cyst and tiltiing rattie

Question
QUESTION: I wrote once before concerning my tilting rattie girl. I took her to the vet,(no specialist) and they gave her antibiotics, but no change in her condition and then I saw another rat with her same tilt and the owner said it was an ear infection and she lived to be 4 yrs old. he little Momma has been getting along well (still tilting. Last night I noticed a cyst behind her ear. I've dealt with these in the past on the mouth and I took that rat to the vet where they subsequently drained (more than once) and a long after treatment process followed at home. After a great deal of expense and 3 cysts later, that rattie had the gene that caused his incisors to grow at incredible speed, and he would cut the inside of his mouth causing sores that would get infected. There were other siblings of his that had the same condition. This rat came from the same source and is the same velvet,silver Russian. I am thinking the rats were inbred a great deal to achieve the Russian silver dumbo breed. Will she be ok with the cyst? Do they go away on there own? We first noticed her tilt on August 25 and I found the cyst, softish in nature and smaller than a marble, behind her ear 10-16-08. I fear that the "vet" I have isn't qualified to care for her, for the last person was just a "tech" that equated the condition to something rabbits get, opposed to an ear infection or respiratory related. The tech is considered a small animal specialist because she raises rabbits with no other educationally related qualifications. My little girl has a good appetite, gets around and enjoys a massage around the area and it seems to comfort her. Would you recommend the cyst be drained? I realize that it could be a tumor as well, in which case I would just make her as comfortable as possible. I've known people that had rats and cysts, I've been told are very common. In the 13 rats I've owned, I've only dealt with them in the breed I consider to have been over-bred to attain the velvet silver Russian. I have 5 of my girl's babies and they are all doing well and are significantly larger, but she was bred with a Berkshire dumbo of considerable size. None of them are silver Russian, but the females are velvet. You were very helpful in the past and I'm hoping that this will not grow larger and may even go away, but since her issue started in August and new developments are ensuing, I'm concerned for her well being. Thank-you for the advice in advance.

ANSWER: Hi


It could be an abscess.  Rats are very prone to mammary tumors rather than cysts, but the good news is, the location of the lump on your girl is not where mammary tissue is found.  Being it came up fast it could be filled with pus. Is there a scab on it?  See if you can hold moist heat on it by getting a wet rag nice and warm and holding it on the area. If you can, just gently apply some pressure under the base of the lump and see if anything comes to a head.  Dont keep doing it too much or she will get mad but it may help it to surface if it is an abscess.

I am real confused as to which rat had which problem though. Is this the same rat with malocclusion?  This is when the bottom incisors grow crooked and need trimmed (and its genetic as you stated) Its easier if you use names. What is this rats name we are talking about that has the lump behind the ear?



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

QUESTION: Hi Sandra,
The rattie you have been answering questions about is "Momma rattie." I wrote in August about her tilt to the left. I believe a former rat, "georgie," came from the same genetic pool as he had the cysts as well as the incisor issue. I actually did look for a scabbed area on Momma, but found nothing although I think I found an area where the skin appeared thinner, so I will apply the compress to see if I can get it to open and drain. If I should get puss from it, should I apply anti-biotic ointment to the area or just leave it and slowly drain it? I believe I was instructed to flush the wound with an iodine/water solution on georgie to keep the area free of infection, but he had a huge gaping hole in the side of his face. I look forward to your reply and thanks again.
Gaynetta

Answer
Hi again


Hmmm....did Georgie have zymbals gland tumor?I cant remember.

Also, I just went through this with tumors/abscesses.  I found one in the middle of Templetons chest about 3 weeks ago. My heart sunk because he is over 3 years old, grumpy, fat and has some really bad bumble foot that wont respond to anything.  I did not know what I would do about the tumor. It was probably mammary in nature but the thing about male rats is that they are more prone to cancerous tumors than females are. Turns out last night there was a scab on it and it was sunken in some. I gathered my so called "abscess kit" and grabbed his chubby self and started messing around with it till BLOSH!  Green goo city!  I was happy it was an abscess and not a tumor after all!

If you end up getting pus from it, flush it out first by wringing out a saturated cotton ball that is soaked with hibicleanse and warm water or saline solution and warm water. After you pat it dry you can apply antibiotic ointment to it.