Hamster Swollen Abdomen

Question
Hi Sheila,

We have a Syrian Male who must be around three years old. He has developed a very swollen rear end. It appears to be within his abdomen but the whole of his back end is bulging out the sides and is pretty huge now and impacting now upon the movement of his back legs and stability. He is still passing urine and faeces, drinks well and is still eating. He doesn't appear to be in pain but is sleeping a great deal and is reluctant to wake and get out of bed. He has also had an eye infection the last couple weeks or so which I tried cleaning a couple of times (he is reticent!), 2nd time more successful with salt water but eye seemed partially glued together(??) and has got reinfected quite badly and is now spreading to the other eye. Please, any advise on what to do for the poor little fellow would be appreciated. I thought he might have a tumor and just let time do the rest but he's going on longer than I thought he would and I'm not sure what to do for the best for him.
Many thanks

Jane

Answer
Hi Jane

Thanks for your question.

Sorry to hear about your hamster.  This could either be a tumor or enlarged kidneys.

If it is his kidneys then they will eventually stop functioning properly and start to fail.  I had this with a hamster once - he got to be huge and was fine for a long time and then suddenly started to deteriorate.

Tumors are very common in hamsters of this age - often they are abdominal ones and therefore there is nothing to see as such, just that the hamster gets big. The fact that he is now having difficulty walking makes me think it is this - as the tumor grows it puts pressure on the spine and organs which makes it hard to walk, or just due to its huge size the hamster's legs don't reach the ground too easily.

With both conditions unfortunately there is nothing much that can be done.  The important thing is that he has quality of life, albeit he sleeps more than usual.  Providing he is still coming out, eating and drinking and isn't just sitting hunched up, then he is fine, but if you notice any change in this then it is definitely time to get him to a vet who will probably advise euthanasia.  Also, if this is a tumor, look for any blood or pus coming from his rear end - if the tumor ruptures you will notice a discharge of some sort from his rear - if this happens, again, get him to a vet as he will be in pain.

Sometimes vets will prescribe antibiotics to prevent any infections, and metacam is often given as a pain relief, but I understand that it can cause kidney problems.  

Regarding his eyes, they have become like this because he is unwell.  Hamsters have glands at the back of their eyes which produce a reddish solution to keep their eyes moist.  When they are unwell and their immune system is compromised they will produce a lot more than usual.  In these cases they develop sticky eyes.  It is very important that they open their eyes daily otherwise they can get pus behind them and they can develop infections.  Therefore, every day gently wipe his eye area until he opens his eyes - he may not like you doing this and if he is in any pain from the lump he might become aggressive, but try to do this and get his eyes open and the eyelids clean.  Also, hamsters can get eye infections which can be treated by a vet with eye drops or ointments.

If you are concerned about him, if there are any changes, or if his eyes are showing signs of pus or redness/irritation, then I would definitely get him to a vet to see if they can make him more comfortable.  Be prepared however that a vet may suggest putting him to sleep - but the decision is yours, and once you have been given all the facts by the vet you should be in a better position to decide whether to treat him so that the remaining days are comfortable for him, or to make the decision for him to end his life.  This is never easy, but with all the facts before you I am sure whatever decision you make will be the right one.  These little creatures seem to have an incredible will to survive and I have been in a similar situation when a hamster I thought was about to die went on for weeks after that - every day I had the dilemma of whether or not to have them put to sleep.  Of course it is great if they die in their own time without the stress of going to a vet, but sometimes it is important to intervene.  If you do have him euthanised however, I strongly recommend that you ask the vet to give him a little sniff of gas first so that he is asleep first before they inject.  It is much less traumatic for them if you do this rather than just give an injection.

Otherwise, I suggest keeping his eyes clean daily, making sure his house is easy for him to get around - remove any platforms, if he isn't using his wheel these days, remove it to give him more room.  Scatter food near his nest so that he doesn't have to go far for food, and also make sure his water is closeby.

You might like to give him some baby food - I usually give my elderly hamsters the dry baby food (creamy porridge oats) which I mix with water, every day or two.  This is easy for them to eat and they seem to like this - plus it has loads of nutrients.  Also make sure he has all his usual dry food so that his teeth don't overgrow.  Anything you can do to make his remaining days/weeks more enjoyable for him, the better.

I hope that this helps you.

Regards
Sheila