pet rat with apparant tumor????

Question
QUESTION: Hello,
I took my pet rat Nermal into the vets today,because in the past two days I noticed a small flesh like lump coming out of her vagina area,then today it was larger so I took her straight in. The woman on the phone said it sounded like a prolapse,but when we saw the vet she said she had never seen anything like it and it must be a tumor.

Obviously as this is not a 100 percent diagnosis,I have come away from the vets very unsettled,I love my little girl a lot so the idea of loosing her crushes me but I dont want to get all worked up if there is no need!!

She has been eating, drinking and playing as usual,with no changes to her normal activities.

e have been given Baytril and Metacam to give her,the Metacam twice daily,I tried giving her the first doese and shes having none of it,infact after drinking a bit she started rubbing her head and mouth on my pillow to get rid of it,which she has never done before,and she detects it when i tried to hide it in orange juice.

Please help me asap, I am terribly close to my rat and want her to have the life possible.

xoxo

ANSWER: If it is coming directly out of her vagina, and it is pinkish and doesn't look like skin it is probably a prolapse.  A vet should be able to diagnose this fairly easily as it looks the same as a uterine prolapse in a cat or dog.  Surgery is the only way to fix it.

A tumor is also a very likely possibility, as reproductive and mammary tumors are very common in female rats.  I've never seen one come directly out of the vagina but it is possible.  If it just looks like regular skin then it would either be a tumor or an abscess.

I'm curious as to why your vet prescribed an antibiotic if she thought it was a tumor.  Is your rat showing any other signs of illness such as respiratory problems?  A tumor would not respond to antibiotics at all.  The Metacam will help with pain but most tumors do not cause pain, though coming out of her vagina it may be painful.

Giving Baytril can be one of the hardest medications as it tastes terrible.  Usually I just force it into their mouth, poking the syringe into their cheek and squirting a maximum of 0.2cc at a time (usually the dose isn't much higher than that anyway), then waiting for them to swallow.  Some rats get really good at not swallowing it and they will hold it in their mouth then spit it out later!  Try mixing it with other foods that have a bit more of a thick texture like yogurt, baby food, or applesauce.  If your rat is a good eater you may be able to mix a higher food to Baytril ratio and just make sure she eats all of the food.

If she is really being difficult, you may want to ask your vet if she will give you instructions on how to inject it.  It is more painful, obviously, but you would be assured she was getting the right dose.

If you could send me a picture of her lump I may be able to help you further.  My email is info@evergreenrattery.com

Keep me posted on her condition; I hope she gets better soon!

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

QUESTION: thank you so much for getting back to me so quickly,I have emailed you with a photo,please let me know if you get it,cheers  xoxo

Answer
I received the picture, thank you.  It looks like a prolapse but it is awfully round, it may either be swelling or it is a tumor that began growing inside the vagina and is now pushing outwards.  Either way she's going to need surgery to remove the tumor or stitch her uterus back where it's supposed to be (often they will simply spay her, removing the uterus entirely).  If your vet isn't comfortable with doing the surgery you may have to find another vet.  If it was a regular tumor I wouldn't worry too much about it urgently but since part of her insides are now on the outside it could lead to infection and is probably painful for her.  Let me know what happens with her, the poor baby =(  Good luck!