Problem with hamster

[Minxie]

Hi, am asking this on behalf of my sister. Her daughter has a hamster (about 18 months old) and he has a lump on the side of his body. He doesnt seem in pain. And I guess she doesnt want to pay huge vet bills to try and find out. So has anyone had a similar problem. Sorry I cant be more specific.

[blue eyes ;)]

hi

i think its better to take the animal to the vets to be honest.im not having a dig but i believe you should not buy a pet if you dont have the means to pay,or do not want to pay for vet bills when its sick.its not fair on the animal is it.also im not being harsh but it could be seroius and it could be in pain.hamsters only live for 2 years.sorry if i sound blunt.

[horselady]

Is the lump definitely on the side of it's body and not it's cheek? Hamsters store a huge amount of food in their cheek pouches and sometimes it gets stuck and it looks like a lump. The vet will remove it for her and it probably won't cost too much.

[pawsntails]

Take it to the vet, it could be serious, due to its age I seriously doubt they will operate, so it won't cost too much anyway, as the risk of an operation would be great.

He is coming to an end in his life anyway, but the vet my put forward the idea of euthansia if the lump is causing pain, if not then he will be able to give some advice to the owner on how to help the hamster have a happy life for as long as he conitinues to live.

[southerngirl]

I agree with the above comments, but how big is the lump and does it have another one on the other side? Hamsters have glands on each side of their bodies and it may be just the gland if it is not huge. Also two years is the average age for hamsters, but I had one for 4 and a half years and another for three and a half years, with the rest living to more than 2 and a half years, so if it is going to live a while longer yet, it would be best to see the vet as I'm sure you don't want it to be in pain. Also,in addition to the comment about pouches, they do go back a long way on the body and it may have some food stored that it can't get to, that is going rotten, so you will really have to take it the vet or it will die of blood poisoning.