We have two pet rats, a week ago they were climbing the cage as usual, and Tess fell a short distance. However, she fell on the corner of a box in their cage. She got up, and scrabbled off, seemingly unaffected.
A bit later on, we opened the cage to play with them, and noticed a huge lump on her left hand side, just above her hind leg. We took her to the vet as soon as we could, who was baffled, she squeezed the lump, told us it was soft, the rat doesn't seem bothered by it, but prescribed us some antibiotics.
We've been giving the rat anitbiotics twice daily, and the lump hasn't changed. We have an appointment again soon, but I want to be prepared for the worse. If it is a hernia, can the rat go on to live a normal life? Will it have to be surgically corrected? Or will the rat have to be put down? :(
Thanks,
2006-10-30 21:37:53 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
The lump is pretty large, about the circumfrance of a 10p coin? I'm always playing with my rats, so I would have noticed a lump grow, seeing this big mass was the first I knew about it.
The lump doesn't seem to bother her, apparently the vet squeezed it, and Tess just sat there licking her face.
The vet did offer to do a biopsy, but quoted us £90. I'll see what the vet has to say about it tommorow. I know that if worse comes to worse that I definitely want tess anesthatised before she gets the needle. :(
2006-10-31 04:06:54 · update #1
I'm not sure what the antibiotics are supposed to accomplish. Your rat does not have an infection. Maybe it's preventative, I'm not seeing it.
Depending on where the hernia is located, organs could push through the opening in the abdominal wall(i.e. intestines). This could cut off the blood flow to the organ and result in the tissues of that organ dying(necrosis) which can then lead to the death of the animal. I would most certainly opt for surgery. It's a minor procedure and your rat should do fine. You must take your rats age into account of course, but the vet will discuss all that with you when the time comes. Once your rat has recovered from the surgery it should be as good as new.
Good luck to you and your ratties.
2006-10-31 01:07:40 · answer #1 · answered by Huh? 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Tough question without actually feeling the lump. Does she squirm when you squeeze or palpate the lump? Most hernias I know of occur when rats are born.
Is it possible that the corner of the box penetrated her skin in any way? Even a tiny bit? Like a poke or a scratch? You can check her skin on the lump by searching carefully with a magnifying glass for a small scab or a nearly healed small scratch. It's possible she has an abscess and the antibiotics haven't kicked in yet. These small wounds are hard to see but can easily cause abscesses.
How old is she? If she is over 18 months, the lump may have been there longer than you think and could be a benign mammary tumor or another type of tumor.
It could also be a cyst, or, indeed, a hernia. If it is a hernia, you want to make sure it's not an intestinal hernia that has protruded enough to be seen on visual inspection. I doubt it.
The only way to know if it is a cyst or abscess is for the vet to take a needle aspiration and do a cytology. If she were my rat, I would be doing the aspiration myself with a sterile tuberculin syringe to see what is in the lump.
2006-10-31 03:31:42 · answer #2 · answered by boulder.rats 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your rat can have surgery, I had mine spayed.
As long as you take care of you rat it will live for a very long time.
Good Luck.
2006-10-30 23:04:27 · answer #3 · answered by eyes_of_iceblue 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Maybe that's right
2016-08-08 18:24:03 · answer #4 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
thats an interesting question I hope you will get reasonable answers
2016-08-23 09:50:35 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