Hollow bump!?!?! (Gross pic warning)

Our sweet boy Nickolai has been developing what I thought was a tumor on his neck, but today the bump (About a ping pong ball in size!) opened. We didn't see it open, we found him with it open. Inside is a greenish white sort of gunk. Like dried puss? It is not liquid. He isn't bleeding, and it isn't leaking anything. Here is a couple photos of the bump before it opened:

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And after:

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HELP!?!?!

The bump grew really fast, less than a week. We called the vet as soon as we noticed, they said it sounded like a tumor, and to keep an eye on it. It grew very fast, but he seemed okay. We kept in touch with the vet, and they said they could remove it, but is was very expensive. He is 2 1/2 years old, which I know is getting pretty old for a rat, so we weren't sure it made sense. Especially considering how fast it grew, we figured it would come back. We had even started talking about putting him down soon, as he had started getting a bit lethargic.

After this opened, strangely he seems 100x better. He is running around, playing, and full of spunk again! I am taking this as a good sign, but I want to know what to do to help him stay that way! The vet isn't upen for a couple days... How can I help him?

It may be a ruptured tumor, or a tumor that has developed an abscess. It was probably very painful/uncomfortable and it opening up relieved osme of that pressure, but that is definitely still a huge tumor.

I would put your baby on pain killers and antibiotics, and try to decide what you wanna do.
He definitely cannot live very long or very well with a huge bump like that, so mayybe removal is a good option.

I put him in our hospital cage after sanitizing it thoroughly, and put layers of fleece in it, no bedding. I'm worried about bedding getting in the open wound. I also separated our boys, so Tesla wouldn't accidentally hurt Nickolai. This is really bothering Tesla though... I put the cages close together so they can see each other, but Tesla is chewing the cage bars next to Nickolai because he wants to see him. They are super close, and not used to being apart. If I can put them together, they would both be much happier.

How can I put him on pain killers/antibiotics if the vet isn't open?

I am worried sick about him... I found reccomendations for using asprin and ibuprofen, and then immediately found a thing saying they didn't work for pain relief, and can in fact put the rat in more risk! Why did this happen on a Friday night!?! I emailed my vet as well. I love this boy so damn much. He is the sweetest little guy ever. Such a snuggler! I can't bear the thought of losing him, especially if he is in pain! Yet I am getting married next month, and our finances are really tight... I hate this!

It looks like a salivary gland abscess, a nasty thing but better than a tumour
Twiggy had one that ended up recurring... The pics are disturbing but I'll try to find the link for his thread on here. As for pain medication, pick up infant Advil (grape flavoured, dye - free) is one rats take readily. Get us an approx weight in grams and we will give you a dosage.

Found it
http://www.ratshackforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18491&highlight=twiggy+abscess

First off, can you change the type of bedding in your main cage to something like fleece so the boys can be together?
And how skilled/comfortable are you at flushing that out? Do you have syringes and saline?
If you can't do anything for it, then just put him on pain meds (Lilspaz will calculate the correct dose for you) and call your vet on Monday morning. They can gas him down and clean all the gunk out, and then show you how to flush it and give you some supplies.

lilspaz68 said:

It looks like a salivary gland abscess, a nasty thing but better than a tumour
Twiggy had one that ended up recurring... The pics are disturbing but I'll try to find the link for his thread on here. As for pain medication, pick up infant Advil (grape flavoured, dye - free) is one rats take readily. Get us an approx weight in grams and we will give you a dosage.

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I'll ask my vet his weight, he was just in a short time ago. Luckily, at least so far, he doesn't seem to be in any pain. He is active and playful. Only reason I separated them is they like to wrestle, and I was worried about it hurting him. I will clean the main cage tonight and put fleece in it as well so we can put them together, if you think it is okay.

As for flushing it... both my fiance and I have weak stomachs, and lack the training. I think we will need to take him to the vet. But it is SO good to know we might be able to save him! I really, really don't want to lose my boy!

Good news for today! Nickolai is still much happier, and seems to be basically back to his old self. The bump doesn't seem to bother him at all. I tried to push the gunk out, but it has hardened a fair bit, and won't come out. He will be seeing the vet ASAP to have it cleaned out. The bump has shrunk significantly, and is mostly empty now. It moves with his skin, and doesn't act like it is a tumor, in my humble opinion. I also cleaned the big cage very thoroughly, and put fleece in the bottom so the boys could be together again. The reunion was adorable, they both missed each other very much! They are snuggling fast asleep in the top of the cage now. I am feeling much more optimistic about this ordeal now. Hopefully the vet can clean it out, fix him up, and after some healing, it will be business as usual! *fingers crossed*

Anyway, the main cage looks pretty rad with the new green fleece, so I thought I'd post a pic:



The little cage is our hospital cage. I am so thankful we had it!

I wish I were near you...I would love to clean it out!
LoL! I know I am weird - I like doing stuff like that.
Taking stuff out of stuff , I find interesting + it helps the rattie :-D

I'm so glad Nickolai is feeling better and with his brother again. Let us know how things go at the vet's.

So, surgery went pretty well. The abscess may have been caused by a tumor in his Zymbal's Gland, which is part of a rat's ear. This means Nickolai's life is not expected to be much longer. I guess since he his 2 1/2 already, it may not matter much. He is already getting pretty old! Hopefully, it will be long enough for him to heal fully, and enjoy running around for a while longer! We need to be on top of checking his neck, another abscess could form if we aren't careful, but now that we know what it is, the vet can lance it before it gets as bad. Poor little guy.


He is still pretty lethargic from surgery. He pretty much just wants to sleep in his cage at the moment. We have him on pain meds and anti-biotics. I'm hoping for the best!

Tomakze said:

So, surgery went pretty well. The abscess may have been caused by a tumor in his Zymbal's Gland, which is part of a rat's ear. This means Nickolai's life is not expected to be much longer. I guess since he his 2 1/2 already, it may not matter much. He is already getting pretty old! Hopefully, it will be long enough for him to heal fully, and enjoy running around for a while longer! We need to be on top of checking his neck, another abscess could form if we aren't careful, but now that we know what it is, the vet can lance it before it gets as bad. Poor little guy.


He is still pretty lethargic from surgery. He pretty much just wants to sleep in his cage at the moment. We have him on pain meds and anti-biotics. I'm hoping for the best!

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Can you post a pic of the incision? The location of the bump was not directly under the ear, so was unlikely to be ZGT...I have seen both in my own rats. I am going to keep my fingers crossed for salivary gland abscess like Twiggy and it will never return

He is feeling much better today! We are currently cuddling on the couch, and he is bruxing and boggling his little heart out! He is a little camera shy of his battle scars, but I snuck a photo anyway:

He is such a little snuggler!



He just wants to curl up with me. This is why I had to save him. He is such a great little guy!

:getwell: Feel better little guy!

The incision is behind the ear, so even if it comes back it will just be an abscess. Did your vet remove the abscess capsule or just ladnce and clean it out?

Omg that looks so much better!