Nasty Sores in Male's Ears?

[CoBu]

Hello everybody... First time poster here...

My male rat has some pretty nasty stuff happening in his ears. Has anyone seen this before? How can I treat this, and can he transfer it to my other rat?

Unfortunately I don't have a lot of money for veterinary care, so I'm just trying my best to research it on my own right now. Can anyone recommend some free, online resources?

He is about 1 year and 8 months old.

I'd be super appreciative of any advice.

 

[lilspaz68]

Is that a hard little mass? I assume that this ear smells pretty bad right? It looks like an ear polyp to me, and they often bleed when scratched. They are little masses that look like mushrooms with the stem/stalk deep in the ear. They do need vet care unfortunately, this is something you cannot treat at home. IF that is not a hard mass then the picture is fooling me and its an inner ear infection that has gotten so bad it might have ruptured his eardrum...still needs vet/antibiotics to cure.