i have a one year old female hairless rat named dinosaur. she has a fairly large tumor on her leg/thigh area. my vet checked her out and says since she seems to be doing fine right now i have a while to decide whether or not to put her through surgery. my main concern is that her tumor now has a foul odor to it. do tumors usually have a smell or is this a new problem?
2006-10-31 02:12:31 · 11 answers · asked by ? 2 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
yes, i have had pet rats since i was a kid but in the past 4 yrs all the rats i have had have gotten tumors, i think it is a genetic desiese which has become more prominent because of the inbreeding by the pet stores that only care about making money by having more "snake food". i plan on doing research and writing a report on this situation so that maybe i can change something.
i have had the tumors removed on my previous rats, they would smell when open, but they kept coming back, and more of them, they did not live for much longer, and i felt bad about putting them through the pain of surgery.
i would suggest to let him live happily what time he has left and if it gets really bad to put him to sleep so he does not suffer. he will do fine for awhyle, and he might live longer than you think.
i wish you and your rat the best, good luck.
2006-10-31 02:39:26 · answer #1 · answered by nique_que 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
DON'T GET THE SURGERY. Yes I Have Had Personal Experances With rats That Have Had Tumors. I Was Faced With the Same Decision. I Had Both Problems. Here's Both: WITH THE SURGERY Okay There's A 50 50 Persent chance That Your Rat Will Die Or Come Out Alive. Docters May Not Tell You that But it's True. You Have To Pay Alot Of Money Even If Your Rat Dies. My Rat Died Due To The Surgery We Still Had To Pay ;[ WITHOUT THE SURGERY The rat Will Go As If Any Other Person It Woun't Really Suffer That Much Because Toumers Are Unbelivabully Not Painful He Will Die Soon Though but It's Better Than Having Him Die During His Life Saving Surgery ;[ What Ever You Choose Will Be Righrt :D
2016-05-22 17:02:51 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's not the tumor that has an odd smell, it's the area around it. If the tumor is large enough, your rat will have a hard time washing herself and therefore will get dirty, oily, and malodorous.
It's probably worth it to try for surgery. See if your vet feels confident in doing it, or if he/she would rather refer you to a small animal clinic that specializes in smaller pets like rats and ferrets.
FWIW, rats tend not to do too very well under the knife, but if the tumor continues to grow it will pose a problem for your rat. I would say that surgery is the best option, but you may care to wait a while longer.
Click the "more info" option to answer this one: Is it a fatty tumor, a muscle tumor, or a bone tumor?
2006-10-31 02:21:56 · answer #3 · answered by Brian L 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well first of all rats do get tumors and they can get cancer. tumors sometimes can get a foul smell if they rat is scratching it and opened up the area. is the tumor soft or is it hard? i have rats and i breed all types of them and i get some that will develope tumors and they will do the same thing, the only thing that i do is leave it because what will happen is that if you have surgery done on her it might not help her live longer it sometimes shortens the life span of them. well they don't live a long life but you want her to be comfortable til the end comes.
now did the vet say if it is a tumor or did they say it might be something else? tumors are hard and abseces are soft and if open will have a very bad oder. but tumors can have the oder too but they can get the oder from it being open and exposed to the air. the best thing to do is not go through with the surgery because it may not work and may have already done its damage to her body. i say just let her live out her life being happy with you and just keep her comfortable til the time comes. i hate to tell you this but with me breeding them i see it all the time and it is hard to say good bye to them but it happens and rats are very well known for these types of diseases and there is nothing you can do to cure them of this one. soory for what you are going through and i know how you feel i hope things work out for you.
2006-10-31 04:17:06 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
YES!! I had a two year old female that developed the same thing. All I can tell you is that (I'm sorry) but she probably will not have much time left if you do not get her the surgery.
My Shania was such a sweet rat. She developed a little bump that I noticed one day in the same spot you described. It was a quite aggressive tumor and grew rather large over several months. Eventually it was so large that her poor little legs barely touched the bottom of her cage. I had heard that rats can live quite happily with a tumor. She was a very happy rat, always happy to see me, good appetite, etc.
Eventually the tumor got so big that her skin split and the tumor was exposed. It was stinky and her bedding would stick to it. I would put her in the kitchen sink every night and wash off her belly with warm water.
Then one day the tumor felt cold. Shania's feet were also cold. I knew that the tumor was finally taking it's toll and her little heart was shutting down. She was listless and stopped eating. I was going to bring her in but before I got the chance she went to rattie heaven all on her own. She was buried in my backyard.
So, good luck with your rattie. Cherish every day that you have with her!
2006-10-31 02:24:51 · answer #5 · answered by msnite1969 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had a pet mouse several years ago that developed a tumor on her back. It started out pea sized, and eventually reached golf ball sized, and then it started weaping and she was scratching and biting it. It took her to the vet and he did the surgery, but she only lived for four days after that. The trauma of the surgery was just too much for her.
I think that I would treat her as best you can using topical treatments. Use gauze and hydrogen pyroxide to clean it, then put some antiobiotic ointment on it, or (if you can find it) some Wonder Dust - used in horses a lot and it will work wonders!
I wish that I had not gotten the surgery done, but at the time I thought it was the right thing to do. Her name was Pancho. She had a friend/sister-mouse named Cisco that lived with her, and right up to the time Pancho died, Cisco groomed her and kept the tumor clean as best she could. When Pancho died, Cisco died a week later. Sad :-(
2006-10-31 02:20:08 · answer #6 · answered by ♥♥♥ Mommy to Two ♥♥♥ 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Tumors are very common in rats and mice it isn't worth have an opperation as their chance of making it is so slim. Most rats don't live long anyways. My rat made it to 3 and we found her tumor when she was just a little over a year. Find a vet that will be honest and not go after your money.
2006-10-31 02:23:04 · answer #7 · answered by emotionalyhurtmom 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had a pet mouse with the same problem it had a huge tumor on the side of its face we ended up having to get it put to sleep as surgery for small animals is very risky i would definately go and get the odour problem checked out coz that could be a new problem x
2006-10-31 02:20:41 · answer #8 · answered by ♥ Jen ♥ 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
my gerbil had surgery for her tumor and did quite well (she lived for 2 years after) and i was glad i had it done. there is a risk, but i think it is worth it because they may not live long with the tumor either
2006-10-31 02:41:15 · answer #9 · answered by stop 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
our ferret had a tumor and was operated on but died on the operating table. Odds are against you if you decide on surgery (as it is if you do nothing) but to some people the peace of mind of trying outweighs the cost.
2006-10-31 02:15:41 · answer #10 · answered by blackratsnake 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