Mammary Tumors

Question
Hi,
I have a 2 year old female rat who has developed 3 tumors, one behind her back leg and two in the armpit. The vet advises removal and we plan to go ahead with this. My question is I will have to wait around 3 weeks to get paid. Is this too long? The tumors are the size of smallish grapes right now.
Any advice would be great.

Answer
Waiting three weeks is not a problem as long as the tumor is not infected, and even still, antibiotics orally (a good broad spectrum) should help with infecton along with keeping it clean and using the proper antiseptic washes etc..  Is the tumor infected? Is the rat losing weight?
When did you  discover the masses?  Grape size is not a big deal, really.  I have cared for rat patients that have had tumors the size of an orange before and were safely removed without incident. However, the key to success also lies in the lap of the surgeon. How well do you know the vet that will be doing the surgery?

Please be sure to review my website, Sandyscrittercity.com and go over the pages on tumors and also about Vets. Check the index for links, going from top to bottom in order to find the pages that interest you.