I’ve done a lot of research in the hope of stopping mammary tumours. Although almost always benign, the mammary tumour can definitely end up sucking the life out of the rat. At best a rat with a mammary tumour can live a few months, at worst it can grow so fast within days.
I’ve tried all kinds of supplement with absolutely no success, with Mycoplex and shark cartilage.
What did work is a spay. Spaying your rat removes the source of estrogen which in turn decreases the risk of a growth. I’ve had 29 females spayed. From the 29 only two went on to develop a mammary tumour. One of the two already had one when I adopted her from the SPCA. Kate had a mammary tumour removal and a spay at the same time. Unfortunately she and her sister were fairly ill and both also developed inguinal masses.
Out of the 29, a few had their spays later in life which proves that a spay at any age is highly beneficial.
Some might argue that a spay is invasive but with a good exotic vet, surgery risks are very minimal. The recovery of a spay is much faster than a recovery of a tumour. Tumours weakens the immune system and leaves the rat generally unwell, surgery at this point although very doable is still harder on a rat than a spay on a healthy girl.
I will always have my females spayed. Mammary tumours are not something you want to deal with.
Jan 30