[melodybirdsong]

i just found a lump the other night under petunia's right arm. i've been upset ever since! i'm taking her to the vet on friday and w're going to get it checked out. i've heard that rats are too small to undergo anesthesia? is this true? and do you need anesthesia to remove a small tumor or drain an abcess?

recently i've been hearing that it's too much money to spend on an 8 dollar rat, but to me her life is priceless!

there's hardly anyone in memphis with rats, so i'm sure it's going to be expensive but i just want to take care of petunia the best i can!

<3

keep her in your thoughts!


***update***

and $156.27 later!
what the vet did was aspirate the lump with a needle (stuy fluids inside). a lot of the bump was air and fluid and when he studied the fliud he did not see any cell growth. he said this could just be a pulled muscle type thing or it could be that the tumor cells are small and he didn't get any, but so far, no tumor!!!!! he gave me some medications to boost her immune system ( AVix booster 0.15 ml once a day), back on the baytril (what was given to her for the respiratory issue before) 0.2 ml twice a day (she loves this medicine!) and then lastly Metacam which is an anti-immflamatory. (she hates this medicine) 0.25 one to two times a day! so petunia is going to be pretty drugged up for a while!

she had been acting fine all day until we got in the car and she knew where she was going. she starting pooping a lot, but she does that often when she's scared (in the tub etc.) but she had a little bit of blood coming from her vulva, which i thought maybe she was just in heat, but the vet said that rats dont usually do that and that it was blood and not perafins (like menstrual blood and not just blood blood) so that i should keep an eye on that even though it wasn't noticeable until today. he also mentioned that spaying would be an option but she's 2 years old and greying so i don't know if it's too late. i wish i would have known about getting her spayed when she was younger, i would have done it asap.

but all in all, she's still active and happy, just on some medicine now! i am so relieved!!!

has anyone else ever experienced this blood discharge situation before? her pee isn't bloody, just around where it comes from.

 

[Stephanie]

Re: found a lump.

I commend you on what you are doing!! No rats can go into surgery and come out just fine btw if it is an abscess you can probably treat it at home if you want to know how pm me or add me to one of your messengers I have dealt with MANY abscesses and am dealing with two right now. Best of luck to you and petunia! <:3 )~~

 

[sonoma]

Re: found a lump.

It sounds to me like a mammary tumor...they're pretty common in rats. It's good you are getting it taken care of ASAP. Rats can safely undergo anesthesia. (But of course all surgery has it's risks.)

I know how you feel. I hate when people say 'it's just a dumb animal' or crap like that. I have a dog with food allergies and IBD, and someone told me it would be cheaper to put her down and buy a new dog...and they were totally serious! :x

 

[melodybirdsong]

Re: found a lump.

i'm not sure if it's an abcess and i dont know if i'd be comfortable doing that\, honestly. she's still really active and it's still relatively small. but it's not small enough to not worry about!

i wish more people had rats, everyone who's met petunia loves her, i'm afraid i'm not ready for this heartbreak. she's like my child!

anyone have any idea what it costs to get something like that removed? i paid 115 when i went her to get an examination, shot, and two weeks of medicine when she had mycro-thing in her lungs (the red runny nose stuff and lung issue) and she recovered from that. i just want her to pass fat and happy and not to suffer.

 

[lilspaz68]

Re: found a lump.

First thing is her age. Almost all female rats get mammary tumors...sadly. There is also Pituitary tumors which affect females more since its hormone driven. I have 12 spayed females here doing just great. I have a friend who spays every rescue female in the door and has proven that no matter what age, a spay is beneficial in incidence of tumors happening.

If your girl is 15 months to 24 months those are prime times for a mammary tumour to show up. Armpits are very common places as well. Its unlikely to be an abscess since with all the comments it does sound like Petunia is a single ra and there's no cagemate to have had a scuffle with. You really should have at least 2 rats in the future as they are social animals and its considered unkind, cruel almost, to have them on their own these days..

Tumors can grow slowly or very very quickly. Some will stay small for a long time but then grow really fast. Most rats have no problems with surgery (12 spays, umpteen tumour removals, tail tip amputation, toe amputation, 6 neuters...all with no problems), but you need a rat that hasn't a bad history with respiratory problems and a good competent rat vet. Its a real surgery, with drapes, and pain meds, and cauterizing blood vessels, etc ..so they have to be put under general anesthetic.

As for leaving it alone. Most tumors do not affect the health of the rat for awhile. When its grown so large that its impeding their mobility or stealing the nutrients from her body (blood flow, etc) then your rat will be affected. At this early time, try not to feed any sugary foods, as refined sugars feed the tumor and make it grow even faster. Watch for wasting of her body (loss of weight), her eyes to grow dull and not be as interested in things as before, then have her humanely pts. The appearance of the tumor is more shocking for us, but for them they just ignore it and deal. Remember to really see with her eyes and not your own before you decide there's not a quality of life there. Good luck.

 

[mink]

Re: found a lump.

Mika had a tumor. My vet used gas to put her under and not a needle injection, so you could ask about that, I believe it is much safer. My vet also did surgery with a Laser pen tool. You could ask about that also. The whole thing cost me $50.

 

[melodybirdsong]

Re: found a lump.

thanks, you all are a lot of help. my mom might take her tomorrow instead of me taking her on friday, i'll keep you all posted.