A tumor for SweetPea :(

Advertise with us
Shop with us on Ebay
Fins us on Amazon
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.
R

ratsby

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2008
Messages
94
Location
Philadelphia, PA
Hi Everyone!

I have a concern about one of my rats, Sweet Pea. He is approximately 2 years old and has had no major health concerns. About a month ago I noticed a tumor :(. It is located on his right side, behind the front leg and seems to be movable. It is about the size of a large marble. It doesn't seem to inhibit him at all, he still climbs and runs all over the place and is as friendly as ever. I am still a comparatively inexperienced rat owner, but I know that tumors are a common health problem. The tumor does not seem to be growing, at least not quickly and again does not seem to bother him. He maintains his activity level and appetite. I have not yet brought him to the vet, since it doesn't seem to be causing him any trouble. At what point do I consider surgery?
Shoulik........................\ (Sweet Pea offers his opinion..running across my laptop)

I know he could have a few good years left so, I want to make sure I do whatever I can to keep him happy and healthy but I don't want to put him through the stress of an operation unless absolutely needed. And I know the older he gets the more risky it becomes. Any opinions would be appreciated.

Thanks!
-Ratsby
 
I would suggest you have a vet knowledgeable about rats have a look at it and discuss your options.
Are you sure it is a tumour? It could be an abscess or a cyst.
If your boys does not have any health issues such as respir problems, surgery would be an option. It might not be an option later on.

I have a 15 month old boy (John, a Liverpool boy) who has a large lump just above his right hip. Since he does not have respir. problems he is a candidate for surgery. John will be having it removed as soon as I have the funds to pay for it.
 
I too would suggest having a vet look at it. It might possibly be an abscess which is easily treated.
If you do consider surgery, the earlier the better.
 
It's a good idea to consider surgery as SOON as you find a tomour/lump because the smaller it is, the easier it is to remove. You should go see a vet.
 
OK, I apologize for the delay in my response. I have taken Sweetpea to the vet, and they agree that it is a tumor. I have surgery tentatively scheduled for Tuesday. my fiance called the vet and scheduled it and there are a few things they said that alarmed me. This is my first rat surgery, so I would appreciate any advice the community can provide. :)

When scheduling the surgery, I asked my fiance to inquire about pre-op antibiotics. The vets office said no and that he would just get an injection day of surgery. They also instructed us not to give him any food after 8pm the night before. Is this normal?

I have found another vet that specializes in exotics but they would not answer any questions over the phone since they have not seen my rat. GRRR. I am stressing BIG TIME about what to do.

I want to give Sweetpea the best chance! HELP, please!
 
Fasting the rat is not ok. The vet should know that this is not the norm, that rats can't vomit and that holding off food can actually harm the rat and make them weaker.
The other vet, did you tell them you need to know their knowledge on rats. Don't be specific to your rat, ask about rat surgeries in general. Like do you fast a rat before surgery?
 
The Drama continues.
It has been a rough week for my ratties!
First, Sweet Pea's tumor. Then last night Caboose seems to not be feeling well (breathing hard and not eating as much but still energetic and social) and then I come home tonight and am feeding the boys and Gusto's eye is cloudy and bleeding!!

I called an exotic animal ER and decided to bring Gusto and Sweetpea in. The hospital is 45 min-1hour from my home, so I figured if I was going to make the drive I might as well bring them both. Good news-I finally have a vet that knows ALOT about rats. he immediately discounted the advice given by my other vet (fasting before surgery). Bad news...Sweet Pea's tumor is larger than I realized and the vet said it is nearing 10% of his total body weight making surgery more risky if it gets any larger.

My question now is, what to do about the tumor? SweetPea is just over 2 years old, so the vet said his age may increase risk a bit. SweetPea is still happy and active. my Vet told me that most people opt not to have mammary tumors removed, because they often reappear faster and grow larger after surgery. He also informed me that the risk is not so much the surgery itself but the aftermath/recovery period is when complications occur. Does anyone have any tips for deciding what the "right" thing to do is? I have never been in this situation and I want to maintain the quality of life for as long as I can.

As for Gusto's eye, the vet said he did not detect any laceration or cuts on the cornea, but there were some indications of an inflammatory condition so he is on Baytril and a round of antibiotics for the next week, and he hopes that will help.

I also spoke to the vet about Caboose and his sudden onset of a respiratory issue. It has only been 24 hours, but I think he is also bound for the vet. He is not eating his pellets on his own, so I am supplementing with applesauce for encouragement and he has responded, and eaten better this evening. I am closely monitoring him and I think if there is no change by tomorrow we will return to the vet.

Any additional advice would be helpful, I am certainly looking for anything that may save me another 3 hour wait at an animal ER!
Thank you.
 
Gusto's eye should heal nicely with Baytril. But the main concern is SweetPea's tumour.
First of all... what ever you decide will be the right answer.

