Scabby ear and lump on body

Question
Hi there, I have a male rat named Brody. He is just over two years old. A few months ago i noticed a hard lump on left hand side of his body behind his front leg. Its about the size of a pea and has never got bigger or wept. Yesterday i was taking him out and noticed his left ear looked rather red and swollen. On further investigation i noticed a lot of yellow/green pus coming from the inside of his ear. I cleaned what i could on the outside but its deep inside his head. The skin on the outside of his ear is all inflamed, sticky and sore. please could you help me and tell me if the two are related and whats the best thing to do? I know hes getting on..he has lost a bit of weight recently and s looking old. He is still eating and drinking well though.

hope you can help xx

Answer
So.. the lump is unrelated (seemingly) to whats going on with his ear, correct? It seems that way to me - I think the lump he has may be a little fatty tumor or possibly an abscess (although usually an abscess would've ruptured by now, so I'm leaning toward tumor). His ear, though; that sounds like he may have injured it and its beginning to become infected. He needs to see a vet to have it all cleaned out and treated. I'm glad he's still eating and drinking well - that's a good sign!

Good luck.