My rat has a tumor on her armpit. At first is was really small, hardly noticable, but now it's getting bigger. It doesn't seem to bother her, she doesn't chew on it or dig at it or anything, she doesn't seem to even notice it. I heard that if I take her to the vet and get it removed that the stuff they use to put her to sleep would kill her because rats are so small. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
2007-05-16 14:26:42 · 12 answers · asked by Catrina 2 in Pets ➔ Rodents
I called my vet and she's going to have surgery on Saturday. Thank you all for your answers.
2007-05-18 06:05:07 · update #1
You need to take her to the vet and get it checked out. It sounds like a mamary tumor which can be removed.
I have had two mamary tumors removed off of my rats. Each surgery was a success. The rat pulled through with no problems.
The most important thing is to get her to the vet right away, the larger it gets the harder it is to remove and the more dangerous. It will eventually get to a point where it will no longer be operable. Rats tumors grow fast and in a matter of a week or so it could be too late.
If you choose not to treat(which I did once, the tumor was internal and the rat was over 2.5.) you will need to put her to sleep when she starts to get lethargic and not enjoying life anymore. My rat with the inoperable tumor lasted a few more weeks before she was pts. In the end putting her to sleep would be your only option, dying naturally of a mamary tumor is very painful. The tumor pulls the nutrients from the body and the rat will lose weight, stop eating etc.
The great thing is that tumor removal on rats has a good success rate. Find a vet that has done small animal surgery before, and is knowlegable. Call right away before it is too large and you then have no choice.
Good luck and any questions feel free to e-mail me, I know the stress and worry that is involved with letting out furry friends go under the knife, but I also know the relief after it is done and successful.
2007-05-16 15:38:01 · answer #1 · answered by Prodigy556 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
This sounds like it would be a mammary tumor, which is very common, and very treatable. The best thing to do would be to have a vet remove it. If your rat is still young, ask about getting it spayed, since that will help prevent future mammary tumors. Since a female rat has 12 mammary glands, they can get these tumors many times.
Also, since rats have such high metabolisms, make sure you feed them before surgery. Rats are unable to vomit, so it would be impossible for them to throw up because of the anesthetic.
Call around, and try to find a vet that specializes in 'pocket pets' or 'exotics', since they would be the most familiar with rat care.
2007-05-16 15:22:05 · answer #2 · answered by nemaeron 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Check out the link below for recommended vets who specialize in rats, hopefully in your area. Please be sure *not* to take your rat to an inexperienced rat vet or a vet who rarely sees any rodents or else your rat will likely pay the price. If you haven't yet found a rat vet, and it sounds like you haven't, be sure you call around to several different veterinary offices. Ask each vet office how many rats their rat vet has operated on, the success rate, and how much they charge for tumor-removal surgery.
Take it from me, I've lost three beloved rats due to inexperienced vets who left the rats under anesthesia for too long during simple tumor-removal surgeries. However, there are nimble, experienced rat vets out there (sometimes rare and hard-to-find) who can put a rat under anesthesia, operate, and bring the rat back to consciousness within a very short period of time which is much better for your rat's chances. Try to find such a vet ASAP because the larger the tumor gets, the more difficult it may be remove and the longer it will take for the vet to surgically remove it. Also, if the tumor is removed while it's still small, it should reduce the costs of surgery and reduce the chances of the cancer spreading, or at least slow down the spreading. Armpit tumors are somewhat in the vicinity of the heart, so the sooner it's removed, the better (and cheaper) for you and your rat.
If you happen to live in the Massachusetts area, let me know and I can recommend my rats' vet to you. It took me forever to find my rat vet! I went through several bad vets before I finally found a great one. Out of about 20 surgeries on my rats, only one died. If you live somewhere else, do some research at the site below.
Be prepared with a rat elizabethan collar to keep her from chewing her stitches post-surgery, hydrogen peroxide to ward off infection, and possibly skin glue in case the stitches come apart. Also, watch for signs of distress or pain, like chewing on her cage bars, lethargy, or a change in eating/drinking habits. Good luck to you and especially your rat! E-mail me with questions.
2007-05-16 16:19:24 · answer #3 · answered by GallopingGrasshoppers 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Vets know how to perform anaesthesia on small mammals without killing them you know!
Tumours are pretty common in rats and mice. One of my mice had a huge one, but it involved lots of blood vessels and so couldn't be removed without risking her bleeding to death. I could've risked it, but I decided to let her go on until the tumour became very big and then I put her to sleep. It never really seemed to bother her, she carried on eating and everything - but you never can tell with small animals, I reckon it must've been bothering her it was starting to take over her body. Plus I didn't want to get to the stage where it obviously WAS bothering her.
Take the rat to the vet. They can give you an idea of what type of tumour this is and whether it's worth removing. Some lumps are benign and can be left, although since this one is growing quickly it may be malignant. If the vet thinks removing it would help, it's your choice whether you want to try this or not. It should be a short op and rats are usually OK with it.
Chalice
2007-05-17 11:56:47 · answer #4 · answered by Chalice 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Call your local vet to see what they can do, depending on the size of it there may be nothing they can do. Like my vet told me when my rat got a big tumor in it's side. He said the best thing I could do was have it put to sleep. Tumors in rodents are usually caused by inbreeding. Sorry to hear about your pet. Good luck
2007-05-16 14:34:51 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Ask your vet if they would be able to remove it. If they can't there isnt much you can do. Make sure your rat has a great time. We had a couple rats that died and i miss them. They're good pets.
2007-05-18 03:41:54 · answer #6 · answered by javthrower18 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it could just be a random growth that wont affect her at all. but if shes really old, then its probably something else. rats usually die of tumors when they get older. you should take her to the vet and get her checked out. good luck!
2007-05-16 14:34:01 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
well the thing to do is to c if it is cancerous or malignant if cancerous as hard as it is you should put her down so she doesnt have to suffer if malignant the just leave it alone i hope this helps go to the vet and c what he or she says. I'm not a vet but am studying heavily into this subject to become a vet someday
2007-05-16 14:32:20 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
The anaesthetic won't kill her.
Don't go on what you're heard though, rather speak right to your vet about it.
2007-05-16 20:59:00 · answer #9 · answered by Unicornrider 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
vet
2016-04-01 05:10:12 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