If he were my rat, I would have it removed if he was in good health. We've had a number of rats go through surgery at an advanced age with no problems afterward...they recovered well and fast. But the risk is still there.
It's true that mammary tumours can recur... you might be buying him another 6 months with surgery if a tumour recurs. If it doesn't you might be buying him a year. If he becomes ill due to the stress of surgery, he might pass within a month.
Not having surgery, he might have anywhere from 1 to 6 months.
As you can see... there is no wrong or right answer here. Whatever you decide you know it's to better your rat's life and that's all we can really do.
What does the vet recommend?
 
The vet didn't really recommend one way or another, he just explained both scenarios and said it was up to us. He stated that most people choose not to have tumors removed, and just keep their rats happy as long as possible. Of my 3 rats, I feel SweetPea doesn't stress as easily as the others, so it may be worth a shot. But he is happy and active now, so I don't want to cut that short with surgery. I don't like tough decisions. :(

Thanks for the link, I will definitely take a look at it before we take Caboose in today for evaluation.
 
Appt set up for 11am tomorrow for a quick pre-op evaluation then if they approve, they will be able to do surgery the same day. I am nervous, since we just lost Caboose. I couldn't stand to lose 2 in one week! but Sweet Pea is in good health and spirits, and the tumor is starting to affect his balance. I feel like I owe it to him to try.

Does anyone have any advice for an owner's first rat surgery? I am not worried about giving meds afterward, I have learned that applesauce (sugar free, no preservatives) covers any nasty taste. :) How do I keep him from picking at stitches? That is my biggest concern. I am getting the recovery cage set up tonight so that he will not have ramps/wheel to go on for a few days. How long should I keep him in the recovery cage?

Best wishes SweetPea, I hope to see you running again soon!
 
Ratties bounce back quickly from surgery. Just make sure the cage is nice and extra clean while he is recovering. My rats have had neuters, spays, and tumor removals. They all just run around as per normal. It is very difficult to get them to NOT climb and jump!
My kids have also had both internal and external stitches. The internal is no problem, just keep an eye on it to make sure it stays sutured. They can't chew those sutures out. With the external stitches, one rat had no chewing issues, the other ended up chewing out about 3 or 4 of the sutures. All healed well. With the external sutures you need to go back to have them removed.
I would not remove him from his mates if at all possible. This will only stress him out in a negative way. My ratties all went back in the regular cage.
If he is woozy from the anaesthetic, keep him in the recovery cage until he can get around again. I would put the recovery cage next to his regular cage, and if he has a really mellow cagemate, maybe put him in as company, but ONLY with supervision, as Sweet Pea will not be able to defend himself if he is zonked out.
**Ideally they will be only using gas anaesthetic.** This is definitely the safest method, and they come to you as bright and perky as you left them.
Good luck to your little buddy!
 
SweetPea had surgery today, and his tumor is gone! YAY! :joy: We picked him up from hospital this evening and the vet techs were astonished at how large his appetite is. That is definitely encouraging sign. I know we are not out out of the woods yet, the incision is pretty large, and they used glue to close it, with a few stitches. They sent us home with an e-collar and Meloxicam. I have him in the smaller recovery cage for now. He seems to be doing well, he has been chewing on cardboard since he got home. He seems to be a little wobbly moving around, but if I had an incision down my side, I would be stiff too. His back legs seem to be stiff, especially the one on the side of the incision. But I chalk it up to post op stiffness. Do I need to be more concerned?

The vets saw him picking at his scar a little bit, hence the e-collar, but he has ignored it the whole way home and for the brief time he is in his cage. My plan is to stay up late to make sure he settles in and then wake up after 4 hours just to peek in on him in the middle of the night. Or should I put the e-collar on him before I go to bed just to be safe?

The vet said no meds until tomorrow am, since they gave him an injection today. I am glad the surgery is over, but am nervous for the next few days of recovery.
 
All is going well, he has only tried to scratch his incision a few times, but he stops as soon as I make a noise to distract him. My only concern is that he has developed a toe-biting habit (not causing any injury) and a seeming addiction to cardboard...That is all he has been chewing on since he got home. I called the vet and they said it is a side affect of the pain medicine. Has anyone else experiences this? I tried unsuccessfully to get the e-collar on him. I NEED to sleep tonight, but I don't want him to end up in rough shape tomorrow either.

I would much rather have him chew cardboard than his incision but I think he is actually EATING the cardboard, despite the presence of applesauce doused food in his cage. Is he just doped up?

Thanks!
 
interesting. I just gave him his dose of meloxicam this morning, so I hope that will stop it. I slept on the couch next to his cage for a few hours and checked on him 3 times before I was comfortable enough to move into my room. This morning the incision seems fine and shows no sign of scratching. I hope it stays that way. :)
 

Latest posts

Back
Top