JustAnswer > Pet
Ask A Question|Register|Login|Help
JustAnswer

Pet
Ask a Pet Question, Get an Answer ASAP!

Have your own Pet question?

11 Vets and Pet Experts are Online Now
characters left:
Not a Pet Question?

Related Pet Topics:

  • Cat
    • ,
  • Eat
    • ,
  • Gas
    • ,
  • Ill
    • ,
  • Jaw
    • ,
  • Lab
    • ,
  • Red
    • ,
  • Vet
    • ,
  • Top
    • ,
  • Two
Bookmark and Share

Question

my daughters hamster has what the vet believes to be a growth on her bottom jaw line. could be an absess but when investigated via surgery there was no pus coming out of the lump. could she survive or will she have to be put to sleep. she is only about 6 months old and has only had this swelling for 3 days now and the vet has given her antibiotics in hope that it may be an absess. but says she may only have a week or two left. a biopsy has not been done as the vet says it can be very costly and that they would not have the results for 10 days. what would you advise she is still drinking and i believe she is still eating and is still happy and alert. thanks

Submitted: 152 days and 23 hours ago.
Category: Pet
Value: $12
Status: CLOSED
+
Read More

Optional Information

Pet's Sex: Female
Pet's Age: <1

Already Tried:
vets antibiotics just started today. feeding her baby food like the vet said to do and a little broccoli and carrot which she has and is eating. and also an investigation opp under ga with the vet today

Accepted Answer

Hello,

I'm sorry to hear that you're having this problem with such a young hamster. It sounds like you're doing all you can to help her. As long as the hamster is happy, alert, and eating the food you're giving her, I wouldn't recommend putting her to sleep just yet. Give the antibiotics time to work.

If the antibiotics don't help, and the growth turns out to be a tumor, then you'll need to make a decision. You could go on as you have been, and when your hamster doesn't seem to enjoy life any more, have the vet end her suffering. If the growth is a cancer, that may be very soon. If it's benign, it would depend on how fast it grows. It would eventually interfere with eating. The other option is to have surgery done to remove the growth. You wouldn't necessarily have to have a biopsy done first. If the growth is benign, surgery would take care of the problem. If it is cancer, it may return, or it may have already spread to other areas. Surgery can be expensive, and you may have to seek out a vet who does surgery on pocket pets. Hamsters are risky candidates for surgery, so you'd want an experienced vet. You may need to see a a specialist (surgeon) at your state's veterinary teaching hospital.

If your vet isn't sure that the swelling is caused by a tumor, another thing to investigate is the possibility of a dental problem. That, too, would require surgery.

You're the only one who can make the decision about how much treatment to pursue. You'll have to consider your finances, how much stress you want to put the hamster through, whether you can find an experienced vet, whether you have children who are attached to the hamster, and your own feelings about what is right. I can assure you that you have already done much more than most hamster owners would, and no fellow animal lover would think ill of you for choosing not to do more.

However, I hope this turns out to be an abscess that responds to the antibiotics. In that case, you won't have a decision to make. If you have more questions, just let me know by clicking on REPLY. I'll be hoping for a good outcome.

Anna

Picture
Expert: Anna
Pos. Feedback: 100.0 %
Accepts: 
Answered: 6/23/2009

Pet Expert/Biologist

40 yrs.: herps, pocket pets, rabbits, poultry, dogs, horses. Biology degree. Volunteer vet assistant

151 days and 23 hours ago.

Reply

hi is it normal for our hamster to be trying to push the side of her face where the growth is. it's like she is trying to get something out of her mouth or from under her chin which is where the pea sized growth seems to be. unfortunatly where the growth is it cannot be opperated on as it is on her jaw going to her chin so the vet said yeasterday. she is going for a check up tomorrow with the vet and i'm hoping she ssay's that she is doing better. i can't afford the sample they took from abbi to go to the lab as it is £150.00 on top of the £145.00 i spent on the vet bill yesterday. thankyou

Posted by Anna 151 days and 23 hours ago.

Answer

If the lump is bothering her, it would be normal for her to push on it. It probably feels to her like there's a foreign object in there, and she wants to get it out.

Since surgery isn't an option, all you can do is hope the antibiotics work. If they don't, keep Abbi comfortable as long as possible.

Are you suspicious that there's actually something wedged in there, rather than this being a lump? (This isn't my thought, but some of the things you've said made me wonder if you thought that). If you are thinking that way, what are your reasons, and was an x-ray taken?

Anna

151 days and 22 hours ago.

Reply

my initial thought was something was lodged, but since she has been put under a general by the vet and she told me that everything was clear all but this growth. the thing is i took my cat to the vet when her mouth and side of face was swollen and hard. they told me they thought that my cat had a growth and she was given antibiotics. i was not convinced this was the case so i had her looked at by a second vet and was told they did not think that this was a growth, they said they thought it was an absess which it turned out a couple of days worth of antibiotic the cats lump went soft and eventually burst. this of course irritated my cat just like this lump is irritating abbi the hamster so i am trying to find out if this hard pea size lump could be an absess rather than a growth and maybe pop just like the cat did. i can't see anything purple looking under the skin where the lump is and it doesn't seem to be increasing in size accept a little tiny puple black bruise probley where they tried extracting fluid from it but all they found were red blood cells. it's just she is so young and her sister is doing so much better than her which i also have. she is happy washing herself, eating, drinking and storing/ moving food bedding in her pouch. i just wish i knew the outcome as my daughter will be devastated if i have to put her to sleep or she passes away in pain. i,m just at a loss i no longer know what to do. thankyou for all your doing for us

151 days and 22 hours ago.

Reply

sorry there was no x-ray taken .

Posted by Anna 151 days and 20 hours ago.

Answer

First of all, there's no need to click on accept again. Thank you for accepting above.

