Zymbal’s Gland Tumor?

[Caroline]

Hello.
My rat Jamie is about 20 months old. A few days ago, he suddenly bled out of his left ear (an very lightly inside of his right). We took him to the vet immediately, and they found nothing but he continued to bleed a good amount nightly for 4 days while rapidly losing weight. The bleeding lasted about 30 minutes to an hour. He was clearly in pain. It has been about 4 days since he’s stopped bleeding, but in the time that he stopped, a large lump grew on the side of his head, near his right ear. It began to turn black today, and it actually a bit soft.
Since the vets found nothing, I’m pretty confident that it is not an infection, but a Zymbal’s tumor. As he is not eating much, only treats, really, and very skinny, I am wondering at what point you all would consider euthanasia. I know it is inevitable, but I don’t want to put him down while he is still happy and giving kisses until it is completely necessary, and have never been in this kind of grey-area with my rats. Thank you.

 

[Dena]

Awwwwwww poor baby! Is there a chance it could be an abscess? I'd give him some children's ibuprofen if it was me. You can find dosages on www.ratguide.com or www.rathealthguide.com I can't remembe. I keep it in my favorites on my phone. That has all kinds of good health stuff on it! And it's vet approved. I'd take him back to the vet asap, and get him some antibiotics. Hope he gets better soon!

 

[Dena]

After reading and researching, I believe you may be right about the zymbal's gland tumor. I'm so sorry. When you choose to euthanize your rat, make sure it's done correctly. Not the shot directly in the heart, as this is very painful, and illegal in some places. SQ can give you the info on that. Sorry I'm not much help, and again, I'm so sorry about your baby.

 

[Caroline]

Awwwwwww poor baby! Is there a chance it could be an abscess? I'd give him some children's ibuprofen if it was me. You can find dosages on www.ratguide.com or www.rathealthguide.com I can't remembe. I keep it in my favorites on my phone. That has all kinds of good health stuff on it! And it's vet approved. I'd take him back to the vet asap, and get him some antibiotics. Hope he gets better soon!

Hi! Thank you so much for replying. The first vet put him on a painkiller, and then the second vet took him off of that and got him on antibiotics and anti-inflammatory meds. Because no one saw anything in his ear indication infection, in pretty sure about the tumor too. Hopefully, he starts to become more obvious when he feels ready to cross; he’s a very sweet boy, and I don’t want him to be in any pain.

 

[lilspaz68]

ZGT is a nasty business but usually only affects the rat towards the end, and your guy is in the earlier stages. How long has that lump been there and how fast is it growing?

I think you should check his teeth, they may be misaligned so he cannot eat hard food. Try offering him some soft tasty food and see if he eats that.

 

[Caroline]

ZGT is a nasty business but usually only affects the rat towards the end, and your guy is in the earlier stages. How long has that lump been there and how fast is it growing?

I think you should check his teeth, they may be misaligned so he cannot eat hard food. Try offering him some soft tasty food and see if he eats that.

Hi! I’ve been giving him foods like avocado and baby food, which he loves.
I first noticed the lump just 4 days ago, and it began to change color yesterday. It seems like every time I check on him, it gets bigger.
Thank you so much!

 

[lilspaz68]

ZGT can cause the teeth to be pushed out of alignment so you will need to start checking those front incisors. It can cause bleeding form the ear and deep inner ear infections.

 

[Caroline]

ZGT can cause the teeth to be pushed out of alignment so you will need to start checking those front incisors. It can cause bleeding form the ear and deep inner ear infections.

I’ve been checking them and they look normal. He also ate a baby puff today. It was slower than he ate when healthy, but did not seem to cause any discomfort. I also saw him eating food on his own last night.
Thank you!

 

[Caroline]

Hello.
My rat Jamie is about 20 months old. A few days ago, he suddenly bled out of his left ear (an very lightly inside of his right). We took him to the vet immediately, and they found nothing but he continued to bleed a good amount nightly for 4 days while rapidly losing weight. The bleeding lasted about 30 minutes to an hour. He was clearly in pain. It has been about 4 days since he’s stopped bleeding, but in the time that he stopped, a large lump grew on the side of his head, near his right ear. It began to turn black today, and it actually a bit soft.
Since the vets found nothing, I’m pretty confident that it is not an infection, but a Zymbal’s tumor. As he is not eating much, only treats, really, and very skinny, I am wondering at what point you all would consider euthanasia. I know it is inevitable, but I don’t want to put him down while he is still happy and giving kisses until it is completely necessary, and have never been in this kind of grey-area with my rats. Thank you.

Now, there is a second tumor above his other ear... I can’t find any photos or stories of other rats having this problem.

 

[SQ]

Please post pictures of both.
Has he been back to the vet?

How is he doing otherwise
If problems eating you can:
grind up and soak his blocks in cool water to make mush
feed him organic soy infant formula thickened with baby cereal

give daily soft easier to eat foods such as broccoli, baby kale, mixed greens, cooked squash, cooked sweet potato, frozen/thawed peas, cooked whole grains such as oatmeal (with blueberries), cooked quinoa etc

 

[Caroline]

Please post pictures of both.
Has he been back to the vet?

How is he doing otherwise
If problems eating you can:
grind up and soak his blocks in cool water to make mush
feed him organic soy infant formula thickened with baby cereal

give daily soft easier to eat foods such as broccoli, baby kale, mixed greens, cooked squash, cooked sweet potato, frozen/thawed peas, cooked whole grains such as oatmeal (with blueberries), cooked quinoa etc

Thank you for the reply.
We took him to the vet yesterday since his condition is severe, and decided that euthanasia was in his best interest. This is what he looked like the night before (with some treats to make his last day a very happy one).
Although the first two vets found nothing since the tumors were prominent them and the ears showed no sign of infection, I was told that it was either cancer or an inner ear infection. We were in the process of donating his body to science to help other rats when we were told that the study was backed up. He is resting peacefully with my other babies that have passed.
He was such a sweet and intelligent boy who will be dearly missed.

 

[ViciousCurse]

I'm so sorry for your loss, Caroline. He looked like such a sweet boy.

 

[Dena]

So sorry for your loss! Glad he didn't suffer though, and glad you got to make his last day a good one. *hugs*