Critter City
By Sandra Conti- Todd of Allexperts.com
Please read before proceeding:
The photos on this page are very disturbing and may be too much for sensitive viewers and bleeding hearts as well. I even have a hard time looking at a few of the photos as it breaks my heart to see the rats have large masses growing on their tiny precious bodies, some of the masses are as large as the rat itself, which really breaks my heart too.
However, please do not be quick in judging the owners of these rats. If you do not understand the circumstance surrounding the history of the rat please do not be hasty in judging the rat owner and asking why they allowed it to get so large before removing it etc....
There are stories behind almost every photo posted here. The first rat you see is owned by a wonderful girl that takes great care of her rats. Sadly, Miss Honey has had several tumors removed over the past few months. The last tumor she had was different from the others and was growing at an astonishing rate. Her vet did a biopsy on it and the results proved it to be a nasty fibrosarcoma. Removing this tumor would only cause her to be uncomfortable trying to heal from the surgery but the tumor had spread to other areas. The truth was, Miss Honeys condition was terminal and she had just a few short weeks to live. The decision was made to keep her comfortable and happy and the minute her owner noticed that she no longer had the quality of life she should have, she was put to sleep so she could earn her wings and halo with the other sweet rats that have passed on.
Some people live in places in the world that have very few vets that are educated in exotic mammal care and therefor they refuse to work on the rat, offering to put the rat to sleep as the only alternative. This means leaving the rat owner the decision to either keep the rat comfortable and happy until they start to show signs of not being very happy any longer or put the rat to sleep because it looks like they are miserable. The truth is, these tumors do NOT hurt the rat. There are no nerve endings in the mass so there is no pain involved. Many times, these large nasty tumors look much worse than it really is.
Also, there may be health reasons why the rat cannot be put under anesthesia. We all know that mycoplasmosis can cause lung disease and when your rat has lung disease, the risk of anesthesia triples. Also, if the rat is 3 years old and its obvious the surgery may be more dangerous than the tumor itself. There are many factors to consider before having tumors removed, which is why we should not judge people for their decision before we know the circumstances.
However, if the rat is healthy and the tumor is operable and the vet is skilled in small mammal surgery, it is our duty as a rat owner to provide what is best for our rat. The rats comfort and quality of life is what matters and it is up to us to be sure they are not suffering no matter what.
Some photos at end of page may be too graphic for sensitive viewers
Tumors and my rat!!
"Honey-Tits" photo used with permission by owner Courtney.
Tumors
Every rat owners worst fear: A LUMP! What is it? An abcess, which rats are also very prone to getting, or a cyst, or our worst fear, a tumor!! No matter what, a rat with a tumor must be seen by a vet as soon as you discover the lump. The smaller the lump the easier it will be to remove it through surgery. Do not panic! Many times these tumors are mammary tumors can be easily removed. One question that is asked alot and that is, do males get mammary tumors. The answer is YES. Males also have mammary tissue minus the nipples, so they are also prone to them. Females, however, carry a higher risk. Spaying your female rat reduces the chances of developing mammary tumors a great deal.
Often, the female rat does'nt usually start to develop mammary tumors until her menopause, around 18 months. As hormone levels change mammary tumors can develop. It is best to spay the rat to avoid this. The prime time to spay is between 3 and 4 months old. If you spay the rat AFTER tumors have started to form, spaying may not prevent others from growing since the "ball is rolling" so to speak. Tumors can be removed easily by an experienced vet but its best not to wait for them to get too big. This is when they become vascular and start to feed off the rats body, robbing the rat from nutrients needed to keep vital organs healthy. Once the blood supply runs out in the larger tumors, they often become necrotic and pus filled, thus in turn can cause serious infection due to abcess. The tumor can abcess internally, sending poison into the rats blood stream, (sepsis) thus in turn causes death almost within hours. This is one reason its best to get them sooner than later. They often are subcutaneous and "peel" off of her body and require a stitch or two and some surgical glue. Bleeding is very limited as long as the incision is not big. Also, the bigger they are, the more they spread to connecting mammary tissue and will cause others to grow too.
