Lump on Rat's Back

Wezoin

I just noticed a hard lump on one of my pet rat's backs, and was wondering if I should be concerned, or if theres anything I should be doing. First thought was "vet now" but they are all closed for the weekend and I figured someone here might be able to give me some insight as alot of people on this board seem to have pet rats.

Anyone have any experience with this?

A quick google revealed this: http://pet-diseases.suite101.com/article.cfm/lumps_bumps_tumors_in_rats which is a bit scary, but seems to say typically its not a big deal if the lump is a little hard. It feels like a fairly solid lump though.

Awk

RAT PIC!

Wezoin

Nearly forgot the pet thread rule!


This is Edgar. He's a bit overweight and is the one with the lump on his back/side.


This is Oreo. He's a little underweight and asleep.

Wezoin

Alright, I looked a bit deeper into google and found a site that says if its really hard and immobile its probably not cancerous and will eventually just burst. Would still appreciate any advice anyone who knows about this kind of thing might have.

Gabriel_Pitt

There's really nothing more to say. It's either a cyst or a tumor, and only the vet will really be able to tell you which. It's not imminently dangerous, so having to wait until their an open office you can go to is not detrimental.

Wezoin

Gabriel_Pitt wrote: »

There's really nothing more to say. It's either a cyst or a tumor, and only the vet will really be able to tell you which. It's not imminently dangerous, so having to wait until their an open office you can go to is not detrimental.

Will a vet be able to tell for sure? And if they can and it turns out it is a tumor is there anything they can really do about it?

I'm not opposed to paying for a vet, its just a matter of if I go and they say "yes its cancer, can't do anything about it" then I dont really see a point in going since it won't actually benefit him any, but if there is an actual treatment for it then I will gladly take him.

PeregrineFalcon

How old is Edgar?

Cancer is usually what gets them, if he's getting close to the 3 year mark that's probably what it is.

Wezoin

PeregrineFalcon wrote: »

How old is Edgar?

Cancer is usually what gets them, if he's getting close to the 3 year mark that's probably what it is.

Mmmm, he was born early last September. So 1 year almost 2 months.

Gabriel_Pitt

Wezoin wrote: »

Gabriel_Pitt wrote: »

There's really nothing more to say. It's either a cyst or a tumor, and only the vet will really be able to tell you which. It's not imminently dangerous, so having to wait until their an open office you can go to is not detrimental.

Will a vet be able to tell for sure? And if they can and it turns out it is a tumor is there anything they can really do about it?

Only a vet is going to be able to give you an answer to that, better than anyone here can since we can't actually examine the rat.

Rats are prone to tumors. Some of them are fatal, some can be easily removed, others are ugly but can just be left alone. At that age it's more likely to be a cyst, but that's not something you can be sure of at a distance.

radroadkill

I've never owned rats but I'm wondering if they get fat lumps like cats and dogs; my dog from Florida and my current cat both got these at varying points of time, working and feeling roughly the same.

The one on my cat's back is mostly hard, about the size of... a baby kiwi. It's not super, super hard but it definitely doesn't squish down when it's pressed. It sort of... slides a bit.

The vet did a quick needle poke to see if it was made of fat cells or if it needed further investigation.

Harmless fat cell it was!

Maybe this is the same thing?

Esh

I love rats but can never own them. The whole cancer thing and short lifespan would kill me. I need long lived and relatively healthy pets.

prfntbtr

It is very likely a tumor, which as you have discovered, are unfortunately very common in rats. My girlfriend has had several pet rats, and we once bought a pair of them that were not more than a few months old, only to discover less than a week later, a huge tumor that popped up on one of them, seemingly overnight. She took it to the vet, who ended up being one of the most amazing dudes ever. He performed surgery on it, which ended up being totally successful, and the rat healed very well afterward. About a year or so later the same rat developed another tumor. This one was also removed, and the rat recovered well. A year or two later it developed another tumor that grew to be huge, the rat was pretty old at that point, and the vet did not recommend going through with a third surgery.

So basically, if you have the money (maybe about $300-$350?) and can find a great vet, you can probably get this taken care of, if indeed it is a tumor and not a cyst as a previous poster mentioned might be possible.