Lump in Rats Mouth

[darker4308]

Hi all,

I'm new to rat keeping and I inherited two rats from one of my friends who was moving to a place where you can't have pets. One of the rats has developed "something" in her mouth. The way it looks is that she has a bit of pizza size Italian sausage in her mouth all the time and her bottom teeth don't look very good either. Think a camel when they try and cough up their guts. The "something" also burst or she ruptured it last night when I wasn't home, and I found blood on the surfaces inside the cage. She also spends a lot of time cleaning her face and it seems to make it worse.

I noticed this a day ago, and I'm not quite sure what is going on. I'm assuming she got some kind of mouth tumor or abscess. I tried to take a picture a few times, but she isn't into staying still and won't be held. She is still extremely active and other than the scratching the "something" she is certainly eating.

I'm just wondering if someone can ID what this growth is. I have a friend who can put her down humanely if necessary. I don't want her suffer.

 

[SQ]

Post pictures ...
but it sounds like she needs to see a good rat vet immediately for antibiotics and possibly for surgery

 

[temblabamomo]

Mouth issues can be quite serious. Your baby needs a vet as soon as possible.

 

[darker4308]

I'm going to go see one of my friends who knows more about rats that I do. She has had a lot of them over the years. I was kinda of hoping this was a common thing with rats, and it i'm not sure what it is now after being on the net all day looking at pictures. I probably should have paid more attention last week when I thought i saw something, but she literally will not be held by anyone, so as long as she was walking on the floor and being active I couldn't see anything in her mouth. I only really saw stuff when she was climbing around her cage and as long as she kept her mouth shut it was just kinda snapshots of something that I couldn't ID. She was also eating fine. Hopefully, my friend can make a good diagnosis and then we can discuss treatment options and/or euthanasia.

Thank you everyone for help.

 

[SQ]

Without vet care and antibiotics asap, she will likely need to be pts
Most vets do not know how to do this humanely for small animals so you will need to make sure it is done properly.
Info can be found here viewtopic.php?f=26&t=9582

 

[darker4308]

It is a little bit like this picture. My friend wasn't really sure either. I think i'll take in her in Morrow. I've got some time off work in the afternoon. This rat apparantly had a respiratory infection too, but they didn't seem to have an answer for the lump either.

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Pet-Rats-353 ... ip-rat.htm

 

[*Rebel_Angel*]

That look's really painfull, agreed bring her to a vet ASAP!
I hope she get's better soon!!

 

[darker4308]

So I did finally get my rat into a vet that my friend recommended. Very aggressive oral tumor. It seemed to come out of no where and it grew really fast. It started off sat about pea size, and by today it was bigger than a grape. Things also got pretty bloody on two days. Anyway, she seemed to be getting much worse, and I decided to have per put down on Sunday, but they couldn't schedule until this morning. The vet was very compassionate about the whole matter and I know who I'm going to be seeing if I ever get another rat. In the case of these tumors too if vet isn't open .... I want to say that I kinda wish I had taken the dry ice option on sat night just to save her those few days which were hard on both of us. She was a very nice rat. Kinda like a little cat rat that followed me around.

Anyway thanks everyone for help and the forum also helped find some stuff out too.

 

[user 2700]

I'm sorry your vet wasn't able to help her pass sooner. But I have to say dry ice would not have been a good option. Dry ice produces CO2, yes but the amount which it makes can not be controlled often leading to the wrong CO2, Oxygen mixture which irritates the eyes and respiratory tract and causes pain. Not to mention the burns it can cause. It is not humane.

 

[darker4308]

Sorry misread msg.

 

[SQ]

I am so very sorry for your loss.
She sounds like a wonderful little girl and I am sorry you both had to go through this.

btw, research has shown that CO2 is inhumane and causes pain and suffering.
viewtopic.php?f=26&t=18828

 

[jorats]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

 

[mamarat]

RIP little one.

 

[*Rebel_Angel*]

Im so sorry!