Tumors found on rats most of the time are benign, or non cancerous. Sometimes they are found to be incapsulated, which means that they do not spread since they are contained in a "sac". This makes them easy to remove too, almost like an intact egg yolk that hasnt been broken from the membrane. However, there are times when the Vet will send off some of the tissue samples from the tumor and it is found to be cancerous. If this is true, once the tumor is removed, you can always try TAMOXIFEN, which is a medication used in women for breast tumors.
See the articles below at these various sites about it for more information.
Tamoxifen from the rat guide
Tamoxifen by by Debbie "The Rat Lady" Ducommun
Lupron has also been used with success in rats on benign tumors. Lupron helps stop production of estrogen in rats, thus in turn, helps to shrink the tumors or halt new growth. The injection is used once per month.
You can read more about Lupron at the link below, but keep in mind it does not focus on the use in rats since it is rather new at being used in rats. However, lupron is used on ferrets to help with adrenal disease. I have first hand experience with lupron and have had great success.
Lupron
Often it is harder to spot these tumors on the rat by sight so it is important that you check your rat often all over for lumps that develop. They often come up very fast.
People often ask how big these tumors can get. Below is an example of one very brave little girl who survived this tumor.
Luckily, a very good vet did the surgery, which was very risky due to the high chance of bleeding since the tumor was very vascular and I am sure the rat was pretty frail at this point. The surgery was a success but it should have been done much sooner than it was. There is no excuse to let a tumor get this size.
Photo courtesy of Evergreen Rattery
How long will my rat live with a tumor?
Well thats a hard question to answer. It depends on the fact if the tumor is encapsulated or not. They usually are since they are most often benign. However, even benign tumors eventually cause so many problems for the rat, death will happen regardless. Tumors eventually become vascular and begin to feed off of your rats body, thus resulting in weight loss. With this weight loss comes, of course, lack of proper nutrition and in turn, the rats vital organs are not being supported. Kidneys, lungs, heart, brain....they all begin to be affected as your rat slowly starves, regardless of how much she/he eats. Your rat will become weak as does the immune system. When the immune system starts to become weak, your rat is wide open to serious infection. If the tumor begins to abcess internally, your rat runs a high risk of developing sepsis, thus often resulting in death. None of this is worth putting your tiny friend through. If you do not plan on having the tumor removed, humane euthanasia is the kindest action. I would suggest doing this after your rat has had the tumor for a while though and you start to see your rat lose weight. I wouldnt let the rat become too thin or you know that she has to be miserable. Again though, remember that if you have a Vet that is skilled in surgery on rats and has the proper implements to perform the surgery and will give proper post op treatment etc... tumors do NOT have to be a death sentence. They are successfully removed and they do not always "grow back and they are not always cancerous. Again, most tumors in rats are mammary in nature and are seen among female rats that are not spayed. They are also found in male rats too since they also have mammary tissue, minus the nipple, but they are not seen half as much in males compared to females. I suggest spaying if you plan on having female rats. It will save alot of grief in the long run!
This is my boy, Skittles. He was resting comfortably here right before the surgery was done to remove a tumor that basically popped up overnight between his shoulder blades. It was cancerous, we were almost positive. The vet did all he could to remove as much of it as possible but this horrible monster wrapped itself around Skittles muscles and nerves in his shoulders and back and left some nerve damage to his front paws.
His recovery was going fairly well although he was in a considerable amount of pain which required him to remain at the vets and he was kept on strong narcotic pain medication to keep him very comfortable and slightly sedated. He became very spoiled the week he was there and grew very attached to the vet assistant. Skittles was a biter at home but he never bit her. Sadly, she found Skittles had passed away when she came into the clinic 5 days after his surgery. It could have been a number of things that went wrong since there were so many complications from the very complicated and risky surgery. I was grateful that Skittles came to trust and lover April during his short stay at the vets. I was totally devastated by this and also was left feeling a bit guilty for ever doing the surgery. I think I should have let him go to heaven instead but we really had no idea how invasive the cancerous growth was. It was there for longer than we first thought but it did not show itself externally for a long time due to the fact he was a bit of a pudge muffin, in other words, he was pretty damn chubby!! I guess we learn as we go. I am grateful he did not suffer in pain and was kept on a morphine type pain killer the entire time, not once did he have any discomfort. He continued to eat and drink and even brux while at the vets. We believe he passed away in his sleep and he appeared to be comfortable, still sleeping curled up in his soft rattie bed.
