Dark growth on leg. PHOTO. Cyst? Abscess? Cancer?

Advertise with us
Fins us on Amazon
Shop with us on Ebay
The Rat Shack Forum

Help Support The Rat Shack Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
thegoldenrat

thegoldenrat

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 3, 2012
Messages
177
Location
Los Angeles
Hey guys!
So my senior rattie is growing a dark grey spot on her leg and I have no idea what it is. She doesn't appear to be in pain, but it seems to be growing fast. Has anyone seen something like this before? Is it a cyst, or an abscess ? If so, what is the solution? I'm attaching a PHOTO for reference.

Thank you! I really appreciate it!
-M.
 
unfortunately the pic doesn't help enough as it doesn't tell us much about it so you will have to fill in the blanks. Is it a raised bump like a scan? Is it rough or smooth? Or is it under the skin? Flat or a swelling? How old is your girl?
 
@lilspaz68 HI! It is raised but kind of smooth. Although this morning it seems slightly a bit rougher. I would call it a very soft raised scab. It started right under the skin, but now that the dark mass has grown, the soft scab has surfaced and raised.
My senior is almost 2years and 2 months old. :D
She also waffles when she walks, but I think that's just her old bones. :)

Thank you so much! I appreciate your help and any thoughts you may have!
 
hello @lilspaz68
I would love your opinion on the bump! I don't know anything about them, but trying to do research online.

I'm just wondering if this was something that looks urgent, or if I should wait to see what happens before bringing her into the vet.

I heard if it's an abscess, they usually work themselves out? She doesn't look in pain, but of course I would do whatever is necessary to make her better. :D

thanks so much!
-M.
 
Hmmm...is it growing fast? Is there any chance its rubbing on surfaces because she's elderly now?
It doesn't seem urgent just something to watch at this point.
 
@lilspaz68
It's definitely a growth and it's dark in color. I worry about cancer. but perhaps it's dark because of blood?

It is growing...I'm not sure how fast. I will keep an eye out and maybe if it looks alarming will go see the vet in a week or two.

Thanks so much! I will keep you guys posted just in case in the future someone else has a problem like this, it could help them. :)

Take care!
-M.
 
I've been looking at your post for awhile, but I cannot really tell from your picture what you're actually showing us. Does it look like this? If so, this picture is from one of the boys I used to have. He passed away awhile ago and it was a tumor. I don't remember much about it since it wasn't his primary medical issue. What I do remember is we had to be prepared incase it ruptured so we could stop the bleeding. He wasn't a surgical candidate so we could not have it removed. His was slow growing if I remember correctly. I cannot seem to find the thread on it.
IMG_6381_zps788deab8.jpg
 
I dealt with this thing on a poor boys ankle...it turned out to be bumblefoot from pressure. His hock had been broken before and it would rub.

Apr2414Sirusfoot3.jpg


with treatment I got it to this...

May1414Sirusanklesore.jpg
 
@dspch911
Heya! It looks similar....only thing is the color. Her bump is darker in color.... closer to a grey/brown. What sort of precautions did you have to take before it ruptured? What sort of things did you have on hand?

I have a feeling at her age, surgery would not be ideal....

dspch911 said:
I've been looking at your post for awhile, but I cannot really tell from your picture what you're actually showing us. Does it look like this? If so, this picture is from one of the boys I used to have. He passed away awhile ago and it was a tumor. I don't remember much about it since it wasn't his primary medical issue. What I do remember is we had to be prepared incase it ruptured so we could stop the bleeding. He wasn't a surgical candidate so we could not have it removed. His was slow growing if I remember correctly. I cannot seem to find the thread on it.
IMG_6381_zps788deab8.jpg
Click to expand...
 
@lilspaz68 Oh wow! This doesn't look like a rubbing issue...but I could be wrong.

I will definitely keep an eye on it! I'm praying it's not too serious. This rattie has had quite the colorful life. In surgery there was a freak accident and her body was burned. She recovered completely...except for her little ear. I would hate to have to put her through more trauma!

You guys are the best.
 
We were told if it ruptured and bleed pressure for solid 5 minutes should stop it, but if not he'd have to be brought to the vet. Corn starch I believe can be put on to stop the bleeding. Surgery would if been very easy and he most likely would of survived that. However, do to his lungs, he most likely would have died after surgery, probably within a couple weeks. We thought he had lung abscesses, but necropsy after he died showed a very bad lung cancer that they had never seen before. Truthfully though lilspaz is much more experieneced than me
 
With friction, lumps can open up and cause sores. Momo had this exact thing happen last year, albeit on a greater scale.

I'm not sure what the lump could be though. If you're worried about your little guy's ability to cope with surgery, it couldn't hurt to at least have your vet take a sample from it and see if it's anything more serious.
 
Last edited:
Thank you guys! GREAT news!I just did my weekly check, and it looks like her bump is gone! It was so weird. I was worried because it wasn't red, but really dark grey in color....instead of red from blood. But, it looks like it went away on it's own! yay! Thanks as always everyone for your thoughts and advice! I'm learning so much....

-M.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top