Rat tumor HELP PLEASE

[xWILDxREPTILEx]

Hello, I have been breeding rats now for about a year and I have just stumbled across a problem I have yet had to deal with. One of my female rats who has given me a bunch of babies has a giant tumor on her belly I say it's a tumor because I don't know what else it could be. Now here is my question will this effect all the rat babies and the ones she just had is it safe to keep these babies or should I get rid of them unfortunately I put all the baby rats together so about 50 or so are mixed together which would mean a lot of babies dying I just need some advice I like to give my customers the best they can get and I don't want to sell a rat to someone that could kill there snake

[cchardwick]

My guess is that it's cancer and won't spread to the babies. You should euthanize that female once the babies are weaned and replace her with one of her offspring. If the babies get cancer too it may be genetic, you may have to get a new line of rats. I haven't had an issue with my rats but I do replace all of my older males and females before they get to the end of their life. Most animals will get cancer once they reach the end of life right before they die, just don't let your rats get that old, maybe replace them at 1.5 years old.

[xWILDxREPTILEx]

Absolutely i will euthanize here asap but how will i know if the babies have it

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Most likely a mammary tumor which is not unusual for breeder females to develop, hard to tell without a picture.

[xWILDxREPTILEx]

Just got done euthanizing her she made a mess

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Yep that is a mammary tumor, usually you do not see them that big but some can grow very fast.

I usually will euthanize soon as I see a small growth as it only get worth.

[xWILDxREPTILEx]

Yep that is a mammary tumor, usually you do not see them that big but some can grow very fast.

I usually will euthanize soon as I see a small growth as it only get worth.

Will that spread to the babies or no?

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Will that spread to the babies or no?

Any female that is bred heavily can develop mammary tumor, pets that are never bred can too.

Now is cancer hereditary? Well yes in both humans and animals if cancer is part of the family history it would increase the risks for future generation, but so does poor lifestyle and environmental issues.

[wolfy-hound]

Rats have a tendency towards tumors. That's why labs use them so much. Certain lines are bred distinctly to have cancers, in fact.

Cancers and mammary tumors do not spread. They are not contagious. Now, will her babies have more of a chance to develop cancer/tumors? Hard to say without knowing which type of tumor that is.

Most likely, you won't see any higher number of tumors in her offspring, but if so, then you can begin culling them out of your colony. Right now, you admit you can't tell her offspring from the others.

If you can keep a record on who is who, it will help the breeding program down the line. That way you can tell who have larger litters, faster growing offspring, less weight loss after birth... etc.

[xWILDxREPTILEx]

Rats have a tendency towards tumors. That's why labs use them so much. Certain lines are bred distinctly to have cancers, in fact.

Cancers and mammary tumors do not spread. They are not contagious. Now, will her babies have more of a chance to develop cancer/tumors? Hard to say without knowing which type of tumor that is.

Most likely, you won't see any higher number of tumors in her offspring, but if so, then you can begin culling them out of your colony. Right now, you admit you can't tell her offspring from the others.

If you can keep a record of who is who, it will help the breeding program down the line. That way you can tell who have larger litters, faster-growing offspring, less weight loss after birth... etc.

I agree that I should take note of who had what and from this day forward I now keep track of all 41 tubs of rats I have so this way I know who has what and where they came from. This line of rats I have now come from the same 6 female rats they have produced me 1000 + from them and offspring rats but I think I will now find a new line of rats from a different breeder why keep all your eggs in one basket