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Question

I have a hamster who is 1 year and 10 month old. She has a tumor growing under one of her front legs. The tumor is now kind of large. She still walks around and climbs through the tunnels in her cages, but I haven't noticed her running on her wheel this week. She still comes when I call her and accepts treats. What signs should I look for to indicate her level of pain? Should I euthanize her, or let her live out the rest of her life? I also had her sister. She had a tumor that grew on the side of her face. I had the tumor removed and treated her with antibiotics, but the tumor grew back rapidly and I had her to sleep.

Submitted: 16 days and 1 hours ago.
Category: Pet
Value: $9
Status: CLOSED

Accepted Answer

Sadly this species is really prone to having tumors.

This sounds more like an internal tumor growing outwards rather than a skin based tumor. Typically surgery for this is not successful.

What I try to do when making a euthanasia decision is to look at the pet's quality of life to see if they can still do the things they love to do or if they are uncomfortable and unable to enjoy life or if not much of their life is enjoyable.

I would say if she is not running on her wheel there is a level of discomfort. Its not so high that she is willing to miss out on a treat though. Its hard to figure just how uncomfortable they are as they can't really tell us. If she is not eating well, is losing weight or condition over her body it may be kindest to let her go.

I'm sorry you have to make this decision. Its always a hard one to make.

Hope this helps you!

 

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Expert: NancyH
Pos. Feedback: 99.5 %
Accepts: 
Answered: 11/5/2009

Pet Health Care, Rescue,Train,Breed

30+yrs pet vet care & nursing, rescue, behavior & training, responsible breeding, small animal care

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