# lump in cheek that has ruptured, advice please (female rat)



## Rosie_s234 (Aug 9, 2015)

about 12 days ago, my lovely little lady Poppy developed a lump inside her cheek. I took her straight to the vets who put her under anaesthetic to have a look at it better. The vet said there was a lot of 'cheesy puss' and what appeared to be an infection rotting her cheek. She could remove a lot of it as it resulted in her bleeding. She's gave a course of antibiotics - baytril and metronidazole to take for 10 days initially. Initially the lump got bigger, but a few days after taking the antibiotics, a small area of her cheek (like a pin prick) opened up enough for a lot of the puss to come out. Her cheek was much smaller after that and was looking better. A few days later however her skin broke down even more leaving what looked like a hole in her cheek. There was no puss and she didn't appear in any pain, but the hard lump remains. I took her straight to the vets (a different vet) who said that it was a good sign, looked it was healing and dry. I took her back again two days later to see the original vet to review if she needed more medication. The lump is still really hard in her cheek, and she had hoped the antibiotics would have done more by now. She feels that having it removed would involve taking out most of her outer cheek leaving her with a hole along her jaw. She admitted she is not expert in this field and recommended refer all to a specialist (with a hefty price tag). This morning the original opening where puss came out appears to have opened again and the fur around it is wet so it's likely been oozing. Poppy herself is acting completely normal, she doesn't appear in any pain, still bright eyed, eating drinking, and playing with her mate. Has any one had any experience in this before? I've decided to continue with meds whilst I do some research for a few days. Any feedback would be really appreciated. She's only 7 months old and my baby


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## Jennie111585 (Dec 2, 2015)

The same thing happened to my Sally. Did you ever figure out what caused it? Sally is an odd rat has she looses her hair in some places a d grows one long tooth. I did some research and it turns out she's part mole rat. Any who.. she also got a large lump on her cheek (not the side the long tooth grows on). The lump seemed to be getting smaller over the past few days. Then today it seems the entire cheek is gone and now showing the grayish, pink, green skin under the fur. We originally got her from the pet store and she was pregnant which they felled to tell us. So it's been a journey. Not surethane how old she is..


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## elmthesofties (Aug 8, 2011)

Jennie111585 said:


> The same thing happened to my Sally. Did you ever figure out what caused it? Sally is an odd rat has she looses her hair in some places a d grows one long tooth. I did some research and it turns out she's part mole rat. Any who.. she also got a large lump on her cheek (not the side the long tooth grows on). The lump seemed to be getting smaller over the past few days. Then today it seems the entire cheek is gone and now showing the grayish, pink, green skin under the fur. We originally got her from the pet store and she was pregnant which they felled to tell us. So it's been a journey. Not surethane how old she is..


Have you not seen a vet? Your poor rat sounds like she's in pretty bad shape.


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## Rosie_s234 (Aug 9, 2015)

Jennie111585 said:


> The same thing happened to my Sally. Did you ever figure out what caused it? Sally is an odd rat has she looses her hair in some places a d grows one long tooth. I did some research and it turns out she's part mole rat. Any who.. she also got a large lump on her cheek (not the side the long tooth grows on). The lump seemed to be getting smaller over the past few days. Then today it seems the entire cheek is gone and now showing the grayish, pink, green skin under the fur. We originally got her from the pet store and she was pregnant which they felled to tell us. So it's been a journey. Not surethane how old she is..


I took her to see a more specialised vet and after having a look he felt that it was an infection possibly caused by a cut by tooth or sharp food, possible even a fight with her mate (although it would have been difficult for Penny to get inside her cheek as there was no visible wound at the beginning) as it didn't respond to antibiotics, and couldn't be removed as it would have left a huge hole in her face, she was put down as it got bigger we felt it was kinder before it started to impact on her airwaves  I hope your little one has a better prognosis though! I did a lot of research and it looks as though most abscesses are easily treated, this one was just really nasty


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## Jennie111585 (Dec 2, 2015)

elmthesofties said:


> Have you not seen a vet? Your poor rat sounds like she's in pretty bad shape.


I did end up taking her to the vet earlier today they gave her Tylenol and cleaned the area. It's looking better already. I have to put Neosho in on it 3 a day. But they where un sure of what caused it. They did in fact confirm she is from a naked mole rat.which I originaly thought and explaines the tooth and hair loss. But I just feel like I should be doing more or more should be done.


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## elmthesofties (Aug 8, 2011)

Jennie111585 said:


> They did in fact confirm she is from a naked mole rat.


You're joking, aren't you? Because I honestly can't tell.
Did they not clip her tooth, too?


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

Rosie_s234 said:


> I took her to see a more specialised vet and after having a look he felt that it was an infection possibly caused by a cut by tooth or sharp food, possible even a fight with her mate (although it would have been difficult for Penny to get inside her cheek as there was no visible wound at the beginning) as it didn't respond to antibiotics, and couldn't be removed as it would have left a huge hole in her face, she was put down as it got bigger we felt it was kinder before it started to impact on her airwaves  I hope your little one has a better prognosis though! I did a lot of research and it looks as though most abscesses are easily treated, this one was just really nasty


I've got a feeling it could've been a zymbals gland tumour and not an abcess http://ratguide.com/health/neoplasia/zymbals_gland_tumor.php
Very sorry to hear the sad news


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

elmthesofties said:


> You're joking, aren't you? Because I honestly can't tell.
> Did they not clip her tooth, too?


Yeh it does sound very odd!
I reckon they had a double Rex rat and not a mole rat.


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

Jennie111585 said:


> I did end up taking her to the vet earlier today they gave her Tylenol and cleaned the area. It's looking better already. I have to put Neosho in on it 3 a day. But they where un sure of what caused it. They did in fact confirm she is from a naked mole rat.which I originaly thought and explaines the tooth and hair loss. But I just feel like I should be doing more or more should be done.


