rat with lump on chest

Question
My daughter has a 2-1/2 year old female albino rat.  Over the past few days, a lump has grown on her chest.  It was about the size of a small grape yesterday, but has gotten even bigger today.  Other than the lump, Fluff seems fine.  I know rats don't live that long...so I'm not sure I want to invest money in vet visits for her.  Any ideas on what it could be?

Thanks!

Answer
Hi Pam

Sounds like one of two things: An abscess or a mammary tumor.

Does the lump have a scab on it? Is there a crater or hole in the center of it? Is it soft and squishy or real hard? Does it hurt her to touch it?

Here are your options:

First, lets just hope its an abscess. Yeah, they are gross (depending on who you are, some people think they are a blast to mess with, others cringe, gag and summons another family member to assist in this procedure)  

You will need a few things handy:

A warm damp soft compress
Antiseptic (not peroxide)such as betadine or novalsan
Cotton balls, cotton swabs and a dropper or syringe (minus the needle)
Triple antibiotic ointment, generic or neosporin
Paper towels
Patience and a strong stomach

Hold the warm compress on the lump for as long as she allows you to, several times a day.
Note if the lump gets softer. Gently but firmly, press around the base of the lump for a few seconds, depending on how badly the rat protests. Try this a few times and if nothing happens, stop. Continue to do the warm compresses for the next few days and repeat the procedure to squeeze it from the base of the lump only.

If you notice a scab or crater, try to squeeze it again and watch out because you may get blasted with some serious pus. Sometimes it is as thick as toothpaste and other times it is thinner but it may explode all over and the smell may be tremendous! If this occurs now is the time to continue to get all of the infection out. Once you clean out the pus, you need to use the dropper and fill it with the antiseptic solution. Dilute the betadine with equal parts water or use clean warm water if that is all you have, just as long as you try to rinse that stuff away. NExt, fill the hole with the antibiotic ointment best you can and keep the rat busy for a few minutes so some of it absorbs.
Clean it out several more times a day and add new ointment until it starts to close. You may need to squeeze it again since it may fill up again, but once it goes away, you will never know anything was there before. Rats are very prone to abscesses due to the normal bacteria found on their skin, just like humans. A small open cut can get bacteria in and it forms a pocket, filling up with pus very fast until it finally gets to the point it burts on its own or with help from the rat owner, even with help from the rat if she realizes something is there.  Often it doesnt bother them, other times it may itch or sting and they pick at it on their own.

Now, if it turns out that it never comes to a head and continues to grow, it is probably a mammary tumor. THis area is prime for mammary tumors go grow anyhow. An intact female over the age of 18 months is prone to developing mammary tumors because once they no longer go in heat, estrogen levels begin to rise. High estrogen levels cause the growth of these tumors. Sometimes one is removed and that is that, never to be seen or heard from again, but other times, other tumors start to grow after that around the same area or in other areas where mammary glands are located, which is just about anywhere under the front paws, back legs, tummy, chest and of course the groin area too. Basically if its found "underneath" the rat it is a mammary tumor but there is still a chance its an abscess.
You can do nothing, of course, if it is indeed a mammary tumor, and let it ride its course. I wont go into detail here about what will occur step by step but you can read more on my website about it. I get tons of people writing to me about mammary tumors and so finally one day I added a webpage onto my site explaining everything step by step rather than repeating myself like a broken record.
You can also opt for it to be removed and I know you expressed concerns about the rats age. I also agree that sometimes its best to let nature take its course, especially if the rat is less than healthy, but usually I dont go by age, I go by the health of the rat. I have had 3year old rats have tumors removed and they lived 8 more months or more and have had rats 18 months have them removed and they pass away from pneumonia or something unrelated but not unexpected because the rat was not real healthy anyhow.  It all depends on the rat. Age is a number only, mainly because I have seen so many different reactions regardless of age.
You can have her tumor removed and she may live another 6 months, which is about 4 months more than she would live with this tumor growing at a rapid rate. The thing is, those four more months would be
of good quality rather than a few months of dealing with the problems the tumor brings. Most of the time the rat fares well with the tumor and it bothers us more than it does the rat, but sometimes the rat is totally uncomfortable and the owner has to decide if she should euthanize the rat or let nature take its course.

If it turns out to be a tumor, I will support your decison either way and help answer your questions as much as I can.  I will even help find a vet for you that you can at least take her to see and if you opt to let her continue with the tumor, the vet could at least prescribe some medications for her such as steroids to help slow the growth of it down a bit and down the road, pain medication and antibiotics to prevent infection from the tumor abscessing etc...

The best thing is to read the info I have about mammary tumors so it can help you better understand what you and your rat are facing.

http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/allabouttumors.htm

In the mean time, lets hope its an abscess. That would make it alot easier!