# What's the difference between and abcess and a tumour?



## polishrose (Oct 26, 2011)

I mean how can I tell which is which?One of my daughter's mice has a lump on the side of her neck-about the size of a malteser and it wasn't there 2 days ago-it looks like it has a shiny blister on the top so I'm leaning towards it being an abcess or I think possible the cat may have caught her through the bars with a claw(she is banned from there now).Can I do anything at home?She is running around as normal and eating and drinking and playing and hasn't lost any weight.I have hibiscrub at home and a tiny bit of baytril left.I tried to have a feel of it but she's so quick and wriggly and I was scared of hurting her.


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## Lurcherlad (Jan 5, 2013)

I'm no expert, but if there is no sign of a wound, I doubt it is an abscess.

I know rats are very susceptible to tumours, both benign and malignant (one of mine had one surgically removed, but I wish I hadn't put her through the op, because another one grew quite quickly afterward.)

I would get it checked by a vet, but depending on the age of the mouse I would probably leave it be if it is diagnosed as a tumour.


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## Lil Miss (Dec 11, 2010)

abscess' are liquid filled (puss) lumps which are essentially an infection, i find you can generally smell abscess, before they burst if you sniff the area really close, but then again im very sensative to the smell of them lol, tumors are harder.


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## kodakkuki (Aug 8, 2011)

Gideon had an abcess a while back that had no visable marks but a Huge lump- i naturally thought tumor, so went to the vets and told them that. her reply was, 'so we're expecting tumor but hoping for puss?' and she left the room with him to go and poke at it a bit... 
well i've never seen a woman so happy to be covered in rat puss as when she walked back in to that room! she'd thought from the density and lack of wound that it must have been a tumor- but abscess!!!!!


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

I recently had to deal with one of my ratties abcess which initially I thought was a tumour as I'd never seen an abcess like it. It was the size of a golf ball but when I walked into the lounge to see denzel biting at the area I got him out and was greeted by green pus just like mushy peas. I've never been so happier to see an abcess. There were loads of it coming away. It left a huge hole in his neck it also took 2 weeks to fully heal properly and that was with 3 times a day salt water bathing.

If I were you I'd try to put a warm compress on the lump area to see if it comes to a head. If it doesn't and over the next few days ulcerates then its a tumour ad this is what happened to dooey my rat.


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## polishrose (Oct 26, 2011)

Thanks I'll try the warm compress on it if I can work out how to apply it to a very small wriggly mouse and see how it goes over a few days-if no change or it doesn't burst I'll take her to the vets on Tuesday.


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## fatrat (May 14, 2012)

Generally, in my experience, if it's hard it's an abscess, if it's soft/squidgy it's a tumor.


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

fatrat said:


> Generally, in my experience, if it's hard it's an abscess, if it's soft/squidgy it's a tumor.


This hasn't been the case with abcesss I've come across.


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## CRL (Jan 3, 2012)

abscesses are satisfying, tumours are not. :001_huh:
ask any rat owners what they would rather have. a tumour or abscess. squeezing them is rather enjoyable. whereas tumours nearly always mean surgery.


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## CRL (Jan 3, 2012)

the best way ive found to tell which is which is to get the vet to use a needle. when he draws it out it will be filled with pus or nothing. if filled with pus then its an abcess that he can drain for you. and if it has nothing then its more than likely a tumour.


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## polishrose (Oct 26, 2011)

Quick update on meecey-the lump started oozing yesterday so I squeezed it and loads of blood and green stuff came out.It's still quite big but didn't want to squeeze too much so bathed it and will have another go in a minute.


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## Lil Miss (Dec 11, 2010)

thats good  if you have a syringe to hand you can try flushing the crap out with saline solution


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

Ooooh lovely


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## kodakkuki (Aug 8, 2011)

another happy puss covered lady!!
it'll smell 'lovely' in a day or so just so ya know!
if it doesnt seem to be clearing quick enough you can get the vet to make a small draining incision to help it clear quicker (lancing)
hope the wee love feels better soon!


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## polishrose (Oct 26, 2011)

OK not sure it's an abcess...it doesn't smell at all.The stuff coming out is grey and lumpy and there's lots of blood.I squeezed quite a bit out today and the lump now looks saggy.There's a big hole too.Here's 2 pics(sorry) of the lump half way through squeezing and second pic is a pic of a bit that came out.Oops hang on pic 2 coming-not on the pc yet


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## polishrose (Oct 26, 2011)

Here's pic 2-no close ups sorry lol

I spoke with a vet on the phone and she advised to bring her in tomorrow morning.


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

Could've been a cyst? 
If not the tumour?

That doesn't look like the pus I've dealt with in the past from abcess's


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## CRL (Jan 3, 2012)

looks like a cyst. my Wraythe had what i thought was an absess, i squezzed gently and this came out


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## polishrose (Oct 26, 2011)

Eww. We have vets at 4:40pm today.


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

Oh do let us know how you get on.


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## polishrose (Oct 26, 2011)

Vet cancelled and rebooked for tomorrow morning but sadly when I got her out this evening the lump had gone back to being huge again. Squeezed it and loads came out. Was washing it after and just about to put meecey back in the cage when she went totally still and stopped breathing. I tried to breath on her and massage her chest but it didn't help. I held her for a bit hoping for a miracle but there wasn't one. RIP Vervaine. So sad.
Do you think it was just that the lump was so big? It was the size of her head. And although most of what was inside came out yesterday it had swelled up to the same size overnight. :-( I'm so sad. I hope I didn't make her die by trying to get the yucky stuff out. The vet did say to carry on with that. :-(


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

Oh no hun I'm so sorry.
I'm sure it wasn't anything you did. If it grew back that quick maybe it was a tumour but there was just more of it underneath the bit you removed. 
Was it solid the stuff that you removed? It looked like a jelly bean.

Sleep tight vervaine xxx


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## polishrose (Oct 26, 2011)

Yes looked like it would be squidgy but it was solid. Looked like grains of rice in size. Parts were kind of slimy but it was mostly solid. Didn't smell at all.


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

Hmmmm I'm not sure I'm edging towards tumour??


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## polishrose (Oct 26, 2011)

I was amazed how much it grew overnight after it'd been almost empty the night before. It wasn't one solid lump. There were like several clumps of the solid stuff all joined together and I could feel them inside the lump once it had been emptied a bit. And loads of blood. I was expecting pus and this was nothing like any pus I've ever seem, even the lumpy kind. And definitely no smell not even right up close. And the hold in the lump stayed open overnight. So yesterday you could see inside the lump. Sorry for tmi.


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

I'm wondering if it was a zymbals tumour which rats can get but with mice I'm not so sure. But the position of where it was on vervaine if on a rat would point me to thinking zymbals tumour.

How are you feeling now hun?


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

Here read this hun and see the pics beware they are a bit gorey.
Health Guide: Zymbal's Gland Tumor


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## polishrose (Oct 26, 2011)

I think that might have been it.The position of it is exactly where it's shown on the pics.


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

Oh bless. I know its not much help and won't make you feel any better but vervaine would've only been suffering as there's no cure for zymbals gland tumour. There nasty things.


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## polishrose (Oct 26, 2011)

Poor Vervaine.I'll show Ela that page though so she knows what it was.


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

By suffering I mean if it was left it would've gotten bigger on her face. I think it was in its early stages when you found it.


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## polishrose (Oct 26, 2011)

Gosh bigger than that?It was already the same size as her head  Literally came up overnight.


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

An aggressive tumour


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