Rat with facial swelling.

Dr. Marie replied:

Sorry to hear that Duchess is having these problems.

There are a few things that can cause a swelling on the side of a rat's face.

I always get worried about cancers with rats. Some rats can get a cancer called a Zymbal's gland tumor. These cause an ulcerated mass on the side of the face just below the ear. Some of these can be benign but some can be very cancerous. If it is benign it's possible it could be removed with surgery. However, if this is a tumor and it is causing bleeding from her nose then the odds are that it is cancerous.

It could be an abscess - possibly a tooth root abscess. Unfortunately with rats, they do not produce a liquid pus that can be treated by just lancing and putting the animal on antibiotics. They usually need to have surgery to remove the pus as it is very thick.

An abscess as a result of an ear infection is possible as well. There's a small chance it could get better with antibiotics prescribed by your vet, but some of these need surgery too.

Unfortunately there really is no at home treatment I can recommend here.

Dr. Marie

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