Mouse with "tumor" on leg

[Ippo456]

That is not true, a cancer or a tumor on rodents can be surgically removed.
The question would be whether putting the mouse through surgery (the risk, the pain, the anesthesia) would benefit the mouse and improve its life considerably compared to if it were to live with the tumor.
As I've mentioned before, tumors and cancers are prevalent in small rodents because of inbreeding and hence they are in their genes. If the mouse can still carry out its daily activities with no struggle (perhaps because the tumor is benign), I don't think it's a good idea putting the mouse through the pain & suffering of surgery, especially with the risk of the mouse not waking up after anesthesia. If it's very painful and surgery is only a temporary fix (as tumors & cancers do return), then euthanasia might be an option.
I've had hamsters with cancers, some had to be put down because the cancer was so progressive, but some I've decided to let them live out their lives the vet told me that the cancer doesn't seem to bother the hamster. It really depends on the situation.

 

[chinchillalover0927]

Or you can actually pay a little bit of money to put it out of its misery. There is absolutely no reason to let any animal, not matter how large or small, suffer just so that it can live out its life and be "happy".

You're breeding, correct? A kit isn't much larger than a mouse. In your opinion, since a vet also can't do that much for a kit, should you not bring it to the vet either? And if you are about to say that's different, I then am curious as to why it is different.

i wasnt aware that we were talking about putting it to sleep also...i didnt say that i WOULDNT put it to sleep..i would if it needed to be put to sleep, but im not going to go spend 100's of dollars on a surgery for a mouse that cost a few bucks..sorry, thats my opinion and it wont change.. my chinchillas, my sugar gliders, YES i would..any other animal on this property, YES i would....excluding the chickens and barn cats....

a mouse, NO....we trap mice in traps all day long at my house because i live surrounded by pastures...so thats MY personal opinion....now if someone else wants to go spend that much money on a mouse, instead of putting it to sleep , or letting it be if its not in pain, go for it...but i wont do it..

 

[CerLynn]

Wow, that's just sad IMO, and I find it quite upsetting.

Sure our hamster was only $20, but we didn't think twice about spending $250 to have a tumor removed. Unfortunately we were too late (got a vet appt 4-5 days after we first noticed a small lump), and during the surgery, they found that the lump was an abscess caused by an underlying tumor that had already eaten its way through her intestinal tract. She showed no signs of discomfort until the night before we brought her in. We chose to have her put down, as there was no way to repair the damage (and at that point they were nice enough to only charge for the anesthesia and euthanasia).

We've also spent at least $400 over the course of our current hamster's life (she's just over 2 years old now) to have an amputation, deal with eye problems, and subsequent rechecks. Just had an appointment for her last night, actually.

The point here is that there are vets who do surgery on pocket pets/small exotics, and, at least to us, these animals are family no matter what the price/size/whatever. If the animal is "not worth it" to you, don't buy/adopt it.

 

[Stackie]

but im not going to go spend 100's of dollars on a surgery for a mouse that cost a few bucks..

And then with that logic, a chin that you get for free doesn't deserve hundreds of dollars on a surgery either....

I don't care what the animal is, big or small, they all deserve to live a healthy life. They didn't choose for you to be their owner...you must take the responsibility to provide that animal with a healthy life, not let it sit and suffer.

No one here has said to go spend hundreds of dollars on the mouse. The least that could be done, however, is take it to the vet and get it's quality of life assessed and have it put to sleep if surgery is not an option. That doesn't cost much, and if you "can't afford it", maybe you should rethink having animals. It cost me $20 to get my mouse PTS...I can live with that, as long as the poor thing didn't have to sit in it's cage and suffer until it finally succumbed to the disease.

 

[Essentia]

I am so confused on how vet care is based on what you paid for the animal...

I got my cat for free, does that mean she doesn't deserve to see a vet when she is sick or hurt? Once again, if that is different, why? Is it because she's larger? If so, what on earth does the size of an animal have to do with them deserving of care? From what I remember, you took in your sugar gliders for free. Why do they get vet care? Why do kits, who you really haven't paid for, get vet care?