Tumors do not need to be the beginning of the end for your rat. In females, if you spay them early enough you have a big chance of avoiding all of this from ever starting. A skilled vet can easily remove tumors, despite the rats age, and recovery is often fairly easy as long as the vet is skilled at rat care.
"Princess Jacky"
Above is a photo of the contents of the tumor. The mammary fibroma consisted of a 1 inch (2.5cm) or more of fibrous tissue that had formed in the mammary tissue under her left forelimb.
Tumors that look like an abscess!
/Kate.jpg)
Little pretty "Kate" with an unfortunate ruthless mammary tumor!!This is a badly infected tumor. You can see the pus and necrotic tissue. This rat has respiratory issues and therefore surgery is too risky for her.
If your unfortunate enough to have a vet that is not sure about rat care yet tries anyhow, please listen up. This is important info for all rat owners to know about.
Not long ago, a reader wrote in and sent along a photo of her daughters rat, Renee. Renee had an ongoing battle with a stubborn abscess, as per the Vet. He did numerous surgeries trying to debride the abscess but it kept filling up again. It was at the point Renee was beginning to get sick from the bacteria in the abscess and the vet said there is a good chance she would end up with sepsis, which means the bacteria enters the blood stream, which can be fatal, esp in small rats. Soon as I looked at the photo of the lump on Renee (and once I shook off my anger at the Vet) I let her know that her daughters rat does NOT have an abscess, but instead, it was a mammary tumor that had abscessed. The reason it would not heal is because it was a tumor that had grown from mammary tissue and had become infected. The vet had been putting this poor rat in danger each time he dug at the mass. Talk about a Vet that has no business seeing rats, this was one prime example. So of course I offered to give her names of other vets that were experienced with exotic animal care including rats, and right away the new vet took one look at the mass and confirmed what I had already said: Mammary tumor that abscessed and it must be removed at once in order for her to safely recover, which she did, by the way, and I am happy to report she is doing just fine now. Scary that I knew what it was just from a photograph when a person that has years of college under his belt was so clueless, which is why its vital you educate yourself as much as you possibly can.
Last week, a reader wrote in about her rat, "Rat-O" and included a photo. After looking at the photo for a bit, I also had a strong suspicion it was a tumor that had abscessed. After giving her the name of a vet in her area, which is The Westminster Veterinary Group located in Westminster, California, it was also confirmed that it was indeed a tumor that had become abscessed and needed removed right away. The surgery, performed by Dr. Nicole Dielo, who has a strong interest in exotic medicine, was a total success. Rat-O was kept over night for observation and nursing care and was released to go home the next day. He is recovering nicely at home with his owner, Natalie..
UPDATE: Pathology reports show that Rat-O indeed had a cancerous growth removed. The bad news it is the type of sarcoma that may have originated in the liver, spleen or other vital organs and there may be cancer cells still in his body. We are hoping for the best and keep our fingers crossed Rat O remains as happy and healthy as he is today, September 2, 2009.
| . |
| |
Meet Rat-O! This is him without any nasty lumps on his sweet furry body!!!!  | ||
 |
Rat-O on the mend! Nice clean incision and staples to reinforce it since he is still wanting to be active!!
Boys will be boys:)
****************************
Meet Rufus!
Rufus met his owner, Jenn, of Fresno, CA, in March 2009, when he was being sold at a reptile store as a feeder rat, of all things!! She quickly fell madly in love with his funny little self and they became best friends. His naked cuteness made him even more adorable to her. They had a special bond, as Rufus had a hard time trusting others and was very fiesty, but he was also a biter. He was a lone rat as he did not play well with other rats and only allowed Jenn to handle him. She did take a few bites from him herself, but I call them love bites. :)
This mass, which is located between his shoulder blades, came out of nowhere. Jenn cleaned it after Rufus had scratched it open, using an antibacterial solution, hibicleanse, and an antibiotic ointment. It did not appear to be infected as there was never any exudate, only bright red blood. After bleeding out, it appeared to go away just as mysteriously as it appeared, only to reappear about 2 weeks later. Again, Jenn cleaned it up and it went away. However, as a classic Sarcomatous growth does, it came back again, this time growing at an aggressive rate. It also started to seep blood and it developed a central keratinaous crater this time, and it was not going away, it just continued to increase in size to the point that it was putting added weight on his body, making him lean to one side. After calling nearly every Vet in town to see Rufus (all of them denied to see him) she contacted me and showed me his photos. I knew right away what we were dealing with and knew it was not good news.
