Mammary tumour in rat?

Question

One of my rats has a little, flat, soft lump that's randomly appeared under her armpit a couple of days ago. I always check them over for any lumps and bumps and this one appears to have come up suddenly though I can't be sure. I don't know how old she is, as I basically rescued her from a bad petstore that cared more about money than their animals, and all they said was that they're "all under a year old," this was about 6 months ago. 
I don't want answers saying "Take her to the vet!!!111" I know this, but I currently don't have the money to do anything, and even if I worked it out by calling them and explaining my money situation, it'd still end up with me having to pay a lot for surgery. 
I read a bit about lumps and bumps and I have a feeling it could be a mammary tumour. As I said, it's about the size of a 10c piece (dunno what that'd be in America, maybe 1 and a bit cm?) and it looks a bit rounded but it's more flat and rather soft to the touch. If it was to be removed, I read the smaller it is, the easier and cheaper it is, could anyone give me an estimate of how much I'd be needing to pay to get it removed? Thanks.

Sheena · Accepted Answer

I'm sorry, but this is a take it to the vet moment. 

for the consultation alone, it won't be expensive. 

if it's soft at this stage, it MIGHT be a bit of infection that can easily be treated. 

if you really can't afford surgery, or don't think that rat is young enough to bounce back from it, then it may be a case of treating it to see if it responds, and then if it doesn't, and appears to be a tumour, keep an eye on it, and have her put to sleep before her quality of life suffers because of it restricting her movement and activity or her comfort. 

this is why it's a good idea to put a bit of money aside from time to time for your pets, like a mini insurance policy.

Mammary tumour in rat?

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