Mass on hind leg

My old girl, Lynn, has a mass on one of her hind legs, on her shin right above the ankle. I just noticed it this evening while the girls were playing. I'll see if I can get her to hold still long enough to get a picture.

The mass is round, about 3/16" across, a slightly darker pink than the rest of her skin, and feels sorta firm and fibrous. It feels like it's partly attached to the underlying tissue, but it doesn't move around much.

I don't think it's painful to the touch--her protests seemed to be more about our restraining her. She still has hair in that area, so I don't think she's been licking or chewing at it. It doesn't seem to be slowing her down any, either.

Has anyone else seen something like this on their rat?

Thanks in advance for your comments!

a picture would be helpful.

Working on it!

Ok, here it is. Like I said, it doesn't seem to be causing her discomfort. In the picture, she is putting her full weight on that foot. This is the same foot that she's been lame in a couple of times before, however. Her most recent instance was the beginning of February. I had her at the vet for respiratory issues, so he checked her foot and leg out as well. She had three days of metacam and seemed fine after.

I didn't see anything worriesome, probably just a watch and wait situation and if it changes or really starts to grow you might want to take her to the vet.

I'm hoping she will be ok until Saturday, as that is the soonest I can take her to the vet. I'll be out of town, and I don't want my husband to take her unless it's an emergency...

There's a picture???

Joanne said:

There's a picture???

Click to expand...

I thought I was losing my mind. I didnt see it either LOL ad still dont. I am assuming shelagh has it in email or elsewhere.

I can't see it, either. Not sure how I messed up linking to it--I uploaded the picture to my gallery on here.

DawntheSnipe said:

I can't see it, either. Not sure how I messed up linking to it--I uploaded the picture to my gallery on here.

Click to expand...

I copied image location, and pasted it into another tab. Then I could see it.

Can't make it visible...

Looks like a cyst ir abscess not a typical spot for a tumor.

Doesn't look like an urgent issue...possibly cyst??

I think it might be a cyst, too. She's been on doxycycline and Baytril for almost four weeks--can't see how it could be an abcess.

Thanks everyone for your input!

Just an update... While I was out of town the past week and a half, Lynn's mass seemed to have grown a bit. I took her in to the vet today--the vet doesn't think it's cancerous, but she's not ruling that out completely. I had them schedule Lynn to have it removed on Monday.

Hope you will all keep your fingers crossed for an uneventful procedure and a quick recovery!

Good luck with the surgery!

Thanks! I don't feel very good about leaving her at the vet by herself--I've never taken her anywhere and left her.

Well, the surgery seems to have gone well. Unfortunately, Lynn started chewing her stitches, so the vet fashioned an Elizabethan collar for her. When I got home a little while ago, she was puffed up and seemed frantic. The inside of the collar was sprayed with porphyrin-tinted sneezes. I took it off of her.

The vet didn't give her any pain medication to take home, so I went by and picked some up. I'm hoping once it has a little while to work, she'll settle down.

This is my first rat surgery--can I get some advice on nursing?

Pain management is very important. Most of the time they will leave the incision alone if it doesn't hurt. Other than that, make sure the cage is clean. I usually put them back with their cage mates unless she is really compromised. A happy rat heals quickly!