Bad tumor

Question
QUESTION: I have a female rat that's a little more than 2 and a half years old. She was never pregnant but I did try to mate her a few times about a year ago. A few days ago I noticed that she was bleeding from her vagina. I looked it up and assumed that it was pyometra based on what I had read online. Because she's older it said it would be best to just let nature take its course.  I followed this advice and she seemed ok except for the vaginal bleeding.  Last night (May 2nd) I noticed a red marble sized mass hanging out of her vagina. I was really freaked out but I waited until this morning to take her to the vet.  In the morning the mass was larger (about the size of a large grape) and no longer round in shape but slightly elongated. The tip of it has also turned a dark reddish color.  The vet looked at it and realized that the mass continued inside of her.  He doesn't normally deal with rats so he was looking a lot of stuff up in veterinary books and couldn't find what could have caused this mass (which he concluded was a tumor).  He said that they could operate on her but he believed the tumor could come back and possibly intensify.  He also said that because of her age the risk of death is higher.  He said that if I don't put her down and without surgery she'd probably die in a week.  Of course I was upset but I had thought she was going to die the night before so a week is better than her dying immediately.  The reason I'm sending you this email is because I was wondering if you had ever come across a case like this.  Basically I'm just looking for some answers that my vet couldn't really answer. I don't know what else it could be but I wanted to know if there was a possibility it isn't a tumor.  Do you know what kind of thing causes a tumor to grow inside of the vagina and eventually fall out?  Is there a possibility that when I tried to breed her something bad happened?  She seems perfectly healthy and happy apart from the tumor so I would feel terrible getting her put down.  Thank you so much for reading my email and I understand if you can't find any answers to my questions.
<3 Beth

ANSWER: Hi Beth

Take a few deep breaths and relax. I know its upsetting...I know how you feel, trust me...I support you whatever you do but here is my advice:


It sounds more like her uterus has prolapsed possibly due to a tumor in her uterus.  I think what your seeing is her uterus that has prolapsed. Its not over for her....not yet. Also NO you did not cause this by trying to breed her but I am glad you didnt because she was too old a year ago and in fact probably did not get pregnant because rats usually go through menopause around 18 months and older.

Here is what I would suggest:

I would find a vet that knows about rats (I can help you) and I would have it removed, having her spayed the same time.  She may be old, but you hit the nail on the head:  she is healthy.  Age is not a disease, its a number. We have spayed many rats older than 2 and half. Some have been 3 and a half and healed wonderfully.  Of course only a vet with experience should do the surgery though. What do you have to lose? If she should pass away during surgery, most vets do not charge the entire amount, if any, for surgery.  She will die without it and I am afraid it will not be a very comfortable time for her if she continue like this.

A while back, I was losing my 3 year old rat to tumors. After several surgeries I did not want to put her through another one yet she had this huge egg sized tumor just hanging from her side, keeping her from walking.  It made me sick to have to put her down when she was fighting it so hard to stay alive.  I thought about it and when I took her in to put her down, the vet and I just did not have the heart to do it since she still had so much life in her yet.  He did the surgery, and it was a tough 90 minutes but she recovered fully and lived to be just 2 months shy of her 4th birthday. The tumor did return but we put her on a medication called lupron that helped control the high estrogen levels that trigger the growth of these tumors.  It was the best decision I have ever made.  She gained 10 more months on to her life that I almost ended.  With my own rats and other rats at the clinic I have learned to never underestimate what a rat is capable of doing...and that is SURVIVING! They are tough!

If she is otherwise healthy, I would opt for the spay ASAP but I would get on it right away.  Again I can find a vet for you that is experienced. I just need your zip code if your in the US and if not, I will need to know your location.  

Is she bleeding alot now?  Was she given antibiotics or anything for pain?

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

QUESTION: She isn't bleeding at all and she wasn't given anything for pain.  I would appreciate if you could find a vet for me (my zip code is 07421) and I can probably drive about an hour to get to one.  My only issue with taking her to a vet right now is that I'm extremely broke because I'm in the process of moving into my first apartment (literally in the next few days).  How much would surgery like that normally cost and do vets ever set up a payment plan (in my experience they want all the money at once).  Thank you soooooo much for answering me.
<3 Beth

ANSWER: Hi Beth

Some vets will work with you and if you have decent credit (cough cough like I wish I had! LOL!!) you can apply for CARE CREDIT which is a finance company that works with vets at a decent interest rate.

Its worth a shot to at least talk to the vet face to face, never do it on the phone and talk to the people that work for him/her. The vet usually makes that decision esp if he or she is the owner of the clinic.

Here are the names I have found for you and these vets are all exotic vets that work with rats and other small mammals and are members of the Association of exotic mammal veterinarians. There are 11 in New Jersery, and I found the ones closest to your zip code. :)



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45 minutes from your zip to this address.
MY FIRST CHOICE

Dr. Lori Siracuse-Parker
Oradell Animal Hospital     
580 Winters Avenue
Paramus NJ 07652
Phone:    201-262-0010
Website: www.oradell.com

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43 mins from your zip to this address:

Dr. Anneliese Strunk
Red Bank Veterinary Hospital    
197 Hance Avenue
Tinton Falls NJ 07724
Phone:    732-747-3636
Website:www.rbvh.com

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About 57  mins from your zip to this address:

Dr. Tracey Cantamessa
Rutherford Animal Hospital    
755 Rutherford Avenue
 Rutherford NJ 07070
Phone:    201-933-4111
Website: www.raho.com

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47 mins from your zip to this address:

Dr. Deborah Adelsohn
Community Animal Hospital    
921 Route 53
 Morris Plains NJ 07950
Phone:    973-267-4220
Website: www.communityanimalhospital.com

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

QUESTION: Ok well this is completely bizarre but on Monday I went to pick her up and the thing was totally gone.  She's acting healthier, she's gained some weight and seems perfectly fine.  My mom and I are assuming that she chewed it off (it had become kinda shriveled).  There wasn't any blood.  I was just wondering if you thought this was the end.  Also do you think I should take her to the vet or will she be ok.

Thank you soooooooooo much for your help before.  It really put me at ease to at least have answers.
:)

Answer
That is very odd, indeed.   However, you may not see it but it still may be inside her and can still be causing trouble.  I do not think this is the last you have seen of this.  Bleeding from the vaginal area is not a good sign no matter what.

I do have to ask..is there any way she could have gotten pregnant? Was she around a male that was intact (not neutered!)

Is there a chance that what you saw was your rat giving birth to a possibly deformed rat baby?  If the baby was born dead or died, she would consume it and everything would clear up again. She is pretty old though and should be through menopause but there is no guarantee.

I would be sure she has no contact with any males unless they are neutered.  If an older rat gets pregnant this rat can have alot of complications and it can be deadly.

I would take her to the vet, absolutely....she may need some antibiotics for sure.

please keep me posted about what is going on!

Sandra