Rat has tumors on tail, amputation y/n?

[Broseph]

I've been googling about this issue for a few hours but I figured I'd might as well make an account and ask about it here, since I figured you guys' opinion is worth somewhat more than a random twelve year old on Yahoo! Answers.

I noticed swellings on my rat's tail (close to where it connects to his body, but not on his actual body) two days ago. I immediately made an appointment with my vet, who I visited together with my rat today. My vet told me that they were most likely tumors, which I was expecting, and she took a few cell samples to further investigate whether they're malignant or not. It turns out they're most likely not, and she's fairly sure they haven't spread.
In this light, she told me that it would be possible to amputate my rat's tail so that the tumors are gone. I've already made an appointment for his surgery, but I'm having some doubts now, and I thought I'd ask around here in case someone has had a similar experience, etc
I don't particularly care how much the surgery costs, I just want to make sure it'll actually improve the life of my pet rat. Basically my question is, will it be worth it? Will my rat learn to adapt to life without a tail, or is living without one inconvenient to the point where he becomes unhappy? Also, my rat is two years and nine months old, so I'm fairly concerned whether he'll even come out of the coma induced by the anesthetic.

I really don't want to lose my little companion just yet, but if this surgery would just mean a longer but less happy life for him it'd be unfair for me to go through with it just because I want to keep him around longer.

All your opinions and experiences related to the matter would be greatly appreciated!

 

[mamarat]

If the tumors are not bothering him, considering his age, I would not remove them. Is he still active and eating and drinking well?

 

[Broseph]

If the tumors are not bothering him, considering his age, I would not remove them. Is he still active and eating and drinking well?

He's as (relatively) active as always (I don't think I've ever had a pet as lazy as my rat, lol). So far he doesn't seem to be bothered by them at all, and he's just as happy and cuddly as he's always been. Wouldn't removing the tumors lengthen his lifespan, though? He's had a great life so far but I'm really way too attached to him to lose him yet. If removing his tail is something he'll adjust to fairly quickly without it bothering him too much I'm all for it.

 

[mamarat]

Can you take a picture of the tumors? I had a rat with smallish tumors on his tail and he was quite old. Vet told me to just keep an eye on them but they never bothered him. She associated the tumors to old age.

 

[crumbilina]

Can you post a picture of the tumors? (lol mamarat beat me to this!)

I'm not experienced with a rat losing its tail, but I do know that the tails are used to regulate body temperature and for balance. I don't know if he would adjust, rats have lost half their tails and were fine, but full tail? I'm not sure...

Honestly, if it were me and the tumors were not bothering him, I would leave it. I think the shock of losing a full appendage would be worse then having some tumors.

BUT as I said, I am really not experienced with this, and of course it is ultimately your decision.

Best of luck!

 

[Broseph]

I'll try to take a picture of the tumors, but I'll probably just end up with twenty photos of his nose, haha. To my general knowledge the average age of rats is two, so I'm guessing 2 years 9 months does count as fairly old.

If the tumors aren't malignant, could it mean that he can just live out his lifespan without them killing him? If they are malignant, amputating the tail probably wouldn't make any sense to begin with, considering they'd have spread by now anyway.

Anyway, will post the pictures once I get them. Also, thanks for your replies so far! :3

 

[crumbilina]

If the tumors aren't malignant, could it mean that he can just live out his lifespan without them killing him? If they are malignant, amputating the tail probably wouldn't make any sense to begin with, considering they'd have spread by now anyway.

Its hard to tell... It would be taking a chance, but Surgery is taking a chance too.

How big are the tumors?

 

[Broseph]

Uh, I've taken some pictures, one with my hand next to it for comparison. They're kinda blurry, but it's the best I could manage with him trying to crawl up my clothes d:
Just give me a sec to touch em up in photosoup in an attempt to make them less blurry, will post the result in a bit.

 

[Kimber]

Given his age, I personally would opt to give him quality of life as long as I could without the surgery. At 2 years, 9 months (from a realistic view) he probably won't be around much longer and that is a painful surgery with recovery. I would watch carefully for signs of discomfort or pain, and go from there.

Note: This is only my personal opinion and in no way would I judge if you chose to go through with the surgery.

 

[crumbilina]

lol taking pictures of rats truly is tricky

 

[Broseph]

I failed miserably at making it less blurry so I just circled the tumors for your convenience. As you can see, they're not that big just yet, but as I've only discovered them two days ago it's too early to tell how fast they're growing. Since I'm not exactly an authority in the tumor department, I've no idea how bad these are although I'm fairly sure you can't tell by just seeing em (let alone from a blurry picture).

