Swelling

Question
Hi.need your help asap.my mouse is two year old n he is having a  badly swollen groin.he is not able to walk properly and only his stomach is squeezed inside.I read on internet that swelling may mean a tumour.whats wrong with him?is he in pain?should not i touch him?n can i give him a bath as he is sitting only in one place and has become dirty and can further get infected?Not eating properly.Though having water.And as I stay in India i am afraid there are not much doctors who can check on him as most of the vets are for dogs only.So if u can suggest any medicine it would be great.n its been 3 days.HELP.

Answer
Hi Megha,

I understand that it can be hard to find a vet, absolutely.  However, it sounds like he may really need more help than can be provided at home.  Your best bet for now is to provide supportive care, which means making him as comfortable as you can.  If you can send me a picture, by any chance, that may help me try to determine what the swelling is, but I can't make any promises.  Since we don't know what is causing the swelling, and I think a tumor is very unlikely to have come on this suddenly and severely, it can be hard to guess how to treat it.  With that in mind, here are some suggestions for making him comfortable and for treating a broad range of possibilities:

If you can access antibiotics, such as maybe those at a pet store, tetracycline for fish, or even by checking at feed stores for livestock, that will help with the possibility of something like an abscess (a pocket infection that could spread and make him feel very ill if it bursts), an illness causing localized swelling, or any other kind of infection.  If you can find any and want to give it a try, please write me back and I can help you figure out how to administer it.  Tetracycline is probably the easiest to find, is easy to give in the water, and can help against a host of possible infections.  If you can find some, specifically fish tetracycline, please let me know and I can give you the instructions on how to give it to him using his water bottle, if he can still use that.

There is also a chance the swelling is not a result of an infection at all, but a physical problem, such as an injury, a hernia, edema, or a number of other problems.  Even just his age can contribute to some things going suddenly wrong internally.  These are best helped with the supportive care I mentioned before.  Try encouraging him to eat with any means possible - try baby food or even soy based infant formula with an eyedropper to get some nutrition in him.  Try treats given to him directly, or even tiny pieces of apple, banana, or scrambled eggs made without milk.  These little foods offered directly can help him have the strength to heal, if that is possible, but will at least make him feel better if not.  Try using a damp, warm wash cloth to clean him a couple of times each day, rather than a bath, and be sure to dry him as best you can with another dry cloth.  Gently dab at any soiled areas to help remove dirty things that could make an infection worse.  This will also give you a chance to closely monitor his physical condition every time - pay attention to the amount of swelling to see if it goes down or gets worse each time you clean him.  Does he try to groom himself from the spot he is sitting in?  Perhaps he is just avoiding the painful areas?

I am hoping something I have suggested will help, but it really is hard to figure out what is causing his discomfort and swelling from here.  Again, if you can write me a followup question with a photo it may help, but with how suddenly this seems to have happened, I am not sure there is very much to be done besides love him and try to make him feel a little better for now.

Please let me know if there is anything else at all I can do to help a bit more!  Best of luck to the little guy,
-Tam