Hamsters can get food or bedding impacted in their cheek pouches. If the swelling and lump are at the side of the face or neck, I would be suspicious of that. I'm not certain of exactly where the swelling is located. That is something that can be treated without surgery. However, I expectt hat your vet probably already considered that. youc an read more about cheek pouches here:

http://www.hamsters.co.uk/hamster_impacted_cheekpouches.htm

http://www.vetbase.co.uk/information/impacted-cheek-pouches-hamsters.php

If the swelling seems to be in the right place, and your vet hasn't considered this, you may wantt o mention it. An x-ray would probably shed some light on the problem, no matter what it is.

Anna

151 days and 19 hours ago.

Reply

my vet has looked in the cheek pouches and under the neck and said there was nothing there.. when she was in having her general anesethic i thought it was to investogate the whole of her mouth. the swelling is along her left side pouch going in to her jaw bone, there is a lump directly under or coming from her jaw bone so she said making the lump under her chin. i.m not entily sure what the vet has or hasn't done. but have been in contact with another vet and they said they would look at her if the antibiotic doesn't work. the comfusing thing about this is the vet has said that we may only have abbi for a week or two beford having to have her put to sleep but she only suspects that it is a growth nothing has been mentioned about a tumor, surely the vet should be able to tell me more than this. my concern is she is so little having another vet look at her and maybe having to have 2 lots of investory surgery under genral anasetic in less than a few days or even a week is very worring she may not make it through another time. and she could still live a happy life for some months or maybe years, i just don't tink i can put her through that again. i do not see why they did not remove this lump when she was in surgery that would have been the best thing and maybe this could have all been resolved yesterday. an x-ray i think should have been done while abbi was sleeping. do you have any idea on how long it takes a hamster to recover fully from gas anesetic. thats what i believed they used, as she seems to be still a little sleepy. the vet also said that she was worried as abbi was underweight and maybe she wasn't eating, but abbi is eating her food and gaining weight since yesterday when i weighed her myself. anyy idea's on normal weight for a 6 month old hamster. thankyou so very much for everything you are doing. tracey

Posted by Anna 151 days and 19 hours ago.

Info Request

What type of hamster is Abbi? Teddy bear, winter white, golden, fancy, etc.?

Anna

Posted by Anna 151 days and 18 hours ago.

Answer


This link will take you to a chart that shows average weights for the various dwarf hamster species.

http://www.hamsterific.com/SpeciesTable.cfm

Syrian hamsters would be heavier.

Anna

151 days and 11 hours ago.

Reply

abbi is a syrian she is quite long haired and has never really been heavy, ami her sister is alot heavier. abbi weight when i got her home on tuesday was 114g she has since been putting on weight she weighed 118g on wednesday night and weighed the same thursday morning, ami weighs 151g so there is a differnce of just over 30g but this feels normal for both they have always been a little chalk and cheese.

151 days and 11 hours ago.

Reply

i have looked at same hamster pics and i would say at a guess she looks to be a syrian/ teddy bear

Posted by Anna 151 days and 3 hours ago.

Answer

Average weights for adult Syrians range from 85 to 130 grams. At 6 months, your girls are adults. So, it looks like Abbi is normal weight, and Ami is a bit chunky. Maybe she's bigger boned.

Anna

151 days ago.

Reply

abbi went to the vets again today for her check up. the vet said it looks bigger and basically wrote her off. i was not happy with the little i have been told with the vet and that she really did not seem to care about abbi so i took her to another vet and she explianed that abbi could have an absess they can also be hard and don't always extract pus out of the lump as it may need antibiotics to clear this, and she could have a tumor or it could simply be a dental problem, the new vet got all of abbi's records from the first vet and explained what they had done. the notes say that they cannot operate or take this lump away as it is fused into her jaw bone, what the new vet done was upped her antibiotics in hope that it may be an infection in the bone which would take a bigger dose and longer time to heal, and gave pain medication for any pain abbi may be in. she said that abbi could live a good life even if we had to give pain medication untill the lump gets to big where she will struggle to eat and be happy. would you agree with what was said by the new vet. thankyou tracey

Posted by Anna 150 days and 17 hours ago.

Answer

Yes, the new vet sounds great, Tracey. I hope the situation will continue to improve now that you have a vet who is willing to look at the possibilities and try different treatments.

Anna

150 days and 5 hours ago.

Reply

thankyou for all of your help. with many regards tracey

Posted by Anna 150 days and 3 hours ago.

Answer

You're welcome, Tracey.

Anna

+
Read More

Related Pet Questions

  • PLEASE AND THANK YOU. I HAVE 10 YEA OLD SHEPARD/HUSKY MIX .....
  • what famous sports players attended Johnson and Wales ...
  • what is fluvial geomorphology?
  • My wife and I just purchased a 6 month old cocateil.
  • I have an 8 week old Min Pin and she is qucik at potty ...
  • I have a female bearded dragon. The last inch of her tail .....
  • how diffucult is it to get over cociane addiction??
  • my german shepard/chow mix got into a fight with a ...



Disclaimer: Information in questions, answers, and other posts on this site ("Posts") comes from individual users, not JustAnswer; JustAnswer is not responsible for Posts. Posts are for general information, are not intended to substitute for informed professional advice (medical, legal, veterinary, financial, etc.), or to establish a professional-client relationship. The site and services are provided "as is" with no warranty or representations by JustAnswer regarding the qualifications of Experts. To see what credentials have been verified by a third-party service, please click on the "Verified" symbol in some Experts' profiles. JustAnswer is not intended or designed for EMERGENCY questions which should be directed immediately by telephone or in-person to qualified professionals.
Question List | Become an Expert | Terms of Service | Security & Privacy | About Us
© 2003-2009 JustAnswer Corp.