I understand you have mice around your house. A wild animal and a pet are two different things. This could be a toad, a mouse, a hamster, or a scorpion...I'm not basing it on the animal. I'm basing this post on your flawed logic.

 

[RDZCRanch]

To the OP...I hope you guys can figure out a vet. In my experience most regular vets CAN see pocket pets like mice, rats and hamsters but very few of them have experience or knowledge of these little creatures. I would take the mouse to an exotic specialist because they can do more for the smaller species.

Courtney...I have to agree with Crysta and Stacie. You cannot base the amount you would spend on a pet's health care on how much you paid for them. Yes, mice have a shorter life span than other animals, a shorter breeding time, and are cheaper. The point is that they are still a PET. This means it's NOT a field mouse or a wild mouse. It has been bred in captivity to be a companion to humans and to rely on us for care. What kind of humanity do we have when we deny care to the animals WE choose to take into our home? I would take a hamster, mouse, rat, gerbil, lizard, snake, or whatever pet to the vet if there was an obvious health problem. If nothing else they can tell you what is wrong and what can or cannot be done. Leaving an animal with something that is obviously not normal is cruelty and neglect. It's the plain truth. Small or big all animals should matter. Price does not dictate love and commitment.

That said...I didn't pay squat for my dogs, but I had no problem staying up all night with them and paying over $400 in vet care and necessary shots for both girls and for spaying them. It's my responsibility as their owner no matter how much I paid for them to take them to a vet and get the necessary procedures done...even if it's just routine vaccinations. I also haven't hesitated to take a chinchilla or kit to the vet at a moment's notice. I've taken a four day old kit in that was dehydrated and spent around $200 just to have them give him a little shot of Sub-Q fluid. Was it less worth it because he died two months later from a prolapse? No...because I have money set aside FOR my animals and FOR their care. It worries me that you want to breed with this kind of mentality. This makes me feel like you wouldn't take a dying animal to the vet because you want to let nature takes it's course. Guess what? These animals have been bred in captivity...nature's got little to nothing to do with these animals lives. They aren't in a natural environment on a natural food or mating naturally. We interfere with their daily lives...why let nature takes it's course? Save the animal from pain and suffering.

 

[chinchillalover0927]

And then with that logic, a chin that you get for free doesn't deserve hundreds of dollars on a surgery either....

I don't care what the animal is, big or small, they all deserve to live a healthy life. They didn't choose for you to be their owner...you must take the responsibility to provide that animal with a healthy life, not let it sit and suffer.

No one here has said to go spend hundreds of dollars on the mouse. The least that could be done, however, is take it to the vet and get it's quality of life assessed and have it put to sleep if surgery is not an option. That doesn't cost much, and if you "can't afford it", maybe you should rethink having animals. It cost me $20 to get my mouse PTS...I can live with that, as long as the poor thing didn't have to sit in it's cage and suffer until it finally succumbed to the disease.

i NEVER said i couldnt afford it, thats an assumption made on your behalf...i i got my sugar gliders for FREE. they have been to the vet..also , id bring a baby chin kit to the vet and do what ever needed to be done...i would never own a mouse, so you all dont have to worry about that..im not a mouse or rat person...

 

[Stackie]

i NEVER said i couldnt afford it, thats an assumption made on your behalf...i i got my sugar gliders for FREE. they have been to the vet..also , id bring a baby chin kit to the vet and do what ever needed to be done...i would never own a mouse, so you all dont have to worry about that..im not a mouse or rat person...

I never said that you couldn't afford it. It was a general statement.

 

[menagerie]

There really isn't too much that a vet can do for a mouse (as in actual treatment).

You'd be surprised what can be done for the tiny animals. We've had mice, hamster and baby rats that have had limbs amputated. We've had tumors removed, male mice neutered, a cancerous hamster cheek pouch removed. All of which went on to live happy lives.

i NEVER said i couldnt afford it, thats an assumption made on your behalf...i i got my sugar gliders for FREE. they have been to the vet..also , id bring a baby chin kit to the vet and do what ever needed to be done...i would never own a mouse, so you all dont have to worry about that..im not a mouse or rat person...

