Which part of the neck? Is it right in the center of his throat? It sounds like it could be SDA. I mean, it could also be an abscess or a tumor, but he's really way too young to have a tumor, generally speaking, and if he hasn't been with any other rats and hasn't had any cuts on his neck, it's probably not an abscess.
So! You just got him relatively recently, so I'm thinking SDA, since most pet store rats carry it. Has he been in contact with any other rats since the pet store? He could definitely be carrying SDA, or could have gotten it from other rats. One of the main symptons is a swelling of the salivary glands which shows up looking like a big bump in the middle of the neck.
Has he been sneezing? Do his eyes look okay? Another symptom is eye troubles -- porphyrin, ulcers, swollen eyeballs...
http://www.rmca.org/Articles/sda.htm
It's not fatal, but it does depress their immune system while the virus is active. Provided his lungs are okay and he doesn't get hit hard by mycoplasma, he should be okay after about a week. That is, if it is SDA.
Also! I don't know which vet you're taking him to, but I've been to a whole ton of vets in the PA/NJ area, and the best one for rats that I know is Dr. Janice Goode at Marlton Animal Hospital. If the guy you're seeing ends up sucking, she's a fantastic vet who knows a whole lot about rats.
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Date: 2003-04-07 05:01 am (UTC)Which part of the neck? Is it right in the center of his throat? It sounds like it could be SDA. I mean, it could also be an abscess or a tumor, but he's really way too young to have a tumor, generally speaking, and if he hasn't been with any other rats and hasn't had any cuts on his neck, it's probably not an abscess.
So! You just got him relatively recently, so I'm thinking SDA, since most pet store rats carry it. Has he been in contact with any other rats since the pet store? He could definitely be carrying SDA, or could have gotten it from other rats. One of the main symptons is a swelling of the salivary glands which shows up looking like a big bump in the middle of the neck.
Has he been sneezing? Do his eyes look okay? Another symptom is eye troubles -- porphyrin, ulcers, swollen eyeballs...
http://www.rmca.org/Articles/sda.htm
It's not fatal, but it does depress their immune system while the virus is active. Provided his lungs are okay and he doesn't get hit hard by mycoplasma, he should be okay after about a week. That is, if it is SDA.
Also! I don't know which vet you're taking him to, but I've been to a whole ton of vets in the PA/NJ area, and the best one for rats that I know is Dr. Janice Goode at Marlton Animal Hospital. If the guy you're seeing ends up sucking, she's a fantastic vet who knows a whole lot about rats.
Sounds like you had a great weekend. :)