Cyst on rat!

Question
Hello I have a one year old, hairless male rat that has a grape-sized mass on his belly.  This is the second time this has happened, the first time i took him to the vet and they expressed it.  Unfortunately, I do not have enough money to go back to the vet...i was wondering if i could just do it myself, just wasn't sure how to go about doing so?

Answer
Yes you can take care of an abscess yourself and save yourself alot of money! Hairless rats are very prone to these because of the lack of protection of their skin and they may scratch easily allowing bacteria to enter into the little cuts faster than furred rats.

So what to do? Simply clean the area well with normal saline solution, press under the lump and up to express as much pus out as you can and rinse again with the saline solution. Use some antibiotic ointment on the area and do this a few times a day. It should heal up in no time. Also its a good idea to evaluate his cage and how often you clean it, what type of litter you use etc... you can also go over his skin with some saline and cotton OR make a solution of hibicleanse (hope I have that spelled right) and water, equal parts, and wipe him down with a damp cotton ball. You can rub him with unscented oatmeal lotion and some people use olive oil believe it or not to prevent drying of the skin.  Hairless rats are adorable but do require a bit of extra care. Oh, their eyes and the fact they lack eyelashes can also allow for problems with eye infections too. Something to look out for, hopefully it wont be an issue.  

We love them but they sure make us worry!!