PUS. PUS. All that wonderful pus..

[zouave]

You likely recall the story of Stubby, the badly injured guy I rescued and who was healing quickly and well. Poor fellow had another problem, which is a shame as he is especially friendly, confident, and intelligent - and a great patient.

His face, the left side, quickly became badly swollen and puffy. Time for me to take action.

It was either an abcess, or some sort of cancerous growth. The former option being much much better. So, I put on a leather glove to hold him, disinfected a very sharp long pin, and went to work. I punctured the swollen area near the mouth and began squeezing from the outside praying I would see pus.

At first, nothing, and I feared the worst. Stubby never tried to bite and only rarely reacted in discomfort. I squeezed a little harder. . . and out it came!! That whitish-yellow (with a hint of green) pus started coming out, and more and more! I totally flattened out a swelling that was almost the size of a marble, got all the pus, disinfected and cleaned the area, and put him back home with his two friends. Only a tiny bit of blood appeared at the end when it was obvious there was no more pus.

He is going to be fine.

I have never been so happy to see pus before!

Operation successful.

[queenofthenile]

Ewwww... Well I'm glad you got it out, because that must have been painful. If his face swells up again or the area looks red or painful, you should take him to the vet to get antibiotics.

[sweetie]

Hey Zou,

Great job!! I am impressed with your *operation*. I also have done that for my cat. Never on a gerbil though. I am glad you took the steps and precautions of disinfecting the needle and the area afterwards. I imagine that the little guy feels a lot better. I hope he continues to heal well. He sounds like a real trooper. He has been through a lot!!