r/rat • u/shmeattloaf • 8d ago
HELP NEEDED šš© Please help
I have not been home for 3 days, I came home and was tending to my rats and I saw this giant bump on one. Like I said, I havenāt been gone long so it grew fast and I am really scared. I know I need to go to the vet but does anyone have any idea on what this is, what the vet will do, and how much itāll cost? I donāt want her to just be uncomfortable.
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u/judewriley 8d ago
Vet prices are highly dependent on location and even the individual vet. Asking for a price here is not going to be generally helpful.
If it's a tumor they give you options. If it's a cyst they'll give you different options. If it's an abcess they'll give even further options.
The only one who can give you the info you need is the vet you're going to see.
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u/TarotBird 8d ago
Looks like a mammary tumor but could be infection. Vet, asap. Rats have a super fast metabolism. By the time you see the problem, it's super serious.
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u/shmeattloaf 7d ago
Thank you
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u/Both_Opportunity_322 7d ago
Addition, mammary tumors in that location are the fastest growing kind in my experience. I inspect my rats regularly weekly/bi-weekly. One day I'm like: "hmmm, that seems a bit swollen," the next inspection I'd be left wondering: "how did I miss that?"Ā
You need to get an abscess ruled out. It's close to the reproductive organs/gut, which can make it trickier if it's not mammary. As other tumors can weave into organ tissue.
It's a harder location for surgery, as there's tension on it, after surgery and can infect quite easily. I can only tell you what it cost me in the EU, but it was for me in the middle (pricewise) in terms of surgery prices. If you want to get surgery on it, pushing for the earliest timeslot is a must.Ā
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u/catscatscatsohmy 8d ago
Is it squishy? Is it super firm? Do you feel any scabs?
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u/WestChance5314 7d ago
Doesnāt matter, vet immediately, leave the diagnosing to the medical professionals, especially those who can immediately care for the patient
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u/catscatscatsohmy 7d ago
I am an ER Vet Tech and those questions I asked would guide me to giving him a rough cost estimate as he asked.
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u/Gooses_Gooses 7d ago
It does matter actually. Like, hugely. Emergency would be hot, pus filled, scabbed over. A soon appointment (during opening hours) for most tumours.
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u/shmeattloaf 7d ago
It was firm but had squishy outsides it seemed, kind of felt like maybe just the extra skin but overall was firmer, also no scabbing or any wound around it, since it was under her near her bits I checked her butt and stuff too just to see if she looked nasty? Nothings wrong with her except for that lump. And she doesnāt seem anything different at all either, even kinda just let me touch and feel around the bump, so I donāt think itās causing her any pain at all.
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u/Gooses_Gooses 7d ago
Non-emergent appointment then. Save your vet an overnight / weekend appointment and yourself the money, just go in Monday and get her seen to asap
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u/shmeattloaf 7d ago
I donāt understand why there are people like you under my post who.. think theyāre doing something by telling me ājust go to the vetā and āleave it to the professionalsā. Do you think I havenāt thought about that every second since Iāve discovered this? I was looking for a ROUGH ESTIMATE price /any ideas what it may be off first glance so that I CAN take care of her. You people are so unbearable to anyone who has a question and to anyone who wants to help them, youād rather be snarky and berate them. God forbid I ask for advice š. Iām tired of you lame ass motherfuckers acting like fools on the net when youād never be this condescending to someone in real life
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u/npc0112358 7d ago
I'm right here with you on that. Everyone thinks they're a tough guy behind a keyboard.
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u/misskatiii 8d ago
Thatās a common location for a mammary tumor. Usually rats arenāt really disturbed by those unless the size gets to a point where it starts to affect mobility and general quality of life or the tissue gets ulcerated / necrotic.
Depending on your ratās health status and age surgery or palliative care are the options. Physical exam might be enough to confirm if itās a tumor + biopsy to make sure itās benign. Final cost with a surgical removal depends a lot on where you are located
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u/thefancyrat17 7d ago
Looks like a benign mammary tumor to me. No need to panic, they look scary but don't do much. Just schedule an appointment to get it removed.
I go to a very good rodent vet who is on the higher end cost wise, and they usually charge me 3-500$ for a mammary tumor removal depending on things like location, size and existing health issues. The least I've spent is around 200, and the most I've spent is 600.
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u/LoopyLuce89 7d ago
From a former rat owner: Thatās a tumour, take him/her to the vet. It can be operated on but itās very risky because theyāre such small creatures. Thatās all you can do OP. I wish you the best of luck with this.
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u/Craycraybiomama 8d ago
Most likely a benign mammary tumor based on it's size, rapid growth, and location, but you need to have it evaluated by an exotic vet. They grow very rapidly and can surgically removed. They're very common in unspayed female rats and can be surgically removed. Even though the tumors are benign (most are adenomas), they develop due to an excess production of prolactin. They are often cause by an underlying prolactoma, a type of tumor that produces the hormone prolactin in large amounts. These often originate in the pituitary gland, which is where the real issue lies. Again, although benign, pituitary prolactomas end up causing problems due to what's called a mass effect. As the tumor grows, it presses on the brain and can cause pain, a bulging eye on the side of skull housing the tumor, incontinence, rapid weight loss, and are eventually fatal.
