Rat with tumor

Question
QUESTION: Hello,
I have one female rat who, first of all has a tumor between her front two paws. Still, she seemed ok until recently she started having little tiny cuts on her skin. She stated off with just a couple on her neck behind her ear. Now she has lots of these little cuts rangeing from her ears to part way down her back. They are small cuts, as if she was poked by a sewing neddle. I have no idea where shes getting these from. I've cheacked her cage and toys over and over and I can't find anything that could be doing this. Could she have skin problem that doing this? And what should I do to help her? They seem to be painful.
Second question:I've been doing some hunting for a vet that can do surgery on her. The only place near by that I've found is an animal hospital that cost 80 dollars just to see the animal and more for the actual work. Are there any cheeper vets or is that just what its going to cost? Do you know any other vets in the 21043 are that could help her??
Thank you.

ANSWER:  
Hi

By chance, were you talking about Falls road animal hospital that is $80 for an exam?  If not, which one is it so I can be sure not to list it.

Now, about your little girl and her problems. What diet is she on and what bedding do you use?

I will assume she is older, 18 months plus?

How long has she had the tumor? Can you tell me about what size it is? Is she still eating and active? Is she losing weight at all yet?

With mammary tumors, they become vascular fairly fast and so they start to rob the rat of the nutrients she gets from her diet. This causes weight loss for starters but also poses a threat to her vital organs. As time goes on, due to lack of proper nutrition the organs begin to fail.  This of course takes long to occur which is why I asked about  weight loss and how long she has had the tumor etc...
When this all happens, her appetite may even increase and she may eat like a little piggy but continue to lose weight. Meanwhile, with the lost nutrients this no doubt will start to interfere with other organs as well as skin. She may be lacking certain vitamins now and this is causing her skin to dry and crack. I would add olive oil to her diet. Simply soak a corner of a salt free cracker and feed it to her at least once a day for a full 5 days and taper off to every 3 days after that.
You can also rub her with various ointments. I would use neosporin to prevent infection and if she seems itchy, you can also use cortisone cream. Apply thin layer several times a day keeping her busy from licking it off for at least 10 to 15 minutes.  It wont hurt her if she licks it but it wont work well if it doesnt have time to absorb.

You can also feed her high calorie supplements such as boost. You can let her enjoy some in a flat dish giving her a few spoonfuls a day. Ensure is also a favorite. Nutrical is a good supplement found at pet stores but it can be really super high in calories.
Scramble her an egg a few times a week for protein and also white meat from boiled chicken a few times a week will help with good quality animal protein.  Although rats should avoid high protein diets, sick or older rats, and also hairless rats, benefit from a bit extra protein especially in situations like this.

Meantime, try one of the vets below. If her health is anywhere from fair to fantastic, a skilled surgeon can safely remove her tumor and to prevent new growth, a monthly injection of a hormone, lupron, can be used.  Lupron stops estrogen production which is why these tumors start to grow in the first place. This is also why intact females that go through menopause usually develop mammary tumors. Although rare, there are other tumors rats can get younger than 18 months but usually in females that still have active hormones, they usually dont develop mammary tumors until estrus cycle halts  around 18 months or older.

Anyhow, let me know if she seems soothed by the neosporin and coritsone cream when you apply it. You can also buy the type of neosporin that has a bit of an pain relief additive in it to stop the cuts from hurting too.
Hopefully this helps and hopefully the vets listed below are NOT the same place you have checked that charges an arm and a leg for an office visit.  Most exotic vets are competitive with traditional vets, anywhere from $29 to $40 for a visit. Sometimes they are super thorough and spend an hour with your rat the first time and sometimes the first visit is a bit higher, more like $50 but thats not real common.  THe total for the tumor surgery, a night spent at the clinic and medications will cost under $200 for everything.


Here are two vets that I know of in your area besides Falls road animal hospital which is an emergency clinic (24 hours) and they usually do charge anywhere from $80 to $100 just to walk in the door. These places are great for emergencies such as respiratory distress or bleeding from accidents etc..and usually after hours (after 5 or 6pm) is when the prices rise, but usually when they operate as a regular clinic prices go down.

This clinic is estimated to be about a 28 minute drive from your zip code, this Vet has an outstanding reputation:


Dr. Jonathan Kaufman, DVM - Practice owner exotic vet that specializes in small mammal medicine and surgery! :)
Eastern Animal Hospital     
6404 Eastern Avenue
Baltimore MD 21224
Phone:    410-633-8808
Website: www.easternanimalhospital.com

***
Another highly regarded exotic Vet, this is located est. about 35 miles from your area code:

Dr. Heather Bowles
Hunt Valley Animal Hospital    
11206 York Rd
Cockeysville MD 21030
Phone:    410 527 0800
*******


Hope this has helped you some!


Sandra


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

QUESTION: Thank you.
My rat is only 14 month old. She hasn't had the tumor very long (I only noticed it about three weeks ago) and is still active and eating (shes kind of fat). I feed her Forti-Diet blocks and some fruits and veggys. Her bedding is aspen. The tumor isn't very large. It hangs down when she walks but doesnt touch the floor and it doesn't seem to be bothering her.

Answer

Hi again

Its good that the tumor is not that big yet. Its best to get it off now before it does become larger and more vascular. Usually they dont bother them much at all.  They bother us more I think.

These terrible tumors are estrogen fueled, developing close to or right after menopause, usually around 18 months of age, sometimes a bit younger like your girl and sometimes older. A healthy rat can live to be over 3, sometimes 4 and even up to 5 years old which is kind of uncommon to be that old, but there are some reports.  My oldest was just a few months shy of her 4th birthday.

Anyhow, these tumors grow large very fast and start to rob the rat of nutrients needed to sustain her vital organs. She will eat and eat like a little piggy yet continue to lose weight at alarming rates.
Over time, her body just cannot handle the severe malnourishment and her organs start to fail. Often, the tumor becomes very vascular and once it gets to a certain size it loses the blood supply and becomes necrotic, which in turn causes the tumor to abscess, often internally, and the rat ends up with sepsis which is fatal.

Prevention?  Spaying. This is not a total guarantee but it sure gives female rats a much better chance of NOT developing these nasty tumors or if they do end up with just one, the vet removes it and usually they dont grow back.  If they remain intact, however, the body continues to produce estrogen and this fuels more tumor growths.
Males are not exempt from them, either, since they have mammary tissue minus the nipples...but its not that common and usually they get just one and once that is removed they rarely grow another.

I would check out the vets that I suggested and have it removed before it really taps into her major arteries and this will make it more risky to remove them if this occurs. Its good you are such a good rat keeper that you have noticed it while it was still small enough.

Anyhow, I would give her the olive oil on the cracker for her dry skin but I do feel it is due to the lack of proper vitamins in her body due to the tumor starting to horn in on the nutrients she is getting from her diet.  Use the neosporin too to prevent infection.

Let me know how she is doing ok? Hang in there!