Syrian Hamster - Growth on corner of mouth

Question

Hamster - Growth on Mo   Hi,

My four month old Syrian hamster has developed a strange ball-shaped growth on the corner of his mouth that looks like a wart.

He is eating slightly less than a few weeks to before the growth appeared, but he is eating a healthy amount I believe.

He doesn't scratch the growth or seem to pay it any attention but I am worried because it has gotten noticeably larger in the past few days.

I have attached a picture. Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I am quite worried about him.

Thank you,

Charles

Answer
Hi Charles

Thanks for your question and photo.

It is difficult to know for sure what this is.  Hamsters can get lumps and bumps - they can injure themselves and develop abscesses or have cysts.  However, this doesn't look like this.  When they are older they are prone to tumours, but as your hamster is only 4 months old it is unlikely to be this.

One thing that comes to mind is polyomavirus.  I had a hamster with this years ago.  It is a deadly disease for the hamster breeder in that it can easily be transfered from one hamster to the next.  Sadly they tend to destroy any hamsters with this as it makes them hard to sell on.

If this is polyomavirus, then chances are another lump with appear somewhere else - usually on the top half of the hamster around the head.  These lumps can grow quite rapidly and can appear virtually over night.  My hamster had 3 operations to remove them.  Each operation obviously weakened his immune system and for a time he had to eat soft food as his teeth fell out!!  However, he went onto live a full life and died around 2 years of age. He didn't seem at all bothered by these lumps.  I think I was more worried about them!

It is worth measuring the lump and writing this down somewhere.  Taking photos is good as you can keep a close watch on how fast it is growing.  The danger with leaving it alone is that if it starts to get too big it may rupture and then infect.  Therefore, I would be tempted to get this looked at if it gets much bigger.  

If you don't know a vet then it would be worth phoning a few to try and find one with small animal expertise.  Most charge a reduced fee for a hamster but it is worth checking this before you go.  Unfortunately the vet I used to go to with my hamster no longer practices, otherwise I would advise that you make the journey to Kent to get him looked at.  However, other vets may be as knowledgeable.

Chances are they will want to monitor the lump and also have you regularly check the hamster for any signs of other lumps.  If the lump becomes large in that it looks like it will rupture, or becomes troublesome, then the vet may advise surgery.

If he ends up having surgery make sure you give him plenty of nutritious food afterwards - I tend to give mine baby food as it is full of vitamins etc. (although continue with dried food too so that his teeth don't overgrow with eating soft food) as you want to build his strength up and not let his immune system run down - you could give some echinacea for a few days or so.

If you have any other hamsters I would advise washing your hands between handling them just in case it is polyomavirus.

If it isn't this and the lump continues to grow, then again I would advise getting this checked out.  If this is a cyst/abscess/spot of some sort a vet may be able to drain it and give antibiotics to prevent infection.

I hope this helps you and you get on OK.

Regards
Sheila