Rat Tumors

[Desert Arabian]

My poor Oreo... she has a huge tumor between her back legs. I first noticed it in June, it was the size of a walnut- a bit smaller. Right away we booked her a vet appt. to make sure it wasn't cancer. It turns out it wasn't cancer. To tell you the truth... we really didn't pay much attention to it for a long time- because it never got any bigger. Plus, the vet said it wasn't really anything to worry about to much- so we took her word for it. I left for 6 weeks of summer camp, and in the middle of July my mom brought the rats up to visit me. Oreo's tumor got a tad bit larger- but again we really didn't think much of it. On August 3rd I returned home from camp, only to have my other rat Skittles die in my arms later on that night. Plus- Oreo's tumor had grown a litle once more, to about the size of a peach pit. Well... today it is about the size of two or three golf balls. We took her back to the vet about a week and a half ago, to check out surgery as an option. Becuase her anus is WAY on the other side of the tumor- by her hip/leg!!! She can still poo tho. It turns out that surgery would cost over $570.00- and she'd have about two or three weeks of recovery- stressing her out even more. The vet also added that even without the tumor she's pretty close to her time, I guess you could say. When I look at her today- it makes me want to cry!! I feel terrible- if only we had it removed right away. The vet said she only has about another month or so, til her anus gets blocked and she can't poo. Then we'll have to put her to sleep. Right now she is still lively, cheery, and happy. Every couple of days or so I have to help her wash her tumor, since she can barely reach it. I am so afraid that I am going to come home from school and find her dead in the cage!! I just want her to know that I love her very,very,very much and I am sorry for letting the tumor she so big. I hope you had a lot of fun with me and your pals! I love you!!

Here is a picture of her after a bath.

[Uabassoon]

I'm so sorry to hear about Oreo. I'm sure that Oreo knows you love her and that she loves having you to take care of her.

[Desert Arabian]

Thanks... I sure hope she does!

[lv4dogs]

I am so sorry to hear about your little Oreo! It sounds like she had a great home and I am sure she understands that you tried your best and really loved her. I had a rat with a tumopr that size but it was near her neck. It too started out really slow and did not seem to bother her. It did not get that big until she was about 5 1/2 or 6! Yup thats right she lived to be 7!!!!! I moved across country when she was 6 1/2 and gave her to a friend, she died a few months later!

[Desert Arabian]

Well, Oreo's tumor is getting bigger :( She recently got stuck in one of her wooded hide houses- that scared the crap out of me, luckily she pulled herself out. She can still go potty tho, so that's good. And she is very happy and cheery- so I don't think it is quite time to say good-bye yet. Thank the Lord!

[lv4dogs]

That must of been a scare. She will need a bigger house by the sounds of it. I am glad she is still doing well. I have been wondering about her (but I thought I would give it a week or 2 if we did not hear any reports on her). I wish you the best of luck!

[Desert Arabian]

Thanks...

Trust me we got rid of everything she could get stuck in. She's doing just fine, but has a little trouble getting around sometimes. She still gets really excited when she hears the treat bag. :p

[luckies4me]

First off let me tell you I am very sorry about what is happening to your little dear! I wishher the best of luck. Now a few questions.


When she first took her to the vet dow did they determine whether it was cancerous or not? How old is your rat? Is your rat a doe (female rat)? Did they say it was a mammary tumor?

If she or he is fairly young still I suggest posting to some rat groups and seeing if there is anyone there who can donate money to help save your friend. You can desidn a website with info on your little friend and contact info for you and you can probably raise enough money to have the operation done. The tumor is not as big as I have seen them so she should have a nice recovery. I wouldn't think three weeks at all. Unless they had to go in internally to fix some things as sometimes they have to. You can find out more about tumors by visiting TheRatFanCLub. Just do a search and you will find it. They are the greatest people there and know everything there is to know about rats. Us breeders seem to know more than the vets! Actually it's true, we do.....for the most part. :rolleyes:


ANyways, a site is just something to think about if you want to have the surgery. I can even help you build it. I am great with HTML and Java and all that other cool stuff. Web building is my passion! But, some rats are just prone to tumors and some owners spend thousands of dollars having to remove these. There are products out there that slow the growth and prevent tumors that can be given every day or so. Just ask the rat fan club, they know what it is called......for some reason my brain is not working now.

[Desert Arabian]

That sounds like a wonderful idea. I stink at making webpages though! The vet said that it is a mammary tumor- its not attached to anything vital. We took her in to see if it was cancer on 5/30/02- and that was $159.30, and then we took her back on 9/30/02, and that was another $125.90. She was scheduled to have laser surgery on 9/11/02- but after a long debate, and thinking about all the stuff the bet said, be decided to postpone it. The number one thing that really halted our decison is the fact that the vet said that she'd only have about 3 or 4 months to live after the surgery, because she is a "senior rattie', she isn't that young anymore.

Right now, she is on the couch running around. She is really happy and active dispite her big booty. It doesn't seem to bother her too much, that I have noticed. She still acts how she did without the tumor, except once and a while she has troubles-minor ones (bathing is one of them, but I help her groom the tumor). She still goes hog-wild when the treats come out of the bag. She's pretty nutty I must say!

[Desert Arabian]

p.s. to find out if it was cancerous, they did a needle test. I'm looking at the bill right now and it says:

Radiographic Exam (2)........ $88.80
Fine Needle Aspir- Cytology......$ 33.40
Exotic Office Visit......$ 37.10


Oh sorry.... the second visit was 9/06-- not 9/30, sorry- my mistake!

[luckies4me]

Oh, it sucks she is a senior rattie. I wish they lived longer! since she is doing fine now maybe you can get that tumor stuff and try to slow it down a bit and see if that makes her life better when it gets to be closer to"that time". As long as she can get around, eat , drink and still loves her treats that's great! As long as you give her plenty of love and I am sure she knows this, all you can do is make the rest of her time here as pleasent as possible....and I can see you are doing just that! Keep up the good work! Ratties need more loving caring owners such as yourself!;)

[Desert Arabian]

Gee...thanks!

[luckies4me]

So how is she doing?

[Desert Arabian]

Oh, she is doing just fine. Yesterday I had her and her friends outside for a while in the nice big bunny hutch- she watched me do some yard work. I also gave her a little bath, since her tumor was a little dirty in the spots she can't reach. Just a few minutes ago I got home from school, and I went to check on them. She was sound a sleep with Peanut, but the minute she heard the treat bag crinkle, she was up and at the door. :p :rolleyes:

She's a little stinker :D

Here's a picture of her in my pajama sleeve- this was taken in December 01.