RE: Male rat has an abscess that wont go away

Question
QUESTION: Hi there.  I'm not sure what to do for my sweet Wafer boy and would appreciate some advice.  I'm not sure how old my rat is; we adopted him.  He has always been lively, and has shiny, soft fur that would make me guess his age between 1 and 2, but he could be a month or two older than that.

In mid-December, Wafer swelled up under his left ear.  We thought he had bonked his head, but it started getting huge, and started to bruise, and I realized it was probably an abscess.  We took him to the vet, where they lanced it and gave us Baytril.  We cleaned the wound several times a day, and were religious in giving him his antibiotic.  The abscess opened and became flat, and we thought he was in the clear.

Now, it's mid-February.  I have tried treating the abscess with saline (for several weeks), hydrogen peroxide, triple antibiotic ointment, and now I'm mixing up my own stronger saline.  Nothing seems to help.  It just keeps getting bigger and bigger.  It is now the size of a quarter and it breaks my heart because he appears to be blind in his left eye and probably quite uncomfortable, though he still is as sweet and cuddly as ever.

Our only vehicle broke down while we were out of town just after he got this and we spent literally all the money we had to fix it, so going to the vet and having it excised probably isn't an option--the size of the infection is probably so large they wouldn't be able to anyway.  The vet won't prescribe anything but Baytril.  Is there anything I can do for him to make this go away?  I want my Wafer back!

ANSWER: Your vet obviously has little experience treating rats.  I have a page on my website dedicated to zymbals gland tumors that perhaps you need to take a look at. It appears that this is what your rat has, unfortunately, and having a clueless vet dig and pick at this type of cancer is only causing him more discomfort.  A vet that is baytril happy is a dangerous one, thats for certain. If it wasn an abscess, baytril is not the  drug of choice to use anyhow as it doesnt penetrate through pus like other antibiotics do.

I hope I am wrong but usually in a case of a mass under the ear, I am right, as many vets that say they see exotics have very limited knowledge on rat disease. I have stuidied it inside and out, where most vets only skim the surface on rat care. We cant blame them, of course, since they have to know about dogs and cats, but the vet should swallow his or her pride and send the rat to someone that has more experience with rodents and stop wasting your money and the limited time the rat has on this earth.

Anyhow here is the link to my site.  PLEASE go to it now and view the photos of other rats with zymbals gland tumors and let me know if your rats mass is located in this area.  It doesnt have to be exactly like the photo, but any abscess under the ear above the rats mouth/jaw that doesnt dry up and go away after treatment is NOT an abscess, but a tumor of the zymbals gland.

Sandyscrittercity.com  
Refer to the page : Tumor on side of rats face.

or, just use this URL
http://www.sandyscrittercity.com/tumoronsideofface.htm



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Dear Sandra,

I was worried it was something like that--Zymbal's gland tumors were not something I had come across in my reading and research.  I had only found abscesses, and the vet clearly didn't recognize a tumor when he agreed to lance the swelling in that location.

When I received your reply, the open sore on Wafer's head had just about reached his left eye (within 1 mm), and his left ear (also within 1 mm), so we spent a few days pampering him with his favorite cereal and saying our goodbyes before we took him in to be put under.  It was clear that his quality of life had already declined, and that it would get worse rapidly once it reached his ear canal and left eye (which was already blind) from the tumor that was presumably swelling inside his head.

Thank you for the advice.  Even though it was bad news, it was comforting to know what it is that was plaguing our sweet guy.  The pictures definitely confirmed that it was a Zymbal's gland tumor, and now I know to look for it in our future little guys--I'll be looking for a different vet for sure.

