I don't really post on the Rodent side of the forum as my guys are pretty cool and have been for a while (plus I have had an awesome relationship with my vet).

recently though I have had a bought of lumps on my Boyses throats. Bohater, Sherman and Romulus have all seemed to get them (at different times) in the last 3 months. We have completely steam cleaned the cage, gone back from Finacard to Carefresh had lab tests on the puss (came back Staphylococcus - which the vet said is a common as air) but they all seem to get them in rotation.

I came back from my vet today and the nurse asked me to explain my cleaning regime and treated me like an idiot! She told me that rats never get abscesses so "something must be up".

I just feel like a total failure Going from my 10 strong hoard to 5 over the last 6 months and now 3 of my 5 being on and off into the vet I just feel like maybe she is right and I am doing something wrong.

So, has anyone got any advise/tips/experience as I am not sure how much more I can take!

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have they had antibiotics?

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Have I read correctly that she said rats never get abcesses? Rommel had a nasty one at the moment which hes having veterinary treatment for, and the vet confirmed it is an abcess. Have you got a picture of the lumps?

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gsds (Henrick and Bella), the cats (Syd, Lilly, Elvis and Dizzy), the gerbils (Honey, Lisa, crusty, Millhouse, Flanders, Bart and Homer), the rats (Valentine, Flower, Petal, Blossom, Koda, Cava, George), the mice (Minnie, Pop, Seudag, Caraid, Silver, Trouble, Athena, Pandora, Aphrodite, Meep, and Springtime)

I think you need to try a different vet, rats get abscesses very commonly!

Have you treated them with a spot on mite treatment just in case it's a strange reaction to mites? I'd second some antibiotics too, and bathe the lumps in salted boiled cooled water as well.

Good luck! How awful of the vet, considering your relationship, to think you were doing something that would cause this kind of a reaction in your ratties!

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RIP - Marsh, Hugo, Mako, Rufus, Seamus, Lavender, BigBoy, Tetley and Fitch <3

Thanks for the replies, all have been lanced and are on Baytril, wound is cleaned 3 times a day with Hibi solution, it goes down then 3-4 weeks later starts building up again.

Have treated them all for mites as a matter of course, I am just at my wits end!

They are all 1.5 -2 years old now so not young and I'm just worried that all this lancing, poking and prodding is going to send them to the bridge. They are all fit and healthy otherwise eat well, don't fight (minus the odd squabble for the spudnik).

I have done everything I can always take them to the vet straight away, pay for the lancing, tests, meds...(Not that the money is an issue)..but this silly vet nurse has just pushed me to the edge. I've had rats for over 3 years now, I know from the forums and Midlands rat club that abscesses aren't uncommon but when I said this she just said "rat's live in sewers, how could they live somewhere so filthy if they got abscesses?"

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Personally I would complain to the vet about the nurse, rats can commonly get abscesses.

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I would defiantly say something next time your there.

Are you giving them any yoghurt?

It seems so strange that they are all getting the same problem. what do you keep in their cage/room?

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No, does that help?

They have their own bedroom so the only things in their is their cage which we are steam cleaning every week, their cat tree, tubes, etc. for free ranging, food bin and that's it. I hoover once a week all their toys are being changed or washed every week. Their room is the cleanest in the house!

ETA - Bo' and Sherman are brothers which, when it was just the two of them I though explained it but with Rom now getting one I just don't know.

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Are they bite wounds turning into abscesses, or abscesses under the skin?
I don't know if you have tried this but manuka honey is great for healing abscesses

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As far as I'm aware it's common for rats to get abscesses, I might not own any but I do own mice and have found that they develop them as well. Something that my vet suggested was that related rodents may develop the abscesses at similar times if they are susceptible to them under the same conditions. Has your vet considered a blocked gland or a tumour? I know that there are probably more common issues that cause them, but two mice that I've lost to abscesses have turned out to have a tumour causing them (apparently it's rare but it is seen in dogs sometimes as well) and on my other boys (all brothers) they all develop abscesses in their genital region, exactly where a gland is. Maybe they could check to see if your rats abscesses are located in an area where a gland is? I would think that it would perhaps need antibiotics as well as something else to help if it did turn out to be that. Whatever it is that is causing them I hope that you get to the bottom of it soon and your ratties get back to normal

I second the suggestion of complaining about the vet nurse. I had an argument with another numpty recently who said the same thing. Rats don't choose to live in sewers and are usually forced to live there to avoid human interaction, and they have such a high mortality rate that it would be unlikely that they have a chance to develop abscesses before succumbing to things like infections, traps, people, cats etc. Rats and mice also don't have any evolution advantage that has allowed them to cope with living in such filthy conditions that I know of. If they had some biological advantage that meant they could only live in filthy conditions then the vets and animal welfare organisations would need to encourage you never to clean your cage out otherwise their health would affected detrimentally. The fact that this vet nurse is supposed to be trained in animals doesn't know that, and yet I do and never specialised in any particular science during my degree would make me question what other rubbish she is spouting so at the very least you need to make the vet aware of her being a problem - after all, if she has your back up when you are worried about your rats, there is a chance she is doing something else to other pet owners and the vet will want to address this to prevent alienating his client base

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