How did the confirm this? And do u have any pictures?


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## StormyThai (Sep 11, 2013)

It is completely impossible for a rat and naked mole rat to breed. You have a double rex


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

.
.
To the OP [non-mole rat / cheek abscess, likely, which ruptured] -
i'm not a vet; however, continued anti-Bs while looking for a 2nd opinion / specialized
info would seem to me to be responsible & correct. That's what i'd do, personally,
if my rattie had that problem. 
.
How much is the fee for the specialist?
it might be the fastest way to a correct Dx & Tx. If it's remotely affordable, or if the
specialist would accept payments - even half up front, or similar - that might be a
way to make it easier to afford.
.
As a final resort, asking relatives or friends to help with the vet-bill as a present for Ur
happy [certainly happi*er*] Solstice / Christmas / Hanukkah, might bring the co$t down
to something that's within reach.
Making Rattie wait, even if she's eating / acting fairly normal, could be painful or allow
continued growth / bacterial secretion / possible spread to systemic infection, or if it's
a tumor of some sort, metastasization.
.
That it's "hard" to the touch makes me wonder. Maybe an awn? A whisker under her
skin?... Some other foreign object?
.
Did the vet do a jawline radiograph? A tooth impaction is one possibility, if the vet didn't
eliminate that via X-ray.
Whatever it is, i hope it's healing & is soon gone! ::thumb-up::
.
.
.


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## Jennie111585 (Dec 2, 2015)

elmthesofties said:


> You're joking, aren't you? Because I honestly can't tell.
> Did they not clip her tooth, too?


Not joking at all. They said the tooth will fall out on its own. Which is very strange in my opinion. And they honestly didn't seem to helpful


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## Jennie111585 (Dec 2, 2015)

blade100 said:


> I've got a feeling it could've been a zymbals gland tumour and not an abcess http://ratguide.com/health/neoplasia/zymbals_gland_tumor.php
> Very sorry to hear the sad news


Thank you for sharing the link. It looked alot the the one in the second picture at first but it was more under her eye then near her ear. And has shrunk since the visit to the vet.


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## Jennie111585 (Dec 2, 2015)

blade100 said:


> How did the confirm this? And do u have any pictures?


By x rays I guess it shows in the growth of there bones and such.


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

Have u got a picture of your rat in question?


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## Jennie111585 (Dec 2, 2015)

StormyThai said:


> It is completely impossible for a rat and naked mole rat to breed. You have a double rex


That's what I thought until they confirmed. It's like a dog and cat have babies. Cant be done


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## Jennie111585 (Dec 2, 2015)

As soon as I get home I'll post pictures  I would really like to figure this out. As the vet was not much help.


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## elmthesofties (Aug 8, 2011)

Jennie111585 said:


> Not joking at all. They said the tooth will fall out on its own. Which is very strange in my opinion. And they honestly didn't seem to helpful


I meant about her being a naked mole rat. 
Naked mole rats are not common in captivity. Even if they could breed with rats, the young would be of massive interest. Why would you sell a F1 bengal cat as a moggie, for example, when you know there's money to be made in it? If your vets confirmed it, then change vets, because they clearly have no idea whatsoever what they're talking about. That's like asking my vet if my cat is part tiger because he's ginger and black and them confirming it's true.

It is strange that they said the tooth will fall out on it's own. If it's growing out a lot, then it could be causing her some discomfort or preventing her from eating.


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## Jennie111585 (Dec 2, 2015)




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## Jennie111585 (Dec 2, 2015)

It has gotten a lot better now and is almost scab like. As the medicine and Neosho in seem to be doing the trick. I should have taken pictures of the lumpp and after it came off. But as stated before I feel something else should have been done..


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

She is beautiful however she is NOT a mole rat! She's a standard normal fancy rat.
She's a black hooded. And she's a top ear.
Why on earth did your vet say she's part mole?????


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

Has she got any cage mates?


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## StormyThai (Sep 11, 2013)

Zero chance of her being a mole rat (it was slim before I saw a pic lol)...my main priority would be to source a reputable vet, no way I would trust a vet that can't understand basic biology lol

I wonder what this vet would have made of my naked fancy rats lmao


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

StormyThai said:


> Zero chance of her being a mole rat (it was slim before I saw a pic lol)...my main priority would be to source a reputable vet, no way I would trust a vet that can't understand basic biology lol
> 
> I wonder what this vet would have made of my naked fancy rats lmao


If he was my vet I'd be seriously questioning where the hell he was trained to even be a vet! If he suggested that to me I think I'd of keeled over with laughter whilst wetting myself! :Hilarious
And then promptly changing vets!


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## elmthesofties (Aug 8, 2011)

As said, she's beautiful but pretty much as standard as they come. Standard coat, top ear, quite common coat colour and markings... if your vet saw naked mole rat in her then either they know something we don't about the general rat population, or they don't know what they're doing.
Just wondering if it's the lighting, but her forearm appears a little pink... is that the fur loss? Maybe ask a different vet to check out her skin, because rats with standard coats aren't expected to lose their fur. I'm just throwing ideas out there but if her skin is making her uncomfortable, she may have been scratching a lot, which might explain fur loss and an abscess.

Maybe look into some other types of bedding, too. It looks like she's on wood shavings, which are generally considered quite bad.


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

.
.
The diploid # of chromosomes in NMRs is 60.
.
That of brown rats [domesticated] is 42.
Ergo, they cannot interbreed - they are too genetically dissimilar.
.
Black rats have a diploid # of 38 - so they cannot breed with NMRs,
either. [I refer here to black rats as a SPECIES - not a color morph
in domestic rats; black rats are AKA tree rats or palm rats].
.
.
.


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