Can melanomas burst?

[Annagain]

My boy has had melanomas around his anus for years. They are small, very slow growing (touch wood) and don't generally bother him so we have left them well alone. Yesterday as my friend was riding him, and I was following, he swished his tail and I noticed that one of them looked strange - like it was deflated. On closer inspection, it looks like it's burst in some way? What was a smooth lump where the skin was evenly stretched, is now a saggy lot of skin with what I can only describe as a scab covered crater in the middle. He nearly hit the roof of his stable when I touched it.

Has anybody else known this to happen to a melanoma? Is it a problem or should I just ignore it? Unless I touch the actual scab it doesn't seem to bother him, I can prod around the area with no problems and the other 4 lumps he has are totally normal. (Well as normal as the melanomas are for him!)

 

[Louby]

My friends old boys melanomas burst. It was like a black tarry liquid that come out. He was well in himself but she had awful trouble last summer with flies.
She left well alone apart from keeping the area clean during the summer months and the use of a good fly rug

 

[Spring Feather]

Yes. As poster above says, a black gunky tarry substance comes out.

 

[Echo Bravo]

Vet time as best to be save than sorry, had an old collie bitch that had a lump it burst, had turned cancerous and she had major surgery, we had her for another year

 

[Annagain]

Thanks, will phone vet tomorrow morning.

 

[SaffronWelshDragon]

Yup, these melanomas seem to have a 'life cycle' of you like. My sisters 23 year old mare has had them for years and occasionally a new one appears and sometimes one of them goes pop and black goo comes out then scabs over. Been going on for ages and we just leave well alone. Never seems to bother her. I wouldn't panic