big ugly lump

[mattierat]

i have a very sweet white rat with red eyes we are concerned about a big ugly bulge on her chest...what's this all about and what do we do?  it's been there for a while and seems to be getting bigger, but the rat doesn't notice, we don't think.  she eats a lot, and moves around and poops a whole bunch.  the other rat doesn't have any lumpy things, how come?  they are sisters, is this breast cancer?  i love my rat and i'm sad


Ali

[Marybelle]

Could be any number of things.  The first things that pop into my head are abcess and tumor.

How old is she?  If you examine the bump, does it have any sign of wounds?  If it does, that would tend to indicate abcess.  You can use a warm cloth on this, which may cause it to drain, which would help, although she'll need antibiotics from a vet.

If it's a tumor, it is possible to do surgery to remove it.  You'd want to make sure to find an experienced vet for it, though.  

Either way, I'd recommend a vet visit, both for diagnosis and treatment.  Good luck!

[Christy]

Does the lump look similar to this?



If so then it is a tumor.  It may or may not be cancerous, you won't know until a biopsy is done by your vet.  Tumors can be removed, though it can get costly.  I have had some of my girls' lumps removed and some I have let live out their life comfortably due to old age.

[Ray]

My rat had the same thing, the vet removed it with no problems.  He died anyway though a month after the surgery (not related).  It was blueish and small when I noticed it, but the scary part was that it had doubled in size by 1 week.  The vet said it was liquid filled and he could not do a biopsy safely, so I removed it.  It took a lot of skin off and left a ugly scar, but thats pretty good considering my rattie was 5 years old (yes 5), the vet felt confident that there were few risks, even on such an old rattie.  He did a full recovery and then died of respitory problems a month later.  This may not be at all like what your rattie has, just sharing my tale.
Good luck!