Tumor on my male rattie

Question
QUESTION: Hi! I recently acquired a male rat from a local pet shop. By acquired, I mean that he was not able to be sold due to 2 tumors on his left side. I took him in, to avoid his euthanasia, as he's otherwise a healthy little guy.

I had to go to my vet to pick up meds for my ferret today, and took the rat, George, with me. They did a complimentary inspection of the tumors for me, and found that one was actually an absess. They lanced it for me, and put George on cipro to fight any further infection. They then told me that the other tumor is really a tumor, and that it is most likely a benign mammary tumor. Here is my question though...the tumor is on his neck! Is it possible for a mammary tumor to be on a rat's neck? It is right behind his jaw, and in front of his forearm. It's large, about the size of a gumball, but doesn't seem to be slowing him down. I was told by the pet shop that he had been seen by a vet, and he told them the tumors were just cysts and would shrink and go away. Now I'm just confused as to what to believe. Please tell me what you think, and let me know if I should consult another vet.

Thanks!
Lauren

ANSWER: Hi Lauren



Thinking about the tumor the boy has, to me it sounds like the prime area for a mammary tumor. The classic spots for mammary tumors are under the front paws (arms) around the neck area and in front of their front paws, inner thigh area,abdomen/groin area and on their sides too.

To be honest, I have seen very few cysts on rats that simply shrink and go away without treatment, unless it is a lipoma, and usually they are removed by simple excision as well. I would trust the vet that you know  yourself that sees your ferret unless you have had reason not to.
I put little faith in petstores for many reasons. They sell pine and cedar for starters, often selling it to novice rodent keepers not aware of the dangers of the phenol oils.  They also tell rat owners the best food to use on the rats are the seed mixes, which are probably the most unhealthy foods (I would not even call it food!) you can feed your rat. Loaded with protein and fats, half of the food on the petstore shelf should be used as bird seed. Rodents are not birds, they cant survive and be expected to be healthy on seed mixes yet petstore employees are pushing this garbage left and right. And finally, if they were so right about the second tumor, why didnt they at least lance the abscess?  Why were they going to euthanize the rat if they were simply cysts that were going to resolve on their own?  
That sounds pretty fishy to me, actually.          

I prefer exotic vets that are well versed in rat care and properly equipped to handle the emergencies that sometimes face our rats, such as serious respiratory infections that  require the rat to be kept on oxygen and nebulized medications etc.  So many vets are not able to do this and our rats suffer for it.  If you want, I can check the credentials on your current vet or for peace of mind, find one for you to take for yet another opinion, but deep down, without even knowing your current vet, I feel they are correct about the tumor being a benign mammary tumor. Most mammary tumors are benign and also, with males, luckily, they do not tend to have repeats of new mammary tumors popping up like females do.

Is there a way you can take a photo of your rats tumor so I can see the exact placement of it?  This way I can be positive its location rather than going by my own image I vision in my head.  Not sure how reliable this old brain is!  :)

Hang in there! Oh, and btw, that was wonderful that you saved the little guy and gave him a forever home!

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


George's Tumor   QUESTION: Ok. I have attached an image of George's head/neck area. I'm sure you can see the growth that looks like it's right behind his ear. He's a darling little thing. I've had rats for 10 years, and this is my first tumor.  I feel a little lucky.

Yes, I do know what you are talking about with pet shops. I remember when I got my first mouse, they advised me to use cedar. Poor little thing lived less than 2 weeks before dying from a resp. infection. I consulted a rodent expert, and now only use aspen bedding for my rodents and ferrets.

As far as checking out my vet for me, I don't think that's necessary. This vet was actually recommended by another exotic specialist as being the best.  I'm very picky about where my babies go.  I have 3 different vets for 4 different species of animals.

ANSWER: Hi Lauren

Thanks for the photo.  Yes I know what you mean about vets. It took me years to find the vet I go to now. I actually would have to tell the vets I would see what to do to treat my rats. That was very scary and tiring to be honest. The vet I have now is a good distance from me but well worth it. He is strictly exotics only, which I love because he has the finances to provide everything for the smaller mammal rather than how some vets that have to accommodate exotics/mini mammals and dogs and cats(small animals) and since their client base is more small animals than exotics, its cost effective to spend money to accommodate the animals that are seen most, so the exotic/mini mammals have to take a back seat and often they do not get the proper treatment they need. This is not always the case, mind you, as I work for a vet that sees exotics as a special interest and he is fantastic with them and keeps as much as he can on hand for the little critters that come in, from proper medications that taste yummy to little mammals and even this wild looking "helmet" he wears when he does surgery that has a big magnifying lens on it complete with flash lights to help him zoom in and see tiny spaces, so no disrespect to the vets that do try to accommodate ALL of their furry clients!

