Mini my Natal has serious Issue...tail lumps/spine?

[lilspaz68]

My sweet natal 14 mo Mini, has recently (within past week) developed horrible lumps on her tail and her tail seems to be rigid curved to the left and also feels fused to the bottom of her spine. I really adore my little girl, she's never read the Typical Handbook for Natals, she's handleable by me, and when she escaped her cage one day she went across some scary terrain (across my apartment) to find me.

I have heard horror stories of tumours and other horrible things that afflict the poor little animals and have for the last couple of months been taking her out and gently feeling her belly etc for tumours. I have been dealing with a lot of sick rats in the past week so haven't done it recently. Tonight I take her out and find her in pain (gave her a titch of metacam) but have NO clue what is wrong.

Has anyone dealt with this? Should I try to keep her comfy and happy with her mice for a bit longer than take her to my vet to be pts? My poor little lass. :cry:

 

[Joanne]

Sorry to hear that your little girl is having trouble. It sounds like it would be bone cancer or something like that, but I wouldn't know for sure. I think that if she's in pain, and you don't really have a way to treat her, it might be more humane to put her to sleep.

 

[SQ]

Poor little Mini, such a sweet girl.
I am so very sorry that this is happening.

 

[mamarat]

Oh no, poor sweetie. I had a rat with a crooked tail like that. Cocotte had a tumor pushing her tail crooked.

 

[victoria]

I'm so sorry. I have no idea what it may be, I hope you can keep her comfortable with pain meds.

 

[lilspaz68]

It seems the lumps may be normal...

It looks a lot like ASF warts. Have you ever seen them before? They get very large, and are clear inside. They are hard to the touch and most often appear on the tail, and eyes, also on the feet, and almost never anywhere else.

I just took a video to show the rigidity of the spine to the tail.

(waiting for it to upload)

 

[victoria]

It seems the lumps may be normal...

It looks a lot like ASF warts. Have you ever seen them before? They get very large, and are clear inside. They are hard to the touch and most often appear on the tail, and eyes, also on the feet, and almost never anywhere else.

I just took a video to show the rigidity of the spine to the tail.

(waiting for it to upload)

That would be a relief. *fingers crossed*

 

[lilspaz68]

Video...she was not impressed

 

[*Rebel_Angel*]

She's so beautiful! I hope she gets better soon!!

 

[Joanne]

How is her pain today? Maybe it's just painful when these things are developing and then the pain goes away?

 

[Dazzle87]

I was able to find this:

Tumors

ASF's are prone to spontaneous, fast growing warty tumors. From my readings in various papers, the warty and ulcer like tumors known as keratoacanthomas and squamous carcinomas, are associated with a papillomavirus (MnPV). The tumors can be seen in the vaginal region as a clustered mass, along the tail as bumps, on the back and hind quarters as warty black growths, or on the face of the animal. (Pictures can be found here)

They will develop warty tumors, patchy hairloss, and osteoarthritis as they age past approx 9 months, although it can be younger, or delayed as much as 14 months, or not at all.

So far, it would seem that the tumors develop after 9 -12months of age, although not all will get this condition.I have at least one Amber colored female well over 14 months of age that still has not developed any skin tumors or growths.

The tumor development can be very fast and spontaneous. I've had one female just recently (6/1) who within days developed fast growing tumors all over her body, under the skin and on the skin surface. I should have taken a picture, but I didn't remember to before she was euthanized and destroyed. It was disturbing to see the alarming rate that the tumors grew, she had just reached approximately 8-9 months of age when these tumors developed.

I suggest keeping rats for at least 9 months of age and hold back animals from colonies that are less susceptible to the tumors.

They are also prone to stomach cancer, which is one of the main reasons these animals are used in research.

You can google "squamous cell carcinoma mastomys natalensis" and read many articles (some you have to pay for) that discuss the virus and the cause of these tumors. (I have linked to many articles at the bottom of this entry)

From: http://www.metalmonkeyexotics.com/blog/?page_id=333 WARNING! THIS SITE DISCUSSES SNAKES...

I'm sorry I hope she's doing well today.

 

[lilspaz68]

With research I am wondering if maybe Min-min has a badly broken tail. I will wait and see if the metacam brings down the swelling. If not it could be those warts instead. She seems much more comfy and has been going up and down the ladder (rat resort solid ladder) and is still very happy to snatch peach puffs from me LOL

 

[crumbilina]

YAY Mini!!! Glad to hear she seems to be feeling a bit better

 

[Joanne]

Go Mini!

 

[lilspaz68]

Today she looks/acts even better...the worst of the lumpies on her tail seem better, she is able to move it a bit more, I gave her a little metacam again, she rubbed her paws like a rat LOLOL.

The bump at the base of her tail does look like a wart thing, and not painful to touch.

You can see her tail here is straighter, but you can also see her age....at 14 months she could be considered old or middle-aged. :sad3:

She LOVES puffs

"OK Mom, I have had enough, can I go back now?"

 

[jorats]

She's such a cutie... Are the lumps going down in size? Maybe the metacam is doing that?

 

[lilspaz68]

She's such a cutie... Are the lumps going down in size? Maybe the metacam is doing that?

The one real lump at the base of her tail is the same...its hard but almost looks like a blister. But the rest of the tail (which I do think was broken, as they have delicate tails) is much better, more limber, although still crooked. I have asked on a mouse forum if anyone has tried antibiotics on these "warts"...they are supposed to be catchable (HPV) but they don't work that way. Mini would let me medicate her I am sure, whereas most natals would just bite the heck out of you and people wouldn't even try.

 

[jorats]

Have you tried polysporin on those warts?
The reason I ask about metacam, my vet told me that it was shown that metacam does shrink certain tumours/cancer.

 

[lilspaz68]

Have you tried polysporin on those warts?
The reason I ask about metacam, my vet told me that it was shown that metacam does shrink certain tumours/cancer.

Not yet...I could. The initial lump didn't shrink at all though with the metacam. If you look at the warts these poor little things get though, I'd like to try stuff that might benefit future ASF owners.

 

[jorats]

What about diluted tea tree oil?