The mass that he has, I believe, it is a Sarcomatous growth.
With the chance this was an aggressive sarcoma, removing it may only ruin his quality of life and he did not have much time left. This type of cancer is known to metastasize rapidly, usually to the liver, spleen, lungs and other vital organs. Finally I gave her the name of a vet that was qualified to see rats and we hoped for the best. The day before his appointment, Jenn found Rufus in his cage. Unlike his usual very warm leathery body, he was cold and pale. He had denied food and wasnt drinking and had become lethargic. His respirations were heavier than normal as well. Not wanting to leave Rufus alone but having to appear at her husbands game, she brought Rufus along with her. He allowed everyone to hold him and spent his time cuddled with Jenn. Within two minutes after putting him back in his travel cage, Rufus passed away. Jenn found him and immediately started CPR, but he was gone. Rufus was only 8 months old. The cancer had caused organ failure, as it more than likely had metastized to his liver and other organs in this short of time.
Jenn writes:
Please note for others that care of a naked one is different. They need baths or they get greasy and can get sores. They need extra warmth or coolness depending on the outside temps...they are not as easy as hairy rats to care for as they do have "needs". I didn't know these things when I first got Rufus, and had to learn very quickly that caring for a naked guy is much different. BUT...he enjoyed his warm showers, and I enjoyed the time we spent when he got them. He was always very playful after a shower, and during a shower he would climb the bars of his cage and put his face right into the water, close his eyes...and I swear to you he'd smile!!
Many who saw Rufus called him ugly because of his nakedness and wrinkles...he was beautiful and sweet and wonderful to me.
Jenn, owner of precious Rufus
Note the necrotic tissue that has formed a "muffin top"
Please note, this type of tumor usually causes alot of problems when it starts to invade the body, which is almost as soon as it appears. Removing a tumor of this origin, which due to the fact there had not been a necropsy done, it is only an educated guess, but the tumor itself tends to spread like branches of a tree, and when surgically removed, in order to get all of the cancer out, the Vet needs to actually cut into muscle and other tissue that can in turn cause permanent damage. Chances that he would have lost the use of his forelimbs were very high not to mention he could have even been totally paralyzed in his shoulder area. It was best to let him live his life out happy and in no pain at all rather than to have removed it, possibly causing it to spread faster, and if he did have damage done, he would have been uncomfortable and suffered needlessly. It is a blessing in disguise that he never made it to surgery. I was against it anyhow and would have told Jenn my honest opinion, as I would have hoped the Vet would have been honest about it too rather than just doing the surgery to make money.
Sleep well, young sweet Rufus. You will always be in the hearts of all that knew you.
~~
One type of brain tumor that is common with our rats as discussed earlier, is the pituitary tumor, which is found at the base of the brain. However, tumors can occur anywhere on the rats body, including the top of the head as you see here. Since I did not examine him in person it is impossible to say where this tumor originated from, the frontal lobe or temporal lobe, etc... because in the photo it takes so much of his little head over. Usually the obvious signs of a brain tumor is
Changes in vision or hearing.
Problems balancing or walking.
Changes in mood, possibly making the rat more aggressive, but also can make the rat clingy as well.
Weakness in the limbs, paralysis.
UNKNOWN MASS ON TOP OF RATS SKULL
After vets failed to help BigBoy, Stuart turned to me for advice. Not being able to do much for him other than offer support, I wrote to Dr. Teresa Lightfoot of the Florida Veterinary Specialists in Tampa, Florida. (who is a fantastic avian/exotic specialist) She was kind enough to read my email and she also gave me two names of vets in the UK that may be able to help Big boy, but unfortunately, the information was too late, as Big Boy went to sleep peacefully and never woke up January 19, 2009 at the age of 3 years old. Despite how he may appear in the photo, his owner assured me that Big Boy acted as playful and happy as he did as a young ratlet, always having a good appetite and bruxing his heart out, grooming himself and his owner, never acting like he had anything wrong with him. However, he did have hind leg paralysis, but it showed up months before he developed this mass.developed Knowing this helped me feel alot better about the situation although I still cannot believe that having a mass of this size would not have any ill effects on his health, especially neurological symptoms. He must have been one tough little rat and is an inspiration to us all.