 

[temblabamomo]

This is only my opinion, but 2 years and 9 months is pretty darn good for a rat. I would be afraid to do surgery because of his age, and because of what was said in an earlier comment - losing a whole appendage (especially one that helps regulate body temp) could be particularly difficult to recover from.

Surgery or not, it is your choice, he's your rattie and you know him best. Were he mine - I would keep him comfortable, and monitor his diet to try and slow the tumor growth. But either way, it sounds like you've taken wonderful care of him so far and will continue to do so, no matter which choice you end up making.

 

[Broseph]

I am hesitating because of his age and especially whether he could recover from the anesthetic. I do know my little pet the best, but that's mainly the reason why I need some objective opinions; If it were up to me (and science) I'd have his lifespan extended to match mine.

Here's another one of the underside of his tail with a slightly better view of the tumors. Again, sorry for the blurryness, blame my pal for scurrying around so much and trying to taste my camera.

 

[jorats]

That mass is still fairly small. Have you observed it growing and progressing? If not, I would probably just leave it. Like others have mentioned, it's quite a risk for an old guy. But if your vet is experienced with rat care and feels that this would be something that will continue to grow to then become life threatening, then perhaps surgery is the better course of action. I had a rat go through surgery at 37 months old and came out of it great.
So it's a matter of how healthy your boy is... tail amputation is not as big a procedure as say a leg amputation. Rats have done quite well without their tails.

 

[Broseph]

That mass is still fairly small. Have you observed it growing and progressing? If not, I would probably just leave it. Like others have mentioned, it's quite a risk for an old guy. But if your vet is experienced with rat care and feels that this would be something that will continue to grow to then become life threatening, then perhaps surgery is the better course of action. I had a rat go through surgery at 37 months old and came out of it great.
So it's a matter of how healthy your boy is... tail amputation is not as big a procedure as say a leg amputation. Rats have done quite well without their tails.

Besides the deathly growths near his rear end, he's as healthy as ever. He eats well, drinks plenty and believe me when I say he gets well enough rest (not implying that he's lethargic or inactive, he still plays with his toys and is active enough at night to keep me up).
I wouldn't say my vet is very knowledgeable about rats, she was kind of shaky on the subject at best and had to look up if the procedure of amputating a rat's tail was actually possible to begin with. The vet I saw in question is kind of new though, I do know that should I go through with the procedure the actual vet to do the surgery has been tending to my family's pets since before I was even around so it should go through fine.

What I'm getting as the general consensus is that I should wait a while and pay attention to how fast they grow, I guess? I've still got an appointment for him next monday so I can still cancel, but if I wait a week and then make a new appointment I fear it might be too late should they actually be malignant.

 

[Moon]

I'd not be inclined to completely remove a rat's tail unless it was ABSOLUTELY necessary, since their tails are so important and do so much. I'd also be worried about a rat that age getting used to not having a tail, and being able to keep their balance and so on.

 

[Broseph]

I'd not be inclined to completely remove a rat's tail unless it was ABSOLUTELY necessary, since their tails are so important and do so much. I'd also be worried about a rat that age getting used to not having a tail, and being able to keep their balance and so on.

Well in the case that these tumors are actually deadly I'd say it's fairly necessary.

Actually, that's something I'm not really sure about. Bear with me here since this is actually my first pet rat, but does having a tumor actually equal certain death for rats? Or could they just have one kind of, I dunno, mucking about without it hindering them too much and go on with their merry (and admittedly much too short) lives? The reason I agreed to the surgery so quickly is because I figured tumor = dead rat, but reading your comments I've come to realize this might actually not be the case.

 

[Broseph]

I'm going to bed now since I've got to go to work in the morning, but please feel free to leave your opinion or whatever, I'll be sure to read up when I get the chance tomorrow.

 

[Roo]

I don't have much advice.
I had a rat with a tumor before on her side (Noodle). My vet recommended to leave it because it wasn't bothering her, but if it ever did I was asked to come back. It never slowed her down (but it was also growing VERY slowly) or effected her negatively and she lived to be almost 3 years old.

 

[Moon]

If the tumors aren't malignant, most rats can live long healthy lives with tumors. Sometimes they grow to a point and plateau and never cause a problem, other times they grow and grow and become a hindrance to the rat and start taking all their energy to grow. I've had girls especially who had growths that were never a problem and died from other complications altogether.