She went in for surgery this morning, I just phoned the vet and he says she's doing well, a bit groggy and bald but otherwise OK. I'm picking her up in 3 hours - wahey! She'll have to be kept away from Polly (who is a terrible over-groomer at the best of times) for a few days and she's wearing a little 'body-stocking' to stop her getting at the wound. I'm so relieved! I just hope this is it though, and she can get old peacefully now. Poor baby.

I'm so pleased your little Peanut is doing well! :vebo:

yes i'm glad too.

I'm glad to hear that. Don't freak out if you see any lumps near the incision, one of mine would absess every time she had a surgery and I always freaked out thinking it was a new tumor.

Great to hear!!!!

Awesome! I'm glad!

Awww, poor baby. Rats are such troopers though, she's gonna do just fine. Let us know how she's feeling later on!

does your ratty have a tumor? if any new growths do appear, try a few drops of rescue remedy on the area. one of my previous rats had a tumor on his face, and rescue remedy shrunk it to the size of a mosquito bite--i'm sure it was much more comfortable for him.

Are you sure it was a tumor not an absess? A tumor on the face would be rare, while an abess would be pretty common and more likely to shrink on its own.

i guess i am not 100% sure if it was a tumor, but his sister started getting growths at about the same time he did...little oliver's growth was large for weeks, and then it shrunk in a matter of a day or two...then the rescue remedy worked for morgan as well. if they did have abscesses, i think treating them sped up their healing process greatly, and my ratties were very happy to be able to groom themselves without large lumps getting in the way.

I had a rat named Sophia who was my little darling. She passed away because of a tumor I didn't know about (I had to leave her at home when I went to college, my parents didn't notice anything wrong) she passed away in her sleep thankfully but I miss her still.

I've had rats since and two kitties (one of whom is my 23 pound chocolate coloured boyfriend :smitten:

But I still wish Sophia was alive! I can sympathize with your worry! I hope she makes a full recovery!!!

I noticed a little lump yesterday - my first thought (before reading belovedtree's and other replies) was "Tumour!". Up to the vet's this morning, says it's probably an abcess but can't be sure, so we have another surgery booked for Wednesday.

Is this a good idea? 2 surgeries in 1 week... I don't know if her little body can take it! (Or my bank balance).

On the other hand, when they took the other tumour out, it was infected, which is probably what caused this abcess (even though she's been on antibiotics).

Do abcesses shrink on their own? I don't want it to pop inside her and give her blood poisoning or anything (can you tell I don't really know what I'm talking about?). Am waiting for a phone call from the vet who treated her last week since we saw a different guy this morning (same practice) to see what he says.

Advice? Comments?

Thank your for all your help and support!

I've never had rats before, but i think that two surgeries in a week would be too much for any animal.Isn't it possible to wait a while to see if it gets any bigger?

The bigger it gets the more difficult it will be to remove, I guess. The vet said if it is an abcess, they tend to get pretty 'cheesy' quickly, and in the long run wouldn't be good for the rat.

Still waiting to hear from the vet who did the op last week though.

Well, whatever is decided, i hope everything works out for you & Peanut, Tinygirl. :)

I hope that Peanut is doing well... I just love rats =)

Vet phoned last night at 9.30 (that's commitment for you!) - definitely thinks we need to re-operate, and will put her on a stronger course of antibiotics. The lump last week also had some 'funny' qualities unlike the typical tumours that rats usually get, so he suggested sending it away to be analysed. This rat is going to bankrupt me!

Peanut is doing fine though, she had some milk-soaked bread this morning (great for disguising the antibiotic she's currently on), and has been playing with Polly and doing a bit of mutual grooming, so she's seems quite happy in herself.

i'm glad she is at least happy, I certainly understand how you feel about rats bankrupting you, if I had half the money I've spent on rat surgeries....well I've made a deal with myself that I'll never add it all up so I never know the whole amount but I know one of my rats was a good $900 by herself over her lifetime easy.

Yep, I think I'll ignore the bank statements for a while! It'll all be worth it in the end though, even if she only gets just a little while longer.