# Bump on Side of Face



## isl3cat (Jan 9, 2021)

Hi friends, my little guy has a bump on his face, and it's bizarre because it seems like it came out of nowhere. I swear a few days ago his face seemed normal, and then this bump developed seemingly over night. It almost looks like he's hoarding something in his mouth, but it's been like this for days now, and I don't know what to do. He's still eating, drinking, and exploring when I take him and his companion out of their cage, but this just doesn't look normal, and I'm concerned. I'll be calling the vet and setting up an appointment first thing on Monday (no place near me is open tomorrow because of Easter).

Have any of you seen this before? If so, did it usually mean something serious? I'm also concerned because he was just treated for a respiratory infection last month. His breathing is better, but still labored compared to his cage mate. I would hate to put him through another stressful visit to a vet so soon after being seen by one only a month ago.


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## ratbusters (Aug 28, 2020)

Maybe a tooth abscess? So great to hear he's off to the vet soon. We'd be interested to hear the outcome.


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## MinkShadow (Mar 5, 2021)

I would agree with @ratbusters, in the place it seems to be likely a dental abcess.


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## Rats4All (Feb 4, 2021)

Any updates?????


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## isl3cat (Jan 9, 2021)

I have an appointment for him today at my vet in about 2 hours. I'll update you all when I have more info.


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## Rats4All (Feb 4, 2021)

fingers crossed that it is nothing bad!!!


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## isl3cat (Jan 9, 2021)

It's not looking very promising  They said his breathing doesn't sound good, and they can't know for sure if the lump is cancerous unless they take a sample and send it to a lab. They want to X-ray him too, and none of these things are cheap. He's about two years and three months old. I told them to go ahead with the tests, and I want to stay positive, but I can't help but think that this might be it for him.


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## MinkShadow (Mar 5, 2021)

Aw, poor boy. At least he's lived a long rattie life with someone who cares <3


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## Rats4All (Feb 4, 2021)

Ya! Stay positive! He will be ok!


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## isl3cat (Jan 9, 2021)

Update: My vet got back to me yesterday with the results, and she found that the abscess isn't cancerous thankfully. She suspects that it was caused by an infected bite or cut on his face. After doing a little research, abscesses seem to be somewhat common with rats, so I'm not quite as concerned as I was before.

His breathing is still a bit strained despite being on the antibiotics, so I'm a little concerned about that. He's supposed to be on them for the next three weeks, so I guess I'll see if the breathing gets better.


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## MinkShadow (Mar 5, 2021)

Ouch, poor boy! Hope he recovers quickly!


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## CorbinDallasMyMan (Feb 24, 2017)

You might want to do a little research on exotics vets in your area. Next time one of your rats needs a vet, you might want to think about trying someone else. An abscess should've been your vet's very first guess. Getting lab tests was likely a waste of money. An x-ray might have been helpful to determine if there's an issue with your rat's teeth. Antibiotics will help but if there's some sort of tooth problem going on, antibiotics will only address the symptoms and not the cause. If there's no evidence of a bite or scratch on the outside of your rat's face, the cause is likely on the _inside_ of your rat's face.


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## RatCrazyGirl (Feb 7, 2021)

Omg, My rat once got the same thing very suddenly, and died in a few days! I hope your baby makes it!


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## isl3cat (Jan 9, 2021)

Been a while since I've posted an update. I appreciate the advice from all of you, and I just wanted to let you all know that his abscess has healed completely, and continuing the antibiotics has also helped to clear up an infection in his lungs. He's putting on weight again too, and I'm hopeful that he'll live a good while longer <3


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## ratbusters (Aug 28, 2020)

Awww, so glad he is well! Thankyou so much for giving an update - we are always interested in the outcome. Bet he is feeling so much better.


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## RHFT (Jan 10, 2022)

isl3cat said:


> Been a while since I've posted an update. I appreciate the advice from all of you, and I just wanted to let you all know that his abscess has healed completely, and continuing the antibiotics has also helped to clear up an infection in his lungs. He's putting on weight again too, and I'm hopeful that he'll live a good while longer <3


Hey there @isl3cat - My rattie has something that looks exactly what your rat had. You mentioned it healed completely, what did you do to take care of it? Did you get it drained and did you have to flush it out with saline for a while? Also, did it ever return? I'm a bit panicked as I heard facial abscesses are very serious. I have an appointment with the vet tomorrow, but was just curious what your experience was like now that some time has passed. Thanks so much!
-M.


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## RHFT (Jan 10, 2022)

Hey there @isl3cat - My rattie has something that looks exactly what your rat had. You mentioned it healed completely, what did you do to take care of it? Did you get it drained and did you have to flush it out with saline for a while? Also, did it ever return? I'm a bit panicked as I heard facial abscesses are very serious. I have an appointment with the vet tomorrow, but was just curious what your experience was like now that some time has passed. Thanks so much!
-M.


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## Verucasdad (Aug 31, 2015)

I just went to the vet for this yesterday! My Ahab had a lump show up on his face Sunday. I have had a rat with an abscess before so I knew that was probably the case. Sure enough, it was an abscess and they drained it. He has antibiotics to take and I have to clean it and make sure there is no more build up of stuff. My vet OK'd me to use saline solution that you use for contacts to clean it and Neosporin to put on it.