Tumors on the skull
Pinkys owner noticed a slight protrusion on the top of his head but at first she thought he may have just bumped it, perhaps playing to hard with his cagemate, Chocolate.
However, she became concerned as the lump grew larger so she went to the Vet for an evalution. The Vet noted the circular shape and decided to aspirate the mass, drawing blood from it. This confirmed that it was a hematoma. Confident that it would possibly re absorb within a month or two, he was sent home without further treatment.
However, after a short time. Monica noted that the position of Pinkys eye was starting to change, and it seemed the hematoma was not going away and instead was growing larger and now it seemed to be causing pressure on the rats eye. Pinky was given an X ray. The xray revealed that this mass was above the skull, under the skin, but was never said if it was coming from the brain. My thoughts are the xray was not able to reveal this. The vet suggested enucleation but Monica declined, feeling that if the mass was removed, perhaps the pressure behind the eyes would go down, as this was now starting to involve both eyes. Surgery was scheduled for the following week. Unfortunately, Pinky went into respiratory arrest half way into the surgery and he passed away on the table. Samples of the mass were sent out to pathology.
So what was this mass?
The results showed that he had a spindle cell sarcoma which is cancer of the connective tissue. This was NOT a brain tumor, but a tumor that formed between the skull and the skin, not within the skull, which is why xrays showed the mass on top of the bone/skull rather than in the brain itself. It was an intermediate grade which means it was a fast growing tumor but not the most aggressive type of cancer, either. It was not the type to spread to other organs of the body. I thank Monica for sharing this with us. Now we know what this is, and probably what Big boy had as well.
A brave little rat named Macey!
Meet Macey! A very brave little rat who lived very far from the United States, in Latvia, which is located in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. Macey was the very first pet that his owner, Stan, had ever had. He had to wait until his adult life before having a pet and he could not have chosen a better companion to have like he found in Macey!
Macey was two years and when he developed a mass on the side of his face. As the mass grew, it started to grow up over the rats eye. Despite this mass, brave Macey did not seem to be the least bit disturbed by the mass and continued to eat and drink and carried on normally.
Stan, had pursued several Vets for help, only to be told that the mass was basically inoperable due to various reasons.
The truth is, the Veterinarians in Latvia are not as educated in small mammal medicine like they are in the United States and so for that reason, they were, in my opinion, intimidated by the large mass that was taking over Maceys face.
I contacted a very good friend of mine, who is also an excellent Vet and is also very knowledgeable in rat health. He offered his professional opinion and advice to Stan to pass on to his Vets. The mass, as per the Vet, said looks very much like a possible hemangiosarcoma which is a rapidly growing and highly invasive form of cancer.
Regardless, it looks very aggressive and the vet was afraid it will eat into Macey's oral cavity very soon.
He suggested a vet that would use surgical laser and felt this needed removed before it gets into the oral cavity or the rat won't be able to eat. If there was just no Vet found that was willing to operate, it was suggested that the rat be put on prednisone and also a broad spectrum antibiotic such as trimeth-sulfa. Since we are unfamiliar with the method of veterinary care in this country, its difficult to communicate what should be done medically, but we were hoping that Stans Vet would be on the same level as we are and would be able to consider using the technique desribed in the email that was sent to Stan from the Vet here in the US.
The next day, Stan took Macey to the Vet and the Vet agreed to doing the surgery.
Sadly, Macey did not make it past the sedative that was used at the beginning of surgery. As of this writing, I am unsure of what type of sedative was used or if isoflurane was going to be used when it came to gassing the rat down or what other drug was considered to be used for anesthesia. The point is, it was time for this to be removed but it was also time for Macey to go to the rainbow bridge. These tumors are not uncommon with our pet rats and it is important to seek medical attention immediately. Sadly, there was a misdiagnosis at first with Macey and once the mass grew, no vet felt comfortable doing surgery. He will be sadly missed by his owners and never ever forgotten.
Mass on side of face starting to invade the eye and nose.