I remember long long ago my rat was in respiratory distress and they told me they were giving him oxygen. I felt happy at first till I went back and saw the tech sitting there holding a oxygen mask near my rat, who was fighting to get away, not even getting any oxygen in him. I thought they had him in the proper oxygenated enclosure and they told me they only had something like that for dogs/cats, and the rat would escape from it etc...I remember getting so angry and told them I refused to pay the outrageous fee they charged to administer oxygen to him when it was simply going into the air and evaporating.  It was a circus.  My poor rat had to be put down because nobody could help him and the poor rat was hypoxic. He could not live like that any longer. He was clearly suffering. It was such a shame!

I finally found a vet that was willing to work with my rats and I remember going out and buying a big plastic kritter keeper and  the vet spliced into the oxygen hose and had it going into the plastic kritter keeper. We covered the lid with aluminum foil and put some soft rags in the tank and VIOLA! Instant oxygenated pen for the rats. All it took was a little bit of thinking and WANTING to do it, and it was done.  I am so glad those days are behind us now and I have a vet that is awesome. I WISH he would treat my cats and dogs but those days are behind him now, too.

Anyhow, if you trust your vet already, I would not listen to the pet store. Something tells me that rat probably never even was checked by a vet.  I hate to say that though....

The tumor....now that I see it, it doesnt really seem to be in an area where mammary glands are formed unless by chance there was one in the upper area of his chest and it formed from there and grew upwards.  It almost looks like a zymbals gland tumor.  Is there a scab on it or anything?  You probably have no idea how long it has been there?
Do you know if the vet aspirated it?  

I would let them remove it if they want. The sooner its removed the less of a problem it will be. You dont want it  to become vascular and have it start tapping in to his blood supply. This makes surgery a bit rough as far as more of a chance of bleeding etc... so the smaller the better.
If this is your first rat with a tumor, you are doing darn good. Have you always had males or have you had females too?  I can count on one hand how many males I have had that developed tumors during their life time (probably 3 if that) but the girls?  At least 70% of my females have had mammary tumors. None of my girls were spayed, which of course, leaving them intact increases their chances of mammary tumors later in life. Next time I own girls, they will all be spayed as soon as they are old enough.
Please keep me posted. I like to do follow ups on these cases to see the outcome. Good luck!

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

QUESTION: First of all, I want to thank you so much for all that you are doing!  I know you spend a lot of time answering questions, and you are doing a wonderful job.

Secondly, I had to go back to the vet today for some more things for the rat and ferret.  While there I asked about the absess and anything else I might need to be doing.  The doctor was out, so the vet tech told me nothing, just give him the cipro and keep an eye on it.  She said if I wanted to clean it, hydrogen peroxide would do.  Does that sound right to you?

Thirdly, the vet tech is a long time rat owner and said that the thing on his neck is more likely another absess that hardened.  She said that it is in an area where they are prone to get them from scratching or scruffing from another rat.  I am contemplating taking him in to have them look at it further, even though she said they won't lance it due to its density.  Would you get another opinion, or would you continue the cipro and see if it will kill the infection and shrink the absess, if that is indeed what it is?

Answer
I have to disagree with the vet tech. Peroxide is the most caustic of the antiseptics and can damage the delicate tissues on the rat. I would not use it. Clear warm water is better than using peroxide.  Saline solution diluted is ok as is hibicleanse or novalsan solution.
Neosporin rubbed in and left undisturbed for at least 5 minutes is good and I say that because they lick it off so if you can keep the rat busy for 5min. to let it absorb, thats good.

As for the abscess getting hard, I am having a hard time with that as well. Usually they burst on their own but if it is hard it needs lanced. That pus wont just "disappear" and it needs cleaned out.

I would hold a warm compress on the lump and see if it softens up.
If it does, you can let me know right away and we will go from there.
I would get a second opinion.    If you want I can give you a few names of vets in your area that will see the rat and give a second opinion for you.

I was sold a rat from a breeder 2 years ago that had two lumps. She told me they were scar tissue as per her Vet from two old abscesses. I knew better than that...and ended up paying a few hundred dollars on a new rat having tumors removed.