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## RHFT (Jan 10, 2022)

Verucasdad said:


> I just went to the vet for this yesterday! My Ahab had a lump show up on his face Sunday. I have had a rat with an abscess before so I knew that was probably the case. Sure enough, it was an abscess and they drained it. He has antibiotics to take and I have to clean it and make sure there is no more build up of stuff. My vet OK'd me to use saline solution that you use for contacts to clean it and Neosporin to put on it.


Hi! I heard face abscesses can be dangerous and also can reoccur. Please keep us updated on your rattie! I would love to hear how Ahab does! How old is he/she?
My rat went to the vet a few days ago on Monday. The vet aspirated the abcsess on her face, drained out a lot of green pus and checked for hard lumps. She also tried to look inside the mouth to see if there was an infection. As for flushing the abcsess with saline from home, the needle hole was so small so I cannot flush it. So it's basically wait and see. She is currently on Clavamox and Metacam. Fingers crossed it doesn't return!


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## Pandemonium of Pebbles (Nov 30, 2021)

Verucasdad said:


> I just went to the vet for this yesterday! My Ahab had a lump show up on his face Sunday. I have had a rat with an abscess before so I knew that was probably the case. Sure enough, it was an abscess and they drained it. He has antibiotics to take and I have to clean it and make sure there is no more build up of stuff. My vet OK'd me to use saline solution that you use for contacts to clean it and Neosporin to put on it.


just so you know, a lot of people recommend not using Vaseline, as it heals the abscess from the outside. abscesses need to heal from the inside, or they’ll close again and trap the bacteria, allowing it to spread or reoccur.


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## Verucasdad (Aug 31, 2015)

I wasn't planning on using vaseline?


RHFT said:


> Hi! I heard face abscesses can be dangerous and also can reoccur. Please keep us updated on your rattie! I would love to hear how Ahab does! How old is he/she?
> My rat went to the vet a few days ago on Monday. The vet aspirated the abcsess on her face, drained out a lot of green pus and checked for hard lumps. She also tried to look inside the mouth to see if there was an infection. As for flushing the abcsess with saline from home, the needle hole was so small so I cannot flush it. So it's basically wait and see. She is currently on Clavamox and Metacam. Fingers crossed it doesn't return!


He is 1 1/2. You can still keep the area clean with saline. We are using Baytril here.


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## Pandemonium of Pebbles (Nov 30, 2021)

Verucasdad said:


> I wasn't planning on using vaseline?
> 
> He is 1 1/2. You can still keep the area clean with saline. We are using Baytril here.


oh, i’m sorry
i meant Neosporin
sorry lol


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## Verucasdad (Aug 31, 2015)

Pandemonium of Pebbles said:


> oh, i’m sorry
> i meant Neosporin
> sorry lol


My vet advised using Neosporin. I've used it before. I clean the area and palpate it to make sure there is no build up. Unfortunately, this isn't my first rodeo. The last one had necrotic tissue and the wound was huge.


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## isl3cat (Jan 9, 2021)

RHFT said:


> Hey there @isl3cat - My rattie has something that looks exactly what your rat had. You mentioned it healed completely, what did you do to take care of it? Did you get it drained and did you have to flush it out with saline for a while? Also, did it ever return? I'm a bit panicked as I heard facial abscesses are very serious. I have an appointment with the vet tomorrow, but was just curious what your experience was like now that some time has passed. Thanks so much!
> -M.


Hi friend! Apologies for this super late response, life got busy and I fell out of the habit of logging on here. To answer your question, yes, the abscess did heal completely. My vet didn't drain it or do anything to it. She prescribed him some antibiotics, and giving those to him just made the abscess go away on its own.


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## Rattyboiz (10 mo ago)

isl3cat said:


> Been a while since I've posted an update. I appreciate the advice from all of you, and I just wanted to let you all know that his abscess has healed completely, and continuing the antibiotics has also helped to clear up an infection in his lungs. He's putting on weight again too, and I'm hopeful that he'll live a good while longer <3


Hi, i have a rat same age and with the same problem. What antibiotics did they put him on if i may ask? Please respond if possible. Thank you



isl3cat said:


> Been a while since I've posted an update. I appreciate the advice from all of you, and I just wanted to let you all know that his abscess has healed completely, and continuing the antibiotics has also helped to clear up an infection in his lungs. He's putting on weight again too, and I'm hopeful that he'll live a good while longer <3


Hi could you please list the antibiotics they used and how long? My rat has the same issue and this would help immensely. Thank you


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## isl3cat (Jan 9, 2021)

Rattyboiz said:


> Hi, i have a rat same age and with the same problem. What antibiotics did they put him on if i may ask? Please respond if possible. Thank you
> 
> 
> Hi could you please list the antibiotics they used and how long? My rat has the same issue and this would help immensely. Thank you



Hi! I just saw this, sorry for the delay. He was on baytril and doxycycline I believe. Hope this helps


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