My rat Carmel had a tumor. I had it removed, but I'm going to keep checking. My vet said spaying wouldn't help at this point because the chain reaction has been set into motion. Luckily she won't get another one. Where is hers?

Good luck.

Have you gone to the vet?
Sometimes tumors form there because of an inner ear infection...

Denise, how old is your rat? I've never heard of it being too late for a spay. Emergency spays still help, though it's always better to get spays done when they're about 4-6 months old.

Before I got Mocha and Smores spayed, I emailed Debbie about whether a spay would make a difference with mammary tumors, considering that Smores is over a year old. She said that yes, it would make a difference. One of my vets didn't think a spay would help a rat that's already gone through a heat cycle, but I'm going to go with what Debbie says. Not all vets know as much as Debbie about rats.

My Carly went through the entire process. I found a huge lump that was growing incredibly fast, the vet diagnosed it as a mammary tumor, she got it removed, and got spayed. Carly is over a year, about 1 yr, 5 months, and I hope she doesn't get another one. Hope all goes well with yours! Good luck!

That's an off place for a tumor. I bet it's an abscess. See if she'll let you feel it and maybe squeeze to see if it actually is an abscess. Tumors are not death sentences. Salem just had a "mass" as the vet said removed and he's fine.