet today and pointed her to the picture (isn't technology awesome). She said it didn't look like she bit it herself, but since Prickles rooms with Sonic (and has for their entire lives), It might be Sonic that nipped her. I've got an appointment for Thursday... unfortunately the earliest available.

I just took a new picture of the area, it looks much better today, and she doesn't appear to be in pain.



I'm going to go eat dinner, then make up a separate cage for sonic tonight. And I'll be keeping a close eye on her.


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## FiaSpice (Jan 16, 2009)

Is Sonic a girl?


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