[Galhast]

About a week ago, one of my rats (Yuki) developed a lump on her tail.
The lump is about 1.5cm big, relatively soft (softer than the surrounding tail), and doesn't appear to be causing any discomfort. It also doesn't appear to have gotten any larger over the past short period of time.
She is a year old (about a year, anyway) albino, and her tail has darker splotches and patches all over it, except for an inch or two at the end of the tail. The lump on her tail is pale, in the middle of a patchy spot. The lump has a little dark/near black spot on it.
As I said, she is in no discomfort, and doesn't seem to care in the least, although the other rat (Ame) has noticed, and while I was examining the lump she sniffed over it, then ran off to do her own thing.
Any advice?

 

[chrisstrikeagain]

May be a tumor, but with the dot on top it sounds like an abscess to me. Then again i am no expert. Many people on here are, Especially Stephanie, she is pro on tumors and abscesses. So contact her.

Most importantly, a vet visit may be needed.

 

[DonnaK]

It sounds like an abscess to me, too. If it's an abscess, it's reasonably easy to treat. If it is a tumor - though I'm not sure if they get tumors on their tails - then it needs to be dealt with, asap. You need to get it looked at by a vet.

 

[Forensic]

Could definitely be an abcess, my boys scuff up their tails pretty often and they don't really keep them clean. Hope it turns out okay!

 

[Galhast]

How would one go about treating an abscess?

 

[DonnaK]

How would one go about treating an abscess?

A vet could show you how to clean and reduce an abscess. There are posts on these forums about treating abscesses, but you really need to be sure of what you are doing before you try it. There was one member who adopted a rat that already had an abscess that had been left a while, and despite her best efforts (and she knows what she's doing), she lost the rat. I really would recommend a visit to the vets.

 

[Galhast]

Thanks for the advice.

 

[OnlyOno]

do you have any pics of it? it's not entirely impossible for it to be a tumor.

 

[Sky14]

Yes pic are always a good thing!!!

 

[Stephanie]

May be a tumor, but with the dot on top it sounds like an abscess to me. Then again i am no expert. Many people on here are, Especially Stephanie, she is pro on tumors and abscesses. So contact her.

Most importantly, a vet visit may be needed.

Yes I could help but it is up to you. I would always recomend going to the vet liek DonnaK says there is always a chance that is is a tumor. If you want help feel free to pm me or email me.