Thanks again.
Whitney


Bingo with his drainag   ANSWER: I am so sorry this happened.  Of all the rats I have had, I have only had one male with zymbals gland cancer several years ago.  I have, sadly, seen many others with it and many of them had come to us after the tumor had been picked at and probed by Vets that had no idea what was in front of them. This in turn had sent many rats on a dangerous path to having septicemia and had to be hospitalized and given aggressive antibiotics to try to keep the toxins from entering the blood stream. It is a deadly, aggressive form of cancer, but it can be cared for in a manner that the rat doesn't have to suffer, such as the vet can debride the tumor a bit so it doesn't become widespread, the proper antibiotics can be used and steroids can be used to help with the spreading and also the inflammation. Of course, a good narcotic pain medication can also be used to keep the rat comfortable.  A special soft diet such as baby foods and mashed fruits should also be used to help keep the rat nourished.  And of course, as with your sweet Wafer, once the quality of life is gone, the last thing any of us want is to see our little pets suffer, so euthanasia is often the route we end up taking to help end their suffering.
There is no cure for zymbals gland tumors and it has said to be genetic, so one way to try to eradicate it would be to stop inbreeding of our pet fancy rats and the professional breeders of course keep a history of ancestry so if any off spring ends up with carcinoma of the zymbals gland, the parents are not bred again.  Sounds like a great idea doesn't it?  Its just a dream that will never be realized, as there are just too many irresponsible breeders out there.  I can almost guarantee you that if you tracked down Wafers parents and any siblings, there would be a history of zymbals gland cancer among them and there are probably dozens upon dozens of rats out there related to Wafer if he was a pet store rat, which means many more rats will go through the same thing Wafer did and many more rats will not be diagnosed properly since there are just too many vets that say they treat rats when they should not even be taking their temperature, which reminds me, there was a survey done I heard about once that 8 out of 10 vets that offer to treat pet rats had no idea what the rats normal body temperature was supposed to be.  Thats scary. If they dont know what the normal body temp is how can we trust them to diagnose and treat them properly for ANYTHING?

If you would like, I can help find a better vet for you.  Let me know your location and I will look in my database for vets that are qualified to treat rats.

I cant blame your vet for trying to save Wafer.  Many of the vets that see rats mean well and dont want to see  your rat sick, so they try to help, but sadly, they often do more harm than good and with our economy in the shape it is in, once a rat owner takes their rat to a vet, spends the money on medications etc....and find out the rat is no better, the finances are already wearing thin and going to yet ANOTHER vet for a second opinion is just something that is not always possible, so the vet that doesn't know what he is doing is also a big waste of precious money too.

You did the right thing by letting Wafer go peacefully. My heart goes out to you and I hope your heart heals fast.  Wafer was a strong little boy to endure all that he had. Rats are so brave, they are a true inspiration to all of us!!


The photo here is my boy, Bingo.  This photo was taken (back in 2003)  after we debrided the mass and added a little tube so the pus can drain rather than start to fill up the cavity of his cheek again. It helped alot.  He was also on narcotic pain medication to keep him comfortable. He was such a sweet boy and very brave.  He actually did not die from this, but instead, he ended up developing a terrible case of pneumonia he just could not fight off.  It was probably because of the cancer making his immune system weak. We let him go after he became so bad he could not be weaned from oxygen and breathe on his own.  I still thing of Bingo often and remind myself just how brave these rodents really are.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Dear Sandra,

Thank you for the reassurance.  Wafer was a rescue that we took in, along with his cagemate, Spoon, so we didn't know his story, age, or even origin.  I assume he was a pet store rat because so many are, but who knows.  I didn't think to ask at the time because it was just our second pair of rats.

Wafer did get septicemia during his illness, just a few weeks after the sac was lanced.  His little toes turned gray, and his tail went black, and he was not eating or drinking and became limp and lifeless.  I wasn't willing to let him go, still thinking it was just an abscess of course, so I nursed him back with sugar water in a spoon and he lived for a month and a half beyond that.

We adopted some more rats, but this time, not rescues.  I purchased them from a reputable breeder in Pleasant Grove, UT, who has no history of tumors in her breeders or litters.  She asks all her adopters to report any tumors, illnesses, or defects so she can make sure her lines are healthy and happy rats.

It's horrifying to realize the veterinarian situation.  My zip code is 84321, and it's a fairly rural area, but if you are able to turn up something, I'd be interested to know who to take him to.  We had him treated at Bridgerland first, then had him put down at Cache Meadow.  Aside from those, I only know of one other clinic nearby.  We're relatively isolated.

Thank you for sharing Bingo's story.  What a sweet name, by the way.  That's a great word to describe these sweeties--brave.  The only time Wafer ever even squeaked during his long illness was when they lanced the mass.  There was never any complaint from him again.  They are patient, long-suffering little guys, and that's one reason I've fallen in love with rats.

Thanks for the advice for what to do in the future.  I have six boys now (1 pet store, 4 breeder, 1 unknown), so I'll be asking for your advice in the future if anything unusual crops up, but let us hope it doesn't now that I have better-bred rats.  If you happen to turn up a rat specialist anywhere near Logan, Utah, I'd be glad to know.

Best,
Whitney

Answer
Your right, your out FAR!  The best places I have for you are over a 90 minute drive!!!

In a way, it would be worth it, but if you had a respiratory emergency, forget it.

I will check into Cache Meadow for you.  That name seems to ring a bell for some reason.