Very young rat with lump

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sandie

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Hello, I'm a first time rat owner and I got my 2 boys when they were 4 weeks old and they will be 6 weeks old on the 9th. One of my boys has a rather large lump on his belly that developed very rapidly, within a few days-week. I noticed it yesterday or perhaps the day before but it was not too big so I did not think much of it at all and thought it was his belly. He shows no signs of pain or anything, it is very round and smooth like a perfect circle, reminds me of a balloon. It sounds like an abscess to me, is it possible for 6 week old male to develop a tumor so quickly? A video i took on 2nd of June looks likes there's no bump or maybe a very flat one but might be my imagination.

I also have a gut feeling that he may have gotten a cut when he was climbing across mesh that he shouldn't have been on, I did not see any blood or anything but now I think he did get a small cut and now it might be infected?

If it's a tumor is he too young for an operation? Food blockage? No idea if I should wait or make an appointment tomorrow. What do you guys think? I feel like a bad momma, I don't know if I fed them something bad or what )x I can take better pictures tomorrow
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Thanks for replying jorats! I made the thread in a bit of a panic, I kept in mind the possibility of a hernia but I did some research and decided to wait a few days since it didn't seem like one and since he's so young. Turns out it's probably an abscess, he has been grooming it and there is a dark spot. I think it even looks a bit smaller. It turned a bit dark and now it's back to normal color with a dark spot, and I think part of it seemed kind of flattened.

Do you guys think I should let it heal on it's own naturally or should I be doing something? He's young and healthy and active so I think it will heal fine and he is licking it, but it is quite a large bump. It's my first time with these guys so I don't want to intervene too much if it's not necessary or make things worse.

Also would it be best to take out the litter tray so he doesn't sit in it or leave it in to keep the fleece cleaner? (Not sure they're using it all that much though since I just started training today)

Thanks
 
That does sound like an abscess. You could do warm compresses to soften up the scab and when it does pop, squeeze out as much pus as you can and then flush the cavity to keep it clean and it should heal right up.
 
Hmm alright, it's much smaller but if it doesn't go away completely on it's own I'll try that. I'll keep an eye on it and maybe dab it with a tiny bit of saline on a towel. Thanks!
 
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