And I'm sure that mice and rats are all breathing a sigh of relief for that small mercy. :rolleyes2:

I'm not a mouse person either, the smell of them makes me want to :vomit:. This is why I am the chinchilla house and also a rat home. Just because I'm not a fan of mice or hamsters for that matter and am allergic to rabbits, doesn't mean that I wouldn't take any of them to the vet or provide transportation for them as needed. Veterinary care is provided for all animals within our organization and for all the animals in my home.

 

[Essentia]

Then please ignore that statement that you quoted. I didn't realize all that could be done on an animal that small. That being said, I'm still on your side.

 

[menagerie]

Then please ignore that statement that you quoted. I didn't realize all that could be done on an animal that small. That being said, I'm still on your side.

I know you are :hug2:

I just wanted to point out that all is not lost on the small guys. :thumbsup:

 

[Essentia]

It's actually quite awesome to know. I'll have to talk to my vet and see how deep his knowledge is with rodents. He works with a wildlife sanctuary in his spare time mainly with squirrels, and I keep him plenty busy with chins. Maybe he has the technical skills to work on something even smaller.

 

[ratcuddler]

I am sitting here trying to decide how to answer this without losing my head. I have 9 rats and 2 gerbils and I love them very much. In the past I have had 2 mice. I could not imagine letting them suffer and

just let it live its little life with me until he passed

As soon as I see that an animal is not eating, drinking, defecating, or generally behaving normally, I observe for a day. If it is still not acting right the next day I make an appointment to see the vet, regardless of how much it cost me, where I got it, it's size, or societal value. To me they ARE JUST WORTH IT.

Mice only live a max of a few years anyway, so is it really worth it to spend that much money on them at a vet?

If you knew that your dog, child, or any other living being was ONLY going to live a few years would you love or care for it any less? My brother has Muscular Dystrophy, he was not supposed to live past the age of 5. Does this give my mother the right to not get him medical attention? (My brother is now 20). If you have a FIV+ cat does this mean you will not take her to the vet if she has a cold or tumor, because she will not live as long as a normal cat?

let it live its life and hope that you can make it happy

To me, it seems counter productive. If you know it is in pain, or has a strange mass, or one of a hundred other things that could go wrong and you do not take it to the vet you are not "making it happy".

i would if it needed to be put to sleep, but im not going to go spend 100's of dollars on a surgery for a mouse that cost a few bucks

My rats on average cost me $4-$5. Does this mean that I should not pay to have them taken to the vet? My boys have all been neutered. This cost me $70 an animal. Should I not spend that money since the initial cost was "just a few bucks"? Do I let them keep their raging hormones, and possibly add to the population explosion just because I am not willing to pay to get them fixed? I don't think so.

Within 2 days of bringing this rat home his eye had become swollen, and he became lethargic. Should I have let him suffer and not spent the $125 dollars to get him checked and on medications? Once again, I think not. So to me your logic is not sound. Sorry to be harsh, but ALL animals deserve to be safe and healthy.

 

[chinsmom]

Isabella, We are currently in that position. We have a dwarf hamster, and one day I noticed a small lump in it's little ear. I had my husband run him to the vet to have it checked, though I pretty much knew what it was. As it turned out, he also has a much larger one on his side that we didn't even catch. The vet said that he was too old to chance putting under since he would most likely not survive the anesthesia. So for now, as long as he is eating, drinking,running, and there is no apparent loss to quality of life, we'll just enjoy his company for as long as it lasts. Had he been younger and healthier, we would have had the surgery regardless of the cost. The lump you found could be something other than a tumor and may be treatable without surgery, but the only way you'll know will be to take him to a vet. Check with your vet to see if they deal with rodents, if not, they can probably refer you to one who does.

 

[Vixey]

I just spent over $500 on my ferret...... I spent over $500 on a chameleon in the past for prolapse, and when he relapsed I put him to sleep, which cost more money. I didn't even care that I had just spent $500 the month before, because at least I had *tried* to save his life. I'd feel guilty otherwise. Though, when I was younger and had hamsters/gerbils..whenever they got tumors my mom would "get rid of them". In a cruel way. But as I grown up, now have my own money I have more caring and compassion for animals. Any kind of animal. And if I wasn't willing to take it to the vet when it got sick, I wouldn't get one.