please help i found a lump on my rat!?!?

[WinniesMommy]

I was feeding my rat and she climbed up on her cage and I noticed a medium sized lump. I never noticed it before and I'm really freaking out now that it's a tumor. I looked it up and it said it's most likely a benign mammary tumor. But I'm just thinking of all the other things it could be and freaking out about it. Here's a picture, she was moving a lot so I couldn't get the best picture:

https://twitter.com/MyPetiteTweets1/stat...05/photo/1

What do you think it is? They didn't say how old she was when I got her but she stopped ovulating not too long after I got her and I've had her for over a year. So I'm guessing she's around 2 1/2 - 3 years old. My parents won't take her to the vet because they said it's too expensive and I'm only 14. Help?? I love her and I don't want anything to happen to her. Thanks x

[B!nd!]

It looks like a tumor- but I guess it could be something like a cyst.
Tumors are a 90% liklihood in a mature female rat- so I am guessing that this is the problem. Some rats can live a little longer without too many issues once they pop up- I have seen other rats develop tumors half their body size literally overnight.
You really need to take the rat to the vet- even if you can't afford to get the tumor surgically removed you can at least get her put down humainley.

[Sheena]

is that by the base of her tail? the picture isn't too clear.

with the location, it's a good idea to get her checked by the vet (sorry but this is the RESPONSIBILITY of a pet owner, and not an optional extra) but this is an inexpensive thing, rather than surgery.
get her a course of antibiotics.

it COULD be a tumour, but with it's location it could also quite easily be an abcess, which is a pocket of infection. antibiotics, if it's an abcess, can help to bring it to a head so that the infection can drain away. also, use warm compresses. get a cloth, and some hot water with salt dissolved in it, when it's cool enough not to be uncomfortable on your wrist, but still warm, dip the cloth in it, wring it out, and try and hold it in place over the lump for as long as you can. the heat can help the infection to come to the surface.
this may cause it to split open, but that is good. it allows the infection to drain out, relieving discomfort and allowing the infection to go away. keep the open wound clean, and gently remove scabbing with warm water so that it can continue to drain freely. the wound will gradually close up, hopefully with no infection left inside. the antibiotics will also help prevent reinfection.

of course it could be a tumour, but it's always worth treating for an abcess just in case.

at her age, if it is a tumour, the vet will almost certainly not recommend surgery. the risk from the anaesthetic would be far too high, and she'd be unlikely to make it. so if treating for an abcess has no results, it will be a case of monitoring how comfortable she is. if that is the location, this could quickly become problematic for her, pressing on her bowl and bladder and making it difficult for her to go to the toilet. so watch for pain or discomfort when she goes.
I expect that this will become a problem before her mobility is much effected by it.

when her quality of life becomes impacted then you will need to take her to the vet to be humanely put to sleep.
again, this is not an optional extra. the alternative isn't her passing peacefully in her sleep, but painfully from pressure on her internal organs, over a long period of time. so you will need to make that choice for her before she has no quality of life.

[SZQ]

pet store fancy rats only live about 3 years anyway and are extremely tumor prone. I've never seen a rat with a bump that wasn't a tumor but in all reality she may die of old age before the tumor gets her