Tumour?

They aren't great photos but that is a fairly small lump under my rat's chin. It's the size of a gumball and is quite hard. It moves under the skin and it's very round like asphere not a semi-sphere if you get what I mean. I'm terrified it's a tumour and I don't know what to do. It doesn't seem like an abscess so what could I do? I would appreciate any advice. Thanks.

Take your boy in to see a good vet with the knowledge and experience to treat rats asap

It may be an abscess or it may be a mammary tumour (see links below).
Boys can get mammary tumours too and tumours need to be removed as small as possible - they can grow very fast

If it is a mammary tumour and you have access to a good vet with the knowledge and experience to safely operate on rats, you will want to get it surgically removed as soon as possible. Mammary tumours will grow large enough that the rat has to be put to sleep if not removed.
Some people try to use medications to slow down the growth of mammary tumours. Please see the links below for information about mammary tumours.

http://ratguide.com/health/integumentary_skin/abscess.php
http://ratguide.com/health/neoplasia/mammary_tumor.php

Thank you so much. We are taking him to the vets tomorrow. We were going to collect baby rats today but someone is booked at 4 to see them and it depends if they take them home or not. Bodger hasn't had a cage mate for about a month. I don't know if it depends on how tomorrow goes but is it worth getting baby rats soon to bond with him? Or is it too much stress?

We still don't know what the lump is. There is no dark areas ,which suggests an abscess, on it. Should it be surgically removed? He doesn't like us touching it so he'll have to go under anaesthetic for it to be inspected. If he goes under naesthetic anyway, could it be surgically removed immediately without checking if it is an abscess or tumour? Or could that worsen the infection if it is an abscess? I have a feeling it is a tumour however so I'm thinking of getting it removed straight away. Is that a good idea?

Update: there is a black spot on the lump so I think it might be an abscess. Can I let it pop on its own or should I do some warm compresses to encourage it? Last time it popped on its own and I just cleared the area; there were no problems after that.

you can try damp hot compresses or just let it surface naturally. Do NOT squeeze especially in that area. throat abscesses can be tricky and I'm dealing with one on a young girl I took in a few weeks ago. For awhile I was starting to think it was a tumour, but its finally getting the dark spot, the tissue is roughening and thickening where it is going to open up. I plan on flushing it with saline twice a day to keep the pus/guck out and the salt will help it dry up and heal.

Thank you so much lilspaz68. That's reassured me a bit. Yes it is getting darker and I am doing warm compresses. However I do not know how long you have to keep it there for-my rat won't allow me to hold it on the lump for long. Also do you need antibiotics prescribed from the vets?

Antibiotics aren't very effective getting into abscesses which is just the nature of abscesses. The body walls off foreign bodies, infections and this cuts it off from the blood supply so the antibiotics cannot penetrate abscesses well. It won't hurt to use them but its not always effective.

The abscess opened but it leaves a gaping hole. I'm going to flush it twice a day with saline solution as in squirting it onto the wound? Is that all I need to do?

pretty much. Abscesses will heal inwards so you keep flushing until its healed closer to the surface If you are concerned, just post pics here so we can see how its progressing.

Again, thank you for your support

BoBa said:

The abscess opened but it leaves a gaping hole. I'm going to flush it twice a day with saline solution as in squirting it onto the wound? Is that all I need to do?

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I had a girl with a face abscess that would scab over every day. So several times a day I would hold a warm rag on it to open it back up and flush it. So make sure you keep it open and it doesn’t scab over.

Yes I don't think it's scabbed but I will continue to flush it until hair grows back. Thank you