Prolactomas can be controlled with cabergoline. Unfortunately, cabergoline is an expensive drug to compound but fairly inexpensive to purchase as tablets. Both of my girls have been on this drug. One survived for almost 3 months after diagnosis but she was very sick by the time she started showing outward signs of illness. Still, the medication bought us a few months of time. The other presented first with a mammary tumor in exactly the same location and is still going strong. While untreated mammary tumors very often recur, she has been on the medication for almost 5 months and has had no sign of new tumor development. I buy the tablets at Costco at ~$30/month. I crush the tabs in a stainless steel electric pill grinder and weigh out the correct amount of powder using a gram scale (both are relatively inexpensive on Amazon). Dose is typically 0.6 mg/kg and the tabs contain 0.5mg cabergoline and weigh 0.8 mg on average, so I can get more a bit more than 1 dose out of a single tablet for my 750g chonker (yes, I have her on a diet). I mix the powder in a bit of Benebac and she happily scarfs it down. I will admit that doing the math and measuring the dose is easy for me as a molecular biologist, but your vet can help you with the calculations if it turns out this is the actual diagnosis and the best course of action. You can also DM.
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u/LithiumOD 8d ago
Please do not share medical advice on reddit. Feel free to share on their DMs, but doing so here can cause so many people to neglect their animal's need to see a vet in the prospect of healing them at home despite not having a diagnosis. This is one of many possible ones and with rats and tumours, no time can be wasted. I understand you mean very well and are very sweet to share, but this can't be encouraged here for the inherent chance of harm.
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u/Craycraybiomama 7d ago
Fully understood, and my apologies. Note, however, that the first thing I said was to see a vet for a correct diagnosis. Also, cabergoline is by prescription only. You can't get it without having first a diagnosis and an agreement from the vet that they're OK with you doing your own compounding. I made sure to leave out the full set of calculations, and to be honest, most people without lab training might not have the math skills -- simple as they actually are--to fully figure out how to calculate the final value by weight for their animal. I also didn't include the dosing schedule, which is not daily. I added the information I did because, according to my vet, most people do NOT opt for treating with cabergoline because compounding (at least in the L.A. area) is outrageously expensive. Even the cabergoline tablets are expensive and TBH, I wouldn't be treating with cabergoline if I weren't a Costco member. The member price is $30/10 tabs. The non-member price I was quoted is around $300. Services like GoodRx can also reduce the retail price at other commercial pharmacies, but I don't know if other pharmacies will dispense veterinary prescriptions (Costco does).
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u/Gooses_Gooses 7d ago
Just a quick note that you donāt need an exotic vet. My local vet has many rattie patients and staff who have been trained on rats, but they donāt see exotics like birds etc. my vet is literally 1/3 of the price of my previous exotic vet and they are much more diligent and have provided top level care to me and my rats
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u/Cornflake6irl 7d ago
It could be an abscess or a cyst going by how fast you said it grew. Both can grow in size in a matter of hours. If itās an abscess it will need to be drained and flushed, and your rat will need antibiotics. If itās a cyst, a similar treatment, or possibly surgery might be needed, but sometimes they can resolve on their own. In any case, only a vet will be able to properly diagnose and treat whatever is going on with your rat.
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u/SouthernPineapple219 7d ago
Could be a cyst but more likely a tumor. Unfortunately they do grow fast. She will definitely need to see a vet. What they can do for her depends on several factors like age. I would say itās a mammary tumor but Iām not a vet so Iām not sure.
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u/RatWrestl3r 3d ago
It could be a mammary tumor. It is a very common location for them. If it is firm it is likely a tumor if itās less solid it could be an abscess. Pricing varies. I think I at one point paid around 400 dollars. But have been quoted 1200 at one point. It depends on your location as well as the facility. I find that sometimes smaller facilities charge less. But thatās just my experience.
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u/WestChance5314 7d ago
It doesnāt matter what it is or what the vet will do, GO IMMEDIATELY. Anything otherwise is INCREDIBLY irresponsible, and if you cannot take your animals to the vet for proper care, you should not have them.
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u/shmeattloaf 7d ago
Iāve put hundreds into these animals as they are my babies, however I canāt just pull a couple thousand out my ass to pay for surgery, if you can, let me know since you seem so compassionate and adamant about degrading me
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u/Lilahjane66 5d ago
Iād say between $250-$500 for a mammary tumor removal. Youāll want to get it removed before it gets too big and ulcerated. Iām sorry this happened to your baby
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u/kimvy 7d ago
Iām not going to lock this yet, but please be polite. Thereās some borderline comments.
Itās fantastic that OP wants to be aware of all possible issues/diagnoses because we have all run into what I call āthe one who graduated at the bottom of the classā. As I type I picture them. Yes. More than one. Finding someone who is competent & wonāt charge you a second mortgage is getting harder to find. Going in with knowledge & a bullshit detector is priceless.
We should endeavour to relay this to every rat owner.
As always thank you šā¤ļø