abscess?

Question
QUESTION: My brother's rat, Rice, has what you said a long time ago was an abscess. We read your website about draining an abscess and tried to follow your instructions. We got a damp towel and heated in the microwave (because we didn't have any rice) and tried to keep it on the bump for as long as we can. We put a needle in some fire and let it cool and put alcohol on it and gently poked into the bump, but my parents said it felt solid and hard and not puss filled. We tried to gently squeeze it but it never came to a head and nothing came out and it looked the same as it had before we started. It hasn't grown or changed at all and he's had it for at least a month, I think longer. My parents don't think it's an abscess anymore. What is it and what should we do? I want to get him to the vet even though he's not my rat but my parents keep saying no.

ANSWER: If it never came to a head and never burst on its own and he has had it for a long time, its a tumor that needs removed by the vet. Can you  show me a photo of it now?

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Rice's bump   QUESTION: Here is a picture of Rice's bump. He is 2.5 years old. Is he too old for surgery? My two other rats, Sammy and tony, have tumors and you said they may be too old for surgery. They have benign mammary tumors. Because my rats cannot have surgery, what other things can I do for my rats tumors? We already padded Sammy's cage and gave him a litter box because his tumor drags on the ground, but can I do more? Sammy also has a tiny cyst. What is that and what should I do for him? My parents have taken my rats to the vet, but they do not like to. They think that because of their age, and because they do not seem to be in any pain, that taking them to the vet is not necessary. Sammy also has lots of buck grease because his tumor is in the way for him to groom himself. What can I do to help this?  

Answer
I am having a friend of mine, who is a Vet, look at this photo too. It still looks like a classic text book abscess, hole and all.  It could be a cyst too.  If it were a tumor it would have grown larger by now.    I hate saying to go ahead with surgery on older rats due to simple paranoia, I think. I dont know your vet and your vets credentials and experience so its hard for me to say YES and if something happened that went wrong, I would literally faint. Age does play a role though. Healing is slower and their liver is not as healthy as they age, esp if they are chubby. Liver plays a huge role in anesthesia. If the liver is not doing its job, it wont be able to handle anesthesia and this leads to death on the table. Many rats that are subjected to phenol oils from pine and cedar bedding have a greated chance of dying during anesthesia because of the toxic reaction the phenol oils have on the liver.  

However, what I have said in the past is this: If your rat is going to have a much shorter life due to these tumors and you may need to put the rat to sleep anyhow, thats when I do the surgery since you really have nothing to lose at this point if your putting the rat down soon anyhow. All  you can do is save him with surgery at this poit and if something happens, well....you were going to let him or her go anyhow.  I do not do this all the time, mind you, and its best to get the tumor removed when they are smaller and not real vascualr since bleeding is a big risk as well when the tumor is very vascular.  Are your rats losing weight? Have the tumors developed sores?

As for the buck grease, you can buy a baby childs hairbrush with soft bristles and brush him gently each  night.  If he lets you bathe him, you can was his back with dawn dish soap and a soft bristle toothbrush and gently scrub the buck grease. You wont get it off all in one day, though, or it will really irritate his skin.  Brushing him is like grooming him in a way so he will love this. Do it gently and this will prevent new buck grease from building up.