Found tumor on rat

Question
I just discovered two tumors on my 2 year old rat, Kate. One seems to be benign, since i can move it around under the skin, but the other is hard. The hard one can't be moved around, and is much smaller, hardly the size of a pea. Are there surgeries to remove those types of tumors, and if yes, how much do they cost? If i can't get surgery, how much longer do you think she has to live? She is a lot sleepier lately, but when i wake her up and take her out, she has plenty of energy. She's still active, just not as much. She's my all time favorite rat and i cant bare the thought of losing her! What should i do?


Answer


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


Above is a link to my website. I have written it mainly for people that ask me about tumors and rather than try to fit it all into a few paragraphs here is all on one webpage. Please check it out since it will explain in detail about tumor surgery etc..


I will still touch base here though with what you asked in the mean time.

Your rat is at the prime age for mammary tumors. Usually after menopause, 18 months and up, estrogen levels sky rocket thus in turn causes the tumors to develop. If the rat is spayed early around 3 to 5 months old, chances of these tumors developing are diminished considerably.  They are not always cancerous but if they are, they are usually encapsulated so spreading is no real worry.

You asked if there are surgeries to remove these tumors and the answer is yes, very common to remove them by a vet that is experienced with rats, which is often an exotic vet that is board certified. I will be able to give you some names of these vets if you let me know your location and zip code etc... As for prices, its impossible to say since every vet is different and the cost of living is different throughout the country.  To give you an idea, I would say anywhere from $75 to $150. There are risks to ANY surgery but if you let this go she will die eventually from organ failure in just a few months.
The tumors you found are still small which is good. It is best to have them removed right now rather than allow them to grow. The more they grow the more vascular they become. This means that they rob your rats body of the nutrients she should be getting from her food in order to remain healthy and keep her vital organs healthy as well.  This is why the rat loses weight. They slowly starve from the tumor no matter how much they eat and often people say their rat ate like a pig despite the tumors. This explains why.


Anyhow, please let me know about the vet and also please check out the URL above to my website to finish reading up on mammary tumors. There are also some photos of these tumors on rats as well.