How to treat a rat's ear cut with pus? Does it need a vet?

Just make sure to keep an eye on it and try to clean it very gently at least once a day with warm water and a mild soap, you can use a gauze pad to do this. Dry it carefully and then apply your topical treatment. However, if this stresses him out too much, just continue as you have been doing. Make sure his toes stay pink and warm and he keeps getting better. If anything at all changes for the worse, swelling, weeping wound, loss of appetite or activity level, if his toes change color or get cold, get him back in to see your vet right away. It sounds like you're doing a good job caring for his injury.

It doesn't look badly infected to me, just monitor it, it should get smaller every day, if it starts to grow or to look more red and moist, then it's likely to be infected, in that case you will need to take her to the vet in order to get an antibiotic course.

Keep the wound clean, you can clean it with regular water at least twice a day, i would recommend applying antibiotic cream after you finish cleaning the wound 2 times a day. bear in mind it might still end up infected like most bite wounds and will require systemic antibiotics as well.

It would be more helpful if you could post a couple photos of the wound. That way we can give you better advice. Treatments vary depending on how deep the wound is. In general it is best to clean it with Betadine 7.5% skin cleanser (use as directed on label) and then apply a thin layer of Betadine 5% antiseptic cream. http://ph.betadine.com/en/ph/wound-care If the area looks red or swollen at any time or you notice a bad odor with yellow/green discharge then you need to get Buggs to a vet for an exam. Best wishes.

You can apply this Pivodine Spray but I suggest not spraying it on - spray it onto a cotton swab and then wipe it onto the wound. Do this twice daily until healed. If it does not heal then something more serious may be going on, in which case, you would need to have him examined by a veterinarian. ( https://www.amazon.in/Pivodine-Spray-Fungal-Bacterial-Infections/dp/B01H78QLPU/ref=sr_1_51?keywords=antibiotic+for+dogs&qid=1558942857&s=gateway&sr=8-51 )

I think it will be fine to try and treat this at home for now (even though we don't know the cause), but would recommend a visit to the vet if: 1) It doesn't get better in 2 weeks 2) It starts to get worse or have a lot of discharge. Keeping the wound clean and keeping it covered are the key treatments for success in getting this wound to heal as soon as possible. For this, I recommend the following: 1) Wash/spray the area with just cool, clean water (no soap or other antiseptics) for at least 2 minutes at a time. Do this once a day. 2) Bandage the wound with gauze and apply an over-the-counter antibacterial cream (i.e Neosporin) to the wound. Here is a link to a good demonstration of a head bandage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3c-SXhUSBY Keeping it covered and keeping Indiana from pulling it off will be the most difficult part of the treatment. You can help keep the bandage on by placing a good (really sticky) tape above and below the bandage. NOTE: Be careful not to bandage too tight or it can cut-off the circulation. If you notice that the neck/chin area start to swell, then remove the bandage and leave it off until the swelling goes down. These types of lesions tend to take a while to heal, so don't be surprised if its not completely healed until a month later. Once the skin looks normal you can stop the cleaning/bandaging. I hope that helps and Indiana gets better soon.

Hello. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry that Chewie is having this issue. I don't think this looks too serious but it is difficult to tell much from the photos. When I zoom in they get really grainy. I would say you have two options right now. 1) just monitor this cut/scab and if it doesn't get much better (or it gets worse) after about 5-7 days then you need to get him to your vet for an exam. 2) Take him to your vet now for an exam so you can get him the appropriate treatment now. All I can really say without examining him myself is that you know him best. If you are worried you should take him in for an exam. Hope this helps. Best wishes.