tumor vs. abcess

Question
My dear Kora who was a rescue is about 7 months old. Almost overnight she developed a lump uner her right ear. The vet didn't seem concerned. Told me to keep an eye on it. She looked under a slide and saw nothing. Now her ear is gooy and green and crusty and she is stratching and pulling her hair off. I am concerned for him I have used Bayrtil and Gentomycin ear drops.. and it's still there.. no bigger, but no better.. any thoughts?

Answer
I would definitely take Kora back in to the vet. This sounds an abscess which is basically an infection under the skin. Eventually it will come to a head and drain itself. It is very important to treat these properly. You want to keep the infection from going back in to the body. First I would wash it off with some clear antibacterial soap if you can keep it from getting in the ear, or eyes. Otherwise use a warm washcloth to wipe it down, and hold it on it to get it nice and soft. Once it is soft you can grab the lump at the base (or in fact, UNDER the base, you do not want to squeeze ANY of the infection back in to the body!)... So, GENTLY squeeze it a little to bring out any puss or drainage. The best cleanser to use would be bactine or a vet prescribed betadine bath... You could also put a bit of neosporin on it.

Because an abscess does not have it's own blood supply, antibiotics are not going to CURE the abscess alone, the cleaning and draining will help treat the abscess itself. The reason for antibiotics is to keep the infection from spreading to the rest of the body, or from growing deeper, so keeping him on the Baytril is important. You can also use (if prescribed by your vet, and instead of Baytril) Trimethoprim-Sulfa or Amoxicillin.

Also, do not use peroxide on the wound. Ask your vet about getting some betadine or go out to walmart and purchase some bactine, they sell a very nifty bottle with a squirt nozzle which is perfect for treating an abscess, plus it doesn't sting when applied to a wound and won't be painful for your rat.

I hope I was able to help, good luck and please let me know if you have any more questions.