Red bump on my rats eye?

[Quinn]

Hello!

So my rat Steve has been spotted with this little red bump on the back corner of his eye tonight and I'm quite worried as I recently lost another one of my boys to a nose infection and don't want to keep this too late.

I first noticed it a few days ago while cleaning the cage that Steve had a little bit of irritation next to his right eye and I thought nothing of it, assuming it was just some redness from cleaning it too much or something, but then my girlfriend noticed tonight that it had gotten a bit bigger and had turned into a little bump and I became very concerned as I know I don't have money for a vet and certainly not any sort of surgery right now as I'm in the middle of moving house.

If anyone is able to help me figure out what this is and what I should do, please let me know! I've rinsed it with a bit of water on a cotton pad and he seems to be showing no physical discomfort towards it, but I'm anxious about it spreading.

Thanks,
Quinn

(Also sorry about the picture quality, guys, my phone couldn't really pick up the redness of it)

 

[Luna&Ralph]

I think it might just be a reaction to a small scratch that he might have given himself. I would keep an eye on it and keep it clean but it doesn't look like a big deal right now.

 

[NecroMade]

It never hurts to call into your usual vet and give them a brief description of it! If they think it sounds serious enough to warrant a visit they’ll let you know!

It doesn’t look too serious though, more like an irritated scratch but not something too drastic! Like Luna&Ralph said, I would keep it clean and if it starts looking worse or starts spreading I would take him to the vet.

 

[Olympia✨]

No way, my rat literally just developed the same exact bump in the same exact place about a week ago. It grew for about 3 days but now looks like it’s staying the same size, it’s super red though. I posted a thread myself if you want to take a look at it. I’m taking him to the vet tomorrow so I’ll let you know what the vet says- because I’m 100% sure we have the same problem right now!

As long as he’s eating, drinking and acting the same he’s alright, it’s probably just a cyst or reaction from a cut or scratch.

 

[jorats]

I wonder if it's a stye. It's actually more common than we think.

 

[lilspaz68]

Jorats you are right, it's just a style, a small bacterial infection. If your rat doesn't mind you can try to apply damp warm compresses to encourage it to surface and pop. If not it will do it on its own eventually. It's like a pimple sort of, nothing major.

 

[Motherof7rats]

My rat duke has one too. He is about 3-4 months old. He is the only one who has it out of my 7 male rats. I have no idea what it is. Is has gotten a lot bigger since I took this pic yesterday

 

[lilspaz68]

If the bump is near or on the eyelid it's most likely a style. Like a pimple. You can try a warm damp compress to bring it to a head. Once the little bit of pus is drained they usually are gone forever.