Be prepared for the fact that it may already be too late depending on their size. My roommate had a rat with a tumour, got the medications for it, and about 2 weeks after starting medications the tumour imploded on itself anyway and the rat died from the ensuing infection.

Not what you wanted to hear, but if financial concerns are legitimate, it might be reason to avoid throwing money away.

I'm already prepared for that, I've had rats die from tumors before. However, this one seems to just be chugging along despite it, which is what bugs me.

what part of LA? I go to a place in the west san fernando valley, west valley pet clinic.

for reference, removing mammary tumors has been something closer to the 250-ish range, 450+ sounds rather extreme!

if you live near the city it will always be more then 2x the price

Huh, I'll look that up. I live near the Pasadena area, and there aren't many that will work on rats in the area.

I hate to be the one to say this

but I believe you should just let them live the rest of their lives with the tumors.
they will be happier then getting them removed.

the meds are just to powerful for any pet.

I lost my dog because I toke her the vet got the meds and she died.
my frined did the same thing and the meds killed his dog.
my girlfriend's mother toke 3 of her dogs in, got the meds and they died very soon after starting them.

I have had my dog Kane with cancer in his leg, and he is fine and happy after 3 years with it.
and he is 11 now.

and my roommate's Lab lived to be 16, and she had had cancer for 14 years


I say, if they are happy let them live out their days, and get new rats to fill the hole they will leave.
I got a puppy so when my dog dose go, I have my puppy to help me throw losing Kane.

Normally I wait for the tumors to just off them somehow, since I know rats don't last that long in general. But these guys seem to be doing well in every other sense, which hasn't happened with previous rats. That's what makes this all kinda tricky. One of them now has a tumor AS BIG as itself now, and still walks around with it.

I'm really sorry,
But I still think you should leave them be
any Attempt to help them could ruin the time you have left with them

I wish you the best,
no matter which you choose

It appeared for no reason, or they got bitten each other?
I didn't wanted to say anything, because this is sensitive stuff to me and maybe to others; I used to raise rats too, I had plenty of them, and a favorite one. At the same time, I raised jerbils in the next cage to them. Well, my favorite used to get out of her cage and wander around. The day she fell into the jerbils cage, she was bitten by one of them. The resulting infection caused a tumor to start growing on her side back, and it grew for around 3 months. I felt terrible for her because I really loved her, but I never tried anything, because there aren't enough specialized vets for this kind of things over here. She died at the 4th month, when I had to sacrifice her because the tumor was so big that was starting to open itself, and I didn't wanted her to continue suffering. That's the terrible advice I've got to share: if you aren't sure about vets and treatments, and you see the tumors keep growing, sacrifice them, other way they'll die in a slow and painful way.

I've had rats die from tumors before. So I've dealt with this. However, since they're running around with them with seemingly no other issues, aside from the fact that they're losing their ability to walk, this might be one of those cases where I'll consider surgery.

Oh no :\ I don't live in the LA area so I can't help, but I wish you and your ratties the best of luck!!

Thanks.

Their life expectancy is a couple years or so. It might be worth considering how much of their remaining expected lives would be spent in recovery, since you say they're already pretty old.

I know, that's my dillemma. I could see them going for another year if they can survive the surgery, but I can also imagine them not lasting more two or three months after successful surgery..

I've lost a few rats to tumors. It's one of the reasons I wont get any more rats.. their lifespan is just too darn short and illness is practically inevitable

When I lived in Europe I had a rat that lived 4+ years, and got a tumor. I swear he was part sewer rat.. he was huge

In the US I've not had one live past 2. Just too short....

I did have a good affordable vet, but we're in Alabama, so no use to you. I've just kept them comfortable, until they clearly suffered and then would take them to the vet to be euthanized. They're so little, surgery, especially anesthetic, is hard on them.

I had one rat that ATE her tumor and then the wound started healing o_o It returned later, but it was the weirdest thing.

I've heard that they sometimes do that. Icky, lol.

Yeah, most rats I've had go for 2-3 years. I should get them spayed in the future, I heard that could cut down the risk of